For my final project I've created a series of public health posters meant to be placed in public areas around college campuses. These posters are mainly focused on raising vigilance regarding suicide warning signs and encouraging students to take action when they notice these signs, as well as educating the student body as to what warning signs they should be looking for.
This first poster is focused on the behavioral warning signs associated with suicide. It is meant to be an informative poster that gets students thinking about the types of behaviors they should associate with suicide attempts/at what point they should be concerned about a peer. This poster is supposed to be pretty somber, and the scribbles at the head of the person is meant to symbolize how complex and hard to understand suicide can be.
This poster is focused around an iPhone lock screen, which I felt would be especially appealing to the young target audience. The first notification is an "emergency alert", which is the type of notification that pops up to notify individuals about weather disasters, amber alerts, and other life threatening emergencies. I've used this attention-grabbing aspect to highlight the statistic in this poster. Next, there is an email icon showing that this student didn't turn in their final assignment for one of their classes--often, a sign of suicide risk in college students is a significant decline in academic performance. Thirdly, I have a text notification from this individual's roommate, which shows an example of how a student could check in with a friend they are concerned about.
This poster is more abstract, and meant to get college students thinking about the gap that exists between social media presence and real life. Oftentimes, college students will put up a very vibrant and positive social media presence, even when they are struggling in their personal life. This can lead other students to assume someone is doing great when in reality they may be struggling with suicide ideation and mental illness. Thus, the overall goal of this poster is to get students to not measure ones wellbeing by their social media and instead take action based on face-to-face interactions.
This poster is meant to be shocking and a bit unsettling. It starts out with the rather disturbing fact about the rise of suicide among college students--this is meant to grab attention and really stick with the students that see it. The goal is for students to recognize the magnitude of the problem and really take that seriously. I then included a very simple call to action, as I believe a simple call to action can be much more effective than a laundry list of tasks if this is meant to be a poster read in passing. I chose to include a graph paper background as it drives home the point that this is a problem happening on school campuses--in that same spirit, the silhouette of the distraught individual is the only graphic on this poster, meant to symbolize how isolating and lonely the college experience can be at times.
This piece is really meant to call students to action. Oftentimes, students might be concerned about a peer, but refrain from saying anything out of fear that they are overreacting or that any concerns wouldn't go over well. This poster is meant to fight that stigma against asking about mental health struggles, specifically suicide risk. It emphasizes the point that asking someone if they're suicidal is not going to make them any worse off than they are at the moment, so it is always best to ask if one is concerned.
This poster is one that is simplistic yet powerful. By only giving 3 actionable steps, I think it would be well placed in a busy college atmosphere, like a dining hall or hallway. It ultimately encourages social connection, with a simple message at the bottom of the poster. It is intentionally devoid of bright color to symbolize how "plain" and simple it is to help someone struggling with suicide ideation--by simply being there and being connected, one is already helping greatly, no flashy steps needed.
This poster is meant to appeal to authority and normalize struggling with suicidal thoughts. By mentioning celebrity names, it is meant to counteract any stigma or shame that individuals might associate with suicide, and also give college students who are battling suicidal thoughts themselves some hope--to show them that these people who are so greatly admired and successful have a common experience with them.
Credits:
Created with an image by bonnontawat - "Thai lecture chairs and tables"