OUGD505 - Product, Range and Distribution: Final Crit

Target audience: Young people aged 10-15 years old.

Why: 50% of children develop a lifelong mental health problems before ages 14. 

To create a leaflet/information card for a youngsters would teach them to spot the symptoms and tell someone at the earliest possible time. Like physical illness, mental illness is just as important - catch the problem first to help cope with it in the future rather than it developing into something worse in the future. At any point in their life, they see this symptoms, it would be better to know what it is rathe than it be taboo and have to research on what they're feeling. It also helps encourage conversation in young people and their friends or family where they can talk about their feelings. In an age of technology, it's difficult and become more rare to talk to each other face to face and that is inevitably causing/fuelling the main mental health issues of anxiety and depression. Hopefully one day, the norm would be to speak openly about feelings and accepting others that aren't feeling ok and support them through it and accepting mental health as a real life issue that can affect anyone. By letting children learn about this at a young age, hopefully it will significantly/banish the stigma and discrimination of mental health and be more important/just as equal as physical illness.

Having looked into the charity called 'Young Minds' I want to base the leaflet on that since it makes people aware there is another external place for more information if needed and their name makes it sound like young people suffer from it too - which they do. The colour scheme they use will also be incorporated into the design.

Feedback:

• Talk about how you can help others that know someone who has a mental illness.
• Look at cancer because mental illness can also kill you like cancer does.
• Talk about ways to help/coping methods 
• In primary school, we are taught about the human anatomy but the mind and the psychological anatomy is neglected.
• Make a mouth for every symptom and on the reverse say what the illness is.
• Sessions in school 
• Make a separate card on ways to help someone cope with a mental illness so that it can be put in a First Aid box and treated like a physical illness.
• Use images for each symptom on the design.

The feedback received from the crit was useful such as the idea for having a separate information card about how to help support someone who suffers from mental health as it shows that mental health well-being is just as important a physical health. I had also previously said that when the leaflets are given out there will be a single session about mental health wellbeing as it wouldn't be as relevant to people who do not suffer from mental health issues. However, the idea to have the sessions last a week during Mental Health Week (8-14th May) would be suitable so that people that miss it can still attend the other sessions. Having it on Mental Health week would make people realise that mental health is a very important part of our wellbeing and should be made more aware of.

The feedback about having ways to cope and supporting someone who has a mental illness were going originally going to be part of the leaflet. The comment about using images for each symptom is difficult as that is the problem. The problem is people cannot see mental illness, its something that occurs in our mind that cannot be seen that why people don't believe it is a real problem so there wouldn't be much to design except for showing someone sweating or shaking.

The feedback that was about looking at cancer and mental ill health and how they are the same is a good idea however, the leaflet is not to make the user be scared or ashamed of having a mental health problem, it is about them becoming aware of it and learning how to cope with it. Also, it wouldn't be suitable for younger audiences as it may upset them.