Coffee Table Book on Mental Illness and Design
The Coffee Table Book on Mental Illness and Design is a publication designed to explore and to start a dialogue about serious mental health issues. Throughout the book, I explore the ways in which different artists and designers are using their mediums to bring to attention everyday struggles with mental health, helping normalize mental health and illness struggles. I explore different stories and experiences with mental illness through snippets of “diary entries” explaining how mental illness can affect someone and how one might go about describing their struggle. There exists a serious stigma surrounding talk about mental health and illness that can be damaging to those struggling. Mental illness is not uncommon, and for many, it is an everyday battle. Through my thesis, I seek to dive into the ways in which graphic design and art can be used in both public and private settings to open up those channels of conversation in order to start down a path of destigmatization of mental illness.
The front and back cover of "Coffee Table Book on Mental Illness and Design"
“Interview with Sara Lopez” chapter opening spread
Introduction chapter summary spread
Ally Landrum
Washington, D.C.When I design, I like to look past the obvious, beyond the words, and to reach into the heart of the project in order to extract what makes it special. It’s not just about the artwork—it’s the whole picture: the mat board used to cover the extra space, the frame it’s hung in, the nail used to anchor it to the wall and even the grain of the paper have meaning. Without those details, the entire picture is unfinished for me. I think what makes a designer truly successful is a connection to the people you design for and the ability to stay human. We all are just trying to find the beauty in the ordinary, the breath in something old and the color in something gray. My work reflects the immense amounts of energy, passion and thought I put into making it successful. I believe good design has amazing power to bring life and character to a non-corporeal being. In my work, the colors, fonts, patterns and outrageous ideas wait to be transformed into something unique and powerful—and with this power, I am able to design something I am proud of.