mynd: A Guide to Your Mental Health

This degree project was the capstone to complete my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design at Northeastern University. In an effort to combine my accumulated skills in design through my major with my studies as a psychology minor, I aimed to merge my two backgrounds in visual communication and mental health. The project aims to provide U.S. teens (ages 13–18) with an accessible, age-appropriate resource for understanding common mental health disorders.

Inspired by the DSM-5, the leading diagnostic manual for mental health professionals, the project addresses a critical gap: while the DSM-5 is comprehensive and reliable, its dense medical jargon and 900+ pages make it inaccessible to non-professionals, especially teens. My goal was to reimagine this information in a format that is inclusive, approachable, and visually engaging.

The outcome of my degree project is a 66-page book titled mynd: a guide to your mental health, featuring 10 chapters on the most common mental health disorders affecting teens as of 2022. The guide presents symptoms, facts, treatments, and resources without medical jargon, and with friendly and inviting visuals.

As well as the book, I also produced a social media campaign, a set of tabloid posters, and branded bookmarks to extend the project’s reach and reinforce the visual identity.

A full presentation about the project is included in the slideshow below.