Natalie Clarkson profile picture

Natalie Clarkson

  • ll16njc@leeds.ac.uk

2021: Graphic & Communication Design BA Hons

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Statement

As a multi-disciplined designer with a strong interest in marketing and promotion, my work often focuses around the desire to create positive change within society.

Break or Break

Break or Break is a fun and approachable mental health charity targeting Millennials and Generation Z, aiming to remove the stigma of mental health whilst providing simple self-management techniques. The charity promotes mindfulness and mental health acceptance through a variety of methods aimed to target the audience in the spaces they regularly operate and feel comfortable. The concept centres around simple activities, primarily blowing up and popping balloons as a metaphor for projecting your worries somewhere and then having the ability to destroy them. The charity have a strong focus on social media engagement, establishing momentum of change and acceptance within society.

Promotional video showing the positive benefits of engaging with mindfulness activities, as demonstrated through the happy reactions of the models within the video. The audience are also provided with information about the charity, thus encouraging involvement. The video will be used across social media channels, as well as serving as an informative and encouraging television advert.

App which enables users to select how they are feeling and view suggested activities to help self-manage their problems and alleviate their anxieties as a first step to help. The app also signposts users for further advice or urgent help. Other functionalities include photo upload and ordering branded balloons to join in the campaign.

Poster series aiming to remove the stigma of mental health through presentation of a range of people with positive and encouraging statements. The models used are relatable to the target audience and represent normal people, thus normalising struggling with your mental health.

Social media profiles and audience engagement possibilities of Break or Break. Instagram profile features celebrity endorsement, such as Dr Alex who has recently been appointed UK Mental Health Ambassador for the Department of Education, as well as helpful tips, activities and supportive posts. Furthermore, Instagram tagged posts show the viral campaign where supporters upload photos with the hashtag #BreakorBreak, show themselves popping and blowing up balloons or engaging with mindfulness activities. Snapchat filters also allow for high engagement with the charity, thus allowing supporters to easily spread the message and increase support. This kind of grassroot engagement is very important as a form of ‘free’ marketing and further audience reach for a charity.

Gorilla advertising and promotion will attract attention in everyday spaces and ensure high-level engagement to help in the battle to remove the stigma of mental health. Photobooths will be used at pop-up marketing events across the country. The photobooth will be full of balloons for users to take photos with, thus ensuring it matches the brand style and promotes the #BreakorBreak social media campaign of blowing up and popping balloons. Users are encouraged to upload the photostrips to social media which will in turn generate further promotion for the charity. The use of stickers and balloons allow grassroots engagement and can be distributed by local brand ambassadors to further spread the message. For example, tape stickers to walls or fences and give out balloons, thus allowing wide-scale engagement. As shown, passers-by are encouraged to write positive statements on the stickers, fuelling a positive movement of acceptance.

There’s a Noise in the Shed – Audible

‘There’s a noise in the shed’ was designed as a children’s audiobook with a strong educational message of learning to face your fears. This important moral ensures the audiobook appeals to parents, whilst being presented in a fun way to attract children. The design is inspired by a participatory design approach using children’s drawings of the scariest animal they can imagine as inspiration for the final design of the animals on the cover – thus ensuring the deep fears of children are included within the book to portray the moral in the best way possible.

The story covers the life lesson of how people put up scary defences when they feel vulnerable; demonstrated by Zara getting to know the ‘scary’ animals and discovering the good of the animals deep under their defences. This is portrayed through encounters with the animals, where each animal will cease to be scary and instead represent a positive quality and teach Zara a vital lesson and help her to face her fears. These qualities are visually represented by the colour of each animal, such as red portraying courage. The leaves and grass represent the hidden fears of all characters, a key aspect of the design. Zara, the character featured on the cover, will wear glasses, and the metaphor of ‘looking through her glasses’ and the glasses giving her bravery will be used within marketing material. This will show how the children can too be brave and face their fears, whilst also discovering the animals are not as scary as they seem; thus showing how people often put up defences when they are scared and teaching listeners a vital life lesson. Please note, mockups used for the bus, bus stop and magazine are not my own.