~ Breathe: Art's Impact on Trauma Symptoms
~ Breathe: Art's Impact on Trauma Symptoms
Intro:
My senior thesis at RWU focused on the impact of art therapy on trauma symptoms and explored ways in which art therapy can intersect with graphic design. The goal was for designs to be produced in order to help those struggling with trauma symptoms or anxiety. I carried out multiple 'investigations' (smaller projects within the larger thesis) that demonstrated the intersection of design and art therapy through different mediums. Everything in this project was illustrated, textured, and printed by me.
This entire project was ongoing over two semesters and I conducted extensive research on art therapy and trauma-friendly design. I have included my research publication; read if you are interested, but feel free to focus on the designs! :)
Posters
Colors can play an important role in improving mental health, especially in physical spaces. The purpose of these posters is to be put up in order to bring a bit of that color into its space, which can have improve mental health. Read about what each color does on the back of its poster!
Textured Booklet
My first printed booklet, titled, “Breathe” is textured in order to engage multiple senses at once. I used hot glue to create transparent dots over the pattern and I hand drew all of the imagery on the pages using a tablet and Adobe Illustrator. It is pocket sized in order to be discreetly carried in a pocket or purse. You can view images of each page below.
I developed an app version of this booklet as well, which you can explore here.
Final Publication
This is my final publication, which gives a more in-depth explanation of my research and experimentation throughout the course of my project. This was a log of my entire process and though quite wordy, was a wonderful way to experiment with page layout and document my hard work through my senior year!
