Project Title: Neurodiverse

 

Category: Editorial Design

 

Target audience:

Millennials and Gen Z, females and males ages 16-40, who struggle with mental illness and/or want to learn more about how to help friends/family with mental illness.

 

Background:

Neurodiverse is a guide/health magazine. I designed this magazine to help create conversation to destigmatize mental illness and health.

 

Design problem:

To design a magazine that is equal parts informative, inspiring, and educational for adults and teenagers affected by the increasing mental health epidemic. Focus on page layout, strong imagery and art, and typography for good design.

 

Design process:

Mental health is not talked about realistically enough, and generationally speaking, has far too much stigma attached to the topic. Not only is the purpose of this to better inform readers of the realities and facts of mental illnesses, but it is also a space for conversation. The goal of this magazine is to create a community and educate those who lack the resources or don’t know where to look. Nowadays, it’s difficult to find accessible information on mental health due to the high numbers of opinion pieces, self-diagnosing, and high price tags of professional help.

 

I chose the name Neurodiverse as the word, neurodiversity, refers to a variation in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions in a non-pathological sense. Neurodiversity is a viewpoint that brain differences are normal, rather than deficits. Neurodiverse people experience, interact with, and interpret the world in unique ways. This concept can help reduce stigma around learning and thinking differences.

 

Design solution:

The magazine layouts are focused on high quality images and a good use of white space so not to overcrowd pages or overwhelm readers. This magazine will be full of resources, tips, articles by mental health professionals, personal pieces submitted by readers, art project submissions, etc. The covers will focus on photography and minimal text, hence being easy to digest and focus on the imagery.

 

Software: InDesign | Illustrator | Photoshop | Lightroom