The Anxiety Book Photographs

Bauhaus

1. Bauhaus was active between 1919 and 1933.


2/3.

Shape

Pattern

Marcel Lajos Breuer

Repetition

Shape

Herbert Bayer

Shape

Line

Walter Gropius

The Anxiety Book

Title Page

The title page is interesting to me because of the focal point of the girls face as well as the complimentary colors. I chose a purple/yellow color scheme because yellow can provoke feelings of sickness and purple can promote feelings of gloom.  I didn't want to incorporate blue due to its association with depression. I also added a serotonin molecule on the girls forehead to represent the labeling with mental illness, as well as being constantly reminded of such mental illness.

Patterns Included in Patterns Page

Design Book Pages and References

Original Online Photo

Patterns Page

The emphasis of this page is the face whose hair is being pulled. I think the face stands out because of its graphic shapes of value. I made this by finding patterns online and then image tracing them into grayscale values. Then I assigned the patterns based on values on the face.

Original Online Photo

Lines Page

The emphasis of this page is the heavy white lines swirling up through the large black wave. I think this piece visually stands out because of the movement and line variation throughout the entire page. I personally love the think black spirals coming out from behind the wave. I like what they do to the negative space. I made my own brush for the black thick line behind the white that came out very unique. I like the shapes that the openings in the wave creates as well.

This page relates to the theme of anxiety because like all mental illnesses, it can be very difficult to overcome the negative emotions and symptoms a person can experience. I thought a wave crashing down would be symbolic of how strong of a force anxiety is on the brain's way of thinking. 

 

Original Online Photo

Fills Page

The emphasis of this page is the facial expression of the pondering man. I purposefully chose this image because I thought the man's facial expression was an honest representation of anxiety. Most online pictures that appear when you type "anxiety" into google are very cheesing; including pictures of people biting their nails or looking stressed out. I made the image trace into strictly black and white shapes to emphasis the intense look on the man's face and to demonstrate how anxiety is much more serious than just being scared or stressed out. Because of the original image's orientation, I had space to fill in the 5"x8" page, so I made a pattern of arrows going in opposite directions above and below the figure. As a person who tends to spend her whole day overanalyzing, I thought the arrows would be a good representation of the constant contradicting thoughts I can have on a day where my anxiety is impacting my daily life. 

Color Page

The emphasis of my page are the blue pills and the dark opening of the pill bottle. I chose this image for my colors page because the orange and blue compliments grab the viewers attention. I think it stands out because the pill bottle is enlarged and bold, and the image trace causes the shapes of color to become more geometric and sharp. I like how the pill bottle looks unappealing and almost threatening. 

This image relates to my theme of Anxiety because many people choose to go on medication in order to cope with that mental illness. As a person who personally understands anxiety herself, and have been given the same choice to go on medication, I personally believe that those struggling with anxiety shouldn't resort to medication unless it is a desperate situation. I believe that medication can be equally as dangerous and can lead to codependency. I strongly recommend cognitive behavioral therapy for an illness such as anxiety, and want people to be aware of the dangers of medication for mental illnesses.