Bridge 5 Reflection: This statement will highlight process, learning achievements, and ongoing research pursuits, and can be utilized for the final review in Studio.

My name is Zara Annette Louise Boyd. I am a Fashion Design major with strong influences rooted in abstract fashion, deconstructed fashion, and Haute Couture. I am also very interested in minoring in Fashion Communication and am also taking a Fashion Styling course in Paris this upcoming Summer.

I am passionate about using art and fashion to communicate a message or opinion. I believe you should create with purpose and am particularly interested in using the current social and political climate as inspiration.

Write a statement that describes the research project (Bridge 4), a deep look at your work

The research project which I conducted for the Bridge 4 project was a group collaboration focused around mental health and the stigma attached to talking about personal mental health struggles (specifically focusing on crying and why it’s ok to cry and visibly express your emotion). We specifically focused on college students as a key audience. This subject is something our whole group felt passionate about and we felt it would be an interesting topic to explore since it affects almost everyone and would allow us to work well as a collective. 

.Planning: Show your preparatory steps for the project. 

We all equally initiated the concept for this project and to start, we each create 4 pieces all connected to some aspect of  the issue.

I have struggled with group cooperation in the past and was conscious of this going into this so wanted to make sure that what we planned to create would allow for both individual and group contribution. this meant i was heavily involved in the concept and development of this project but made sure to clearly document and share my process so my group were aware.

We didn’t particularly want to answer a ‘question’ concerning this topic  rather focus more on addressing the issue in a public and reflective way. How did previous projects play into this? I can’t speak for the rest of my group but personally, i used this project as a way to bring together what I had learnt about myself and my own creative process throughout the semester. I found that throughout the development of this project I was constantly reflecting on my progress and using my research and writing to influence my making in a consciously cooperative way.

Outcome/s for Studio/Seminar Finals:

• Slide presentation: Tissue Tributes (2)
• Vinyl stylised stickers which represent the brand. Christian graphically designed these for the most part with my contribution being the logo design (which i designed) which was produced as a sticker. Christian printed and laser cut the stickers as well as photographed them in context.
• Instagram. I created, designed, promoted and managed the instagram account which represented our brand and stood to promote the issue and campaign for a change in stigma whilst also providing an outlet and resoute for people who are struggling. 
• Tellonym. The confession idea was something I thought would be interesting as it’s so easy to feel like you’re alone (especially as a student having left home). Originally we were just going to conduct a survey on mental health, so on the side I decided to create this anonymous account through ‘tellonym’. I felt (and my group agreed) that this exploration was so successful and impactful that it would make more sense to use that as the main form of brand representation. I used the anonymous responses and created photoshop graphics with them (in a trendy ‘insta aesthetic’ format that corresponded and appealed to the college student target audience).
• Tissue Box: a tangible product created (using the stickers)  to represent our brand in more of a merchandising way. Designed for placement in places like schools and office to promote mental health awareness and that expressing emotion is ok. Melanie made the physical box and Christian edited the images she took.
• Manifesto, A Conversation!: an academic essay paper which i wrote to discuss two manifestos. I struggled immensely with this assignment however it did allow me to reflect upon the concept and initiative behind a manifesto and collaborative movement which i could apply to ‘Tissue Tributes’. Manifesto! A Conversation
• Talking Notes Greatest Hits: reflecting upon 10 analytical essays which i wrote throughout the semester and thinking about what i have learnt from each one. This allowed me to see the breadth of my development throughout the semester can also see what I have managed to overcome since as someone who doesn’t enjoy this style of working, the resilience i needed to achieve this amount of work is something I am very proud of. talking notes greatest hits
• Manifesto: In Seminar we wrote a manifesto for our collective which outlined the main values which our collective was built on, 

Thinking: 

I believe that this project communicates very well. I conducted an extensive amount of research into what was trending on social media surrounding the topic of mental health. I particularly observed what was successful in terms of graphics communication and visual aesthetic. I made sure to consider this research when building my own instagram account and designing effective and clear graphics for the brand. I also repeatedly asked for opinions (both  in person and over social media and from a range of my peers and family members) to ensure that throughout my development that what i was certain was communicating well, especially since this was a campaign. The bold and limited color scheme makes it more of an identifiable brand and the clear somewhat minimal logo reinforces that. It looks professional and doesn’t rely on overcomplicated graphics to reinforce a point, I decided on this approach since I feel that the issue is so important by itself that it doesn’t need fancy ornate or complicated designs to reinforce that it is a campaign that matters and is needed in today’s social climate.

Overall conclusion/reflection: 

Without getting too specific and depressing, I think it is important to note that I spent a large part of the semester severely struggling with my mental health (as you may be aware) which is why I think this project is particularly poignant to me. It represents my resilience and grit and determination how i didnt give up despite facing a majority of challenges. Ending the semester with this project and this topic in particular means alot to me.

Reflecting my learning and takeaway, I also learnt to work effectively and successfully in a group collaboration whilst being confident that my voice was heard. In one of the previous group projects I had a hard time with my group allowing me to get my points and ideas across (which I found very frustrating). This is why I decided that for this project, I would communicate my aesthetic and my ideas and allow the group to bounce ideas off of me rather than directly work against me ,

Considering my individual research, I feel the most important thing relating to this campaign was the instagram account and tellonym. In order to gain support and awareness for the account i shared it on my own personal social media. I believe by using my own friends and family as a resource it became much more personal to me and made me very invested in the cause and how i could look into affecting change around this topic, since it became clear that it is an issue which affects lots of people in my life. 

Commenting on what I’ve taken away from this, and way in which this project (and this class in general) has affected my approach to process, the most notable reflection is what i’ve learnt about myself and my own interaction with the education process. In the future (using more major specific media and applications) I plan to continue to relate back to  personal experience and research and using it to influence my work.

So, how might this project generate another? I believe every project that you complete (successful or not) should generate the next one. Your explorations should teach you something, particularly about yourself, and I think this project (and this class in general) has taught me plenty. I need to to trust my own aesthetic, and remind myself that regardless of other people’s opinions, it is more important to stay true to your own vision than compromise your artistic integrity and mental health for the sake of a grade or good review.