Depression is a common mental illness around the world and
about 5 % of the world’s population suffer from it. This project is meant to help individuals who are diagnosed with depression by helping them express their emotions in creative ways.
“Building Your Happiness” is an iPad application that adapts the traditional art therapy methods in helping individuals to explore their emotions in creative art forms. The application encourages the users to use an expressive approach involving a creative process of making art, while also enhancing physical, emotional and mental health. One of the main functionality of the app is that users can delve into different art therapy activities physically or digitally and create their own personalized projects. The users also have the option to anonymously share their art piece with an online art therapist which will help them to discuss in more detail of how the artwork means to the user.
The app also contains an SOS helpline contact number, information on depression, and daily treatment tips for users to refer back to for extra guidance. What’s unique about this app is that it reminds the user of the fun, simpler and more youthful days like their childhood, with doodling, painting, building, crafts, etc. The app helps users in constructing a personal experience in working with different materials such as collage, canvas, photography, etc. It provides them with a set of fun art activities and templates to give a starting point of encouraging creativity, personalizing one’s projects, and providing interesting materials to work with for individuals to experiment and explore their own creativity. Creating their own art pieces can help the individuals
This project involved a process of interviewing a York Mental Health counselor and discussing with them about the “Build Your Happiness” project to better improve the functionality of the app and the understanding of the target audience.
ipad_Edit from chelsea hwang on Vimeo.
