The relationship between college students and mental health remains important as students may experience stress and burnout due to strenuous routines and other factors. 妖姬直播 State鈥檚 current mental health campaign has allowed a university-wide discussion regarding mental health and the stigmas associated with talking about it.
Visual Communication Design students enrolled in Professor Sanda Katila鈥檚 Typography II class recently collaborated with the Wick Poetry Center to connect typographical design and creative writing with mental health.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great experience working with all of them,鈥� Professor Katila said. 鈥淚 am grateful they trusted me enough to come along this journey 鈥nd found new ways for self-expression.鈥�
The 鈥淵ou鈥檝e Got Options鈥� exhibit, led by Professor Katila and Wick Poetry Center assistant director Charlie Malone, tasked students with creating 2D and 3D posters integrating typographic self-expression and a list of poems from one of the Wick Poetry Center鈥檚 clients, the Coleman Health Center.
Senior Carly Heller incorporated Susie S鈥檚 poem, 鈥淏ored鈥� in her 3D design featuring bright colors, different levels of hierarchy and cutouts of key passages from the poem.
鈥淭he poem is about a girl and her friend who meet an older woman who is bored with the world,鈥� Heller said. 鈥淭he irony is that the girl and her friend can see the world moving around them and are satisfied with everything it has to offer.鈥�
Heller鈥檚 project represents a display of positive mental health in her design, which she believes is just as important to showcase as negative mental health. This allowed her to see her own form of self-expression in her design.
鈥淥ur VCD program pushes us to incorporate a clear design style of our own,鈥� Heller said. 鈥淚n the end, I was able to bring my vision to life and it was really cool to see.鈥�
Enjoy a few photos of the "You've Got Options" opening night reception.
Using Antoine Williams鈥� 鈥淭he Fruit is Me,鈥� Gabby Lutz featured a breakdown of the poem in her 3D design to indicate the breaking down of the poet鈥檚 life experiences.
鈥淭he poem incorporated a slow burn of some of the things he went through,鈥� the senior said. 鈥淎t the end of it, he comes to a resolution that he can still grow back to his old self despite being hurt, which I thought was powerful.鈥�
While analyzing the poem鈥檚 words, Lutz noted that she wanted to put herself in Williams鈥� position to enhance self-expression and story in her design.
鈥淭he poem was written in the context of someone working through many problems,鈥� Lutz said. 鈥淚 wanted to get inside the poet鈥檚 head to wonder how I could break his thoughts and reflect that on my design.鈥�
Another senior, Tyler Mill, selected Rick K鈥檚 poem titled, 鈥淟oneliness鈥� and included a maze route in his design to represent escaping feelings of isolation.
鈥淭he guy in the poem is lonely all the way until the end where he finds ways of escaping feelings of loneliness,鈥� Mill said. 鈥淚 have anxiety, so I wanted to integrate the poem鈥檚 storyline and my personal experiences within my design, which came together well.鈥�
Aaron Milliren鈥檚 design featured Andrew H鈥檚 poem, 鈥淚 Am, You Are鈥� representing the poem鈥檚 theme of being a spiritual being, but eventually becoming set free.
鈥淚 used a piece of wood as a background and then included chains and nails to add to the roughness of the poem,鈥� Milliren said. 鈥淚 wanted to represent how it would feel if you were feeling locked down or trapped.鈥�
妖姬直播 State鈥檚 current mental health campaign and the 鈥淵ou鈥檝e Got Options鈥� exhibit emphasize the importance of open dialogue and expression regarding mental health. Milliren commented that art can serve as a means of individual self-expression for important topics such as mental health.
鈥淎s much as it was therapeutic for the poets to write these poems, it was therapeutic for us to make our designs,鈥� Milliren said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a project for us, but at the same time it is a lot of fun.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檝e Got Options鈥� will run from November 13 to December 13 and all designs will be displayed in the Design Innovation Hub and Muse Lab.
