Visual Communication in Depression Campaigns
Visual curation and research by Jeremy Kieran Ng
Dwarf Depression
This print ad’s working message, “dwarf depression”, functions with minimal copywriting. The dominantly cool blue colours in the image is immediately apparent to the viewer and evokes a sense of melancholy.
The red wine contrasts strongly against the dominantly blue background — drawing emphasis to the idea of alcoholism being linked to depression. The effect of this is amplified by visual movement which leads the eye in the direction of the subject’s eye gaze, down along the line of the stream of wine and into the glass of wine.
Most significantly, the designer’s manipulation of depth distorts reality to tell a visual story. The inter-positioning of the giant man and the tiny wine bottle serves as a visual exaggeration of the caption “dwarf depression”.
On a whole, this print ad works well in comparison to other cliche depression campaigns that stock images of sad people with condescending copy. With a cartoon illustration, this ad is able to address serious issue in a comic manner that may be more relatable to viewers.
The working message is communicated concisely, both visually and linguistically — with just three colours and a two-dimensional illustration.
Sylvia Plath and Stereotypes of Depression
In a series of images which addresses the stigma and stereotypes related to mental illnesses, this picture contains a superimposition of Google’s autocompleted search over portraits of famous people who suffered from them.
This image works because of the cultural and historical references it relies on.
Sylvia Plath (depicted in this image) was a poet who suffered from depression and committed suicide.
The portrait of Sylvia Plath is an iconic sign which draws on the historical events from her life and projects its the meaning on image. The historical significance of her life is juxtaposed against the the superimposed words which are contradictory to the life she had.
With a modern cultural understanding that the words in the picture are what Google search’s would auto-suggest, it is also clear that the creator of this image does not mean them literally but instead uses it for irony.
