Week Seven – Positioning & Trends

How can emergent themes, trends and moods elevate your project goals? How can trend forecasting help you speak to your target audience?

Lecture Notes

Torsten Posselt – Trends can be interesting if you can anticipate them, if something needs to change. On the internet however, it can overflow you with so many things.
Look at trends from a very different area and direction of where you are woking can be helpful sometimes.
Ask himself – What is interesting here? Helps him to decide where to look.
Empower yourself with structure and strategy you can decide and not do just what the internet tells you first.
Michelle Dona- Technologies that will help your client for future projects. E,g regenerative design.
Wouter Dirks- New developments in market that client feels is important in their businesses.
Stijn Van de Ven- Try not to care about them too much- buzz words. Can distort the way you look at things.
Luke Veerman – Preparing for the future, peoples perception of something can change – need to be aware of that. Outside of your control.

Lecture Reflection

It seems that designers have differing opinions on the importance of trends and following trends. However they all believe that it is important to be aware of them and keep an eye towards the future to ensure your designs are future proofed as much as possible.

I think Torsen’s point about making sure you don’t get overwhelmed by the information on the internet, and not letting yourself only follow the specific path that google offers you is important. It is very easy to search for terms and then read what you are given without thinking too deeply about it, I think his idea of making it more of a decision as to what you look at by asking ‘what is interesting here’ is very important. He also believes you should look at trends from different areas to the ones you are working in as it can prove very interesting and useful .

Reading Notes

Macrotrend: Synchronised Care

Self-care is no longer just about self- indulgence. It’s a force for collective health that is interconnected with every aspect of our lives and interdependent on the world around us. (The Future Laboratory 2011)

“At its most basic, a trend can be defined as the direction in which something tends to move and which has consequential impact on the culture, society or business sector through which it moves.”
(Raymond 2010)

It shows us where tastes are going and what peoples priorities are. Trends often move in a s-like curve from innovators, to early adopters, early majority, late majority, later majority, laggards
Moodboards are often used to develop a sense of what the trend might look like.
Scenario planning is anticipating how the new might impact on the way we live our lives. (Raymond 2010)

Reading Reflection

I explored some of the trend forecasting sites mentioned in Martin Raymond’s book ‘The Trend Forecasters Handbook’ book to see what trends are relevant to my project.

Trend Research

I looked into current and future trend predictions that might affect my project idea.

Wellbeing is becoming more important as a trend and the pandemic has only accelerated it. Things like meditation and mindfulness have become more common in peoples lives. (Bupa 2021)

“Emotional wellness is defined as ‘the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times.’ These challenges can include managing emotional reactions, e.g. anxiety and depression and their frequent companion, stress.

We can expect to see emotional wellness as a trend in the next year with consumers seeking stress-relieving products and practices following the past two years of unprecedented turmoil. The hashtag #emotionalwellness is currently tagged in 395k posts, while #emotionalwellnessmatters has been tagged in 10.6k posts, this is something we can expect to rise over the next year.” (Rabin 2021)

The trend looks as if the accessibility of meditation and mindfulness is only going to become easier, and they might even become incorporated within social platforms without the need to download an app.

“If there’s one good thing to take from the pandemic, it’s that it has helped to grow the conversation and remove the stigma off conversations around mental health. A growing conversation on social media has normalised people speaking out when they’re ‘not okay’ and communicating their struggles publicly or more openly privately. This has meant that it is now seen as more acceptable and understandable to reach out for mental health support including therapy, coaching, or taking a day off work for mental health. Users are taking issues into their own hands and are using self-care as a way of coping with their mental health. We can expect to see more of an open conversation around mental health including anxiety, depression and burnout, and it is likely that there will be further discussion around the treatment and natural/homoeopathic ways to improve mental health.”(Rabin 2021)

Talking about mental health is a trend on the rise since the pandemic.

Digital therapy and support is becoming more of a thing as people want to get support from their phones and in their own homes. Using wearable tech and things like virtual reality as a treatment for phobias. (Birch 2021)

“Apple Watch has apps such as Breathe that guides users through breathing exercises. Wearables have become increasingly sophisticated health companions incorporating tools such as blood oxygen sensor monitors and ECG, that can check a heart’s rhythm and electrical activity. It is likely there will be even more increased prominence for apps and sensors to monitor for signs of mental distress on smartwatches going forward.” (Birch 2021)

Long-term data helps people to make the most impactful life changes to their daily life and wearable tech is now present every day and in every place. (AME Group 2021) As it becomes more a part of everyday life, could there be a space for mental health support there?

Stress and burnout are still trending upwards and employees are rating mental health support at work to be something more important to them than ever before. (Headspace 2021) Not a design trend in itself, but the need for mental health design is certainly on the rise as well.

Products designed to enable and support with remote patient monitoring are on the rise. Things they can use themselves at home to empower them to confidently take control of their medical requirements. Design that accommodates automation, ease of use and clear signage is necessary for this. (AME Group 2021)

Biophillic design or nature inspired design is good for our mental and physical health.

Embeding nature in your surroundings and mimicking the natural world through objects, materials, textures, colours, shapes, and sequences found in nature is calming and restorative.(Siganporia 2020)

The trends I think are relevant to my project are:

Using digital and wearable tech such as phones, watches and VR to improve mental health
Empowering people to help themselves with health and wellness at home with clear and easy design.
Wellness, meditation and mindfulness are still on the rise as trends
More openness about mental health
Restorative design using nature

My Research

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17DTY0PpkOChRXT9FzEgXnMb5taAqOJHxbimPXJygzGw/edit?usp=sharing

Peoples personal experiences

All the people I spoke to have wanted to access support for their mental health, yet 34% have never actually managed to do so.

There are a variety of reasons that their experience hasn’t been successful, many had poor experiences talking to GP’s about how they were feeling and many felt overwhelmed and confused by the process, unsure what kind of treatment would be best for them and didn’t know where to begin.

Some were worried to even start due to fear that they ‘were not til enough’ or that the process would be difficult and the wait times long.

They want some clarity and understanding of where they can go and what they should do. They want to feel valued as an individual and most of all it seems that they want the process to be simpler and more understandable.

Mental health journeys

From my survey it seems that the majority of the people I spoke to, started their search for mental health support on Google. I undertook some google searches for my area to find out what comes up and how easy it is to understand.

A lot of these searches bring up very text heavy websites that offer a lot of different links to other services, confusing language and the user has to do a lot of work themselves to work out what support they need and how they can access it. It feels quite overwhelming and I think must put a lot of people off continuing their journey to access support.

Unless you are already sure of what problem you are suffering from, it is hard to know what services are best for you.

GP

Another sticking point in this journey seemed to be talking to GP’s. I was interested to get a GP perspective on this, so spoke with one to get his opinion.

How much training do you get around mental health?
Starts at medical school, working with a psychiatry firm for 2 months – probably a hospital for severe mental health issues. Possibly some community based training base now but not previously. General practice attachments as a student will pick up some mental health patients and carries on through foundation for 2 years. You don’t have to do psychiatry 4 months during this but some will. GP training for 3 years – may choose to do 4/6 months of psychiatry in community (not as severe) – but not everybody does that. Those who don’t do the 4/6 months will get exposure when working as a registrar. Mainly as exposure to patients and then triggers going away to learning things and problem solving.

Is a GP appointment necessary to access mental health support?
In Wiltshire don’t have to go through GP – can self refer. Go online and type in ‘IAPT Wilts’ – will give NHS service with phone number and email address. Will then get a 45 minute appointment over the phone – then 6-8 sessions in person or over the phone to talk with someone about what is going on. Also ran group sessions mainly to do with anger, depression, anxiety, bereavement then people could go to sessions around Wiltshire. IATP will vary with counties. For soldiers they don’t have access to that – they have to go through army welfare service. They have a welfare organisation within battalion and can access sessions through that – health assured is the company.

What options do you offer for people needing support?
Headspace as an app – army have bought into it so soldiers can get it for free
Headfit – helps set a goal and then helps you get there
Big White Wall
Has a mental fitness flyer with a lot of different apps and numbers on it and then look through them and see what works best for you.
Try and avoid taking medicines to start with. Can take 3 weeks to see benefits, side effects and have to take for 6-8 months which is a long period.
If more serious then will see every week or fortnight. Lots of sad and lonely soldiers during COVID – like living in a hotel room and very little social contact.

Do you have a specific set of questions you ask anyone in for mental health reasons? What are they?
Critical question – have you thought about harming yourself or suicide.
Potentially go through some questionnaire which try and put a number on how much the suffering is
PHQ9 – google it – Personal Health Question 9
GAD7 – google it – Global Anxiety Disorder 7 questions
Now using e-consult it normally generates the questionnaire for the patient before meeting the GP
Ask about sleep, eating and appetite, what they previously enjoyed, are they still enjoying them, sex drive? Lack of concentration, focus, motivation? – for depression
Anxiety – for worrying – what if scenarios.
What is the cause – relationship breakdown, domestic or professional?
Ensuring they have a support network.

Personas

Person who thinks they are not ill enough
Person who wants help but doesn’t know where to start
Person who doesn’t want to see GP or has been before and had a bad experience

Persona One

About- Has been struggling with their mental health for a while. Has been to GP but only got offered medication that they don’t want to take. They can’t afford to pay for private mental health care and wouldn’t know where to start. Is slightly cinical that talking to someone will help.

Needs – To feel supported and understood but not patronised. To understand the support on offer and how it can help.

Persona Two

About- Has never accessed mental health support before. They feel overwhelmed by not knowing where to start, but knows that they want to talk to someone and be taken seriously. They want to feel like a person not a number.

Needs- To feel welcomed and safe. To easily find the support they need.

Persona Three

About- This is their first experience of looking for mental health support. They have barely any knowledge about mental health and are unsure if what they are feeling is even a mental health condition. But, they are struggling to get by so are browsing the internet for more information.

Needs- To be informed about their symptoms and mental health conditions. To feel welcomed as if their feelings are valid.

Emotional Journey

Overwhelm when starting to look.
Worry when having to go to the GP
Frustration of not being listened to
Frustration of having to wait for support
Frustration of having to repeat the same questions again and again to different services.

Other Research

The idea of biophillic and nature inspired design, led me towards the idea of Restorative urbanism.

Restorative urbanism includes well-connected cities and effective wayfinding systems; high-quality aesthetics in urban form; dynamic, multi-functioning neighbourhoods that support people’s everyday activities; and letting nature right into the city core

The global economic cost of mental illness to society is huge and is predicted to reach $16 trillion (£12 trillion) by 2030.

The risk of experiencing a serious mental health disorder, from depression to schizophrenia, is increased by living in the city. It is believed that this risk is due to increased exposure to social stress in cities, including greater exposure to over-crowding, violence and crime.

Restorative urbanism is a new concept that places mental health, wellness and quality of life at the forefront of city planning and urban design. It builds on theory and empirical evidence from a body of research called restorative environments, which shows how certain places foster recovery from mental fatigue, depression, stress and anxiety.

A restorative environment is any setting that helps us regulate our emotions and recover from mental fatigue, stress and the demands of everyday life. (Roe and Mccay 2021)

A Better A&E

PearsonLloyd undertook a project to reduce aggressive behaviour in A&E. They used mapping to understand pathway in hospital- then played this back to the public. The people waiting in hospital now can see what’s going on, understand the journey they are on and this information and ability for the individual to feel informed and more empowered has created a 50% drop in aggressive behaviour. (Design Council 2019)

I think the implementation of clear signage, that makes the individual in A&E feel like a valued person, and allows them to understand what is happening is really clever and should be made a part of more public services. When people are ill either physically or mentally it can feel scary and overwhelming, giving them some knowledge of what is going to happen and why can make people feel more comfortable and more likely to engage in a positive way with the service.

Southwark Council

As a result of their journey through the Design in the Public Sector programme in 2018, Southwark Council has become the first local authority to offer a digital version of the NHS health check to save people needing to book face-to-face appointments with their GP. At the time of entering the programme, half of those invited had not attended a NHS health check. (Mann 2019)

This is a great project that empowers people to take charge of their health in a way that they feel comfortable doing, and from the comfort of their own home. An initial mental health check up surely should be even easier to do from home, as long as the service was clear, welcoming and easy to use.

Mission statement/ project goal

My project is a simple, clear and user friendly way for people to take the first step towards accessing mental health support. It allows people to understand and take control of their own mental health in a non-clinical and human-centred way, turning the process of reaching out for support into a positive experience that means more people successfully complete their journey and receive the mental health support they need.

Mood Boards

1 Green/natural
Inspired by nature focused design and biophillic design trends I explored how my visual direction could be very nature based. This would make the design relaxing and restorative to the user.

2 Simple
After my research pointed to the fact that starting a mental health journey is confusing and overwhelming, in this moodpboard I have explored simple and calming design that will allow the journey for the user to be very easy to understand and at the forefront. The calm look mirrors the rising wellness and meditation trends and the clear easy to follow design fits alongside the trend of bringing health and wellness home and into peoples hands.

3 Bold
As talking openly about mental health is a current trend that seems to be growing, my final moodboard is bold and open about mental health. Using bold type, and bright colours it is fighting for mental health to be taken seriously, while also making the experience more lighthearted and less clinical.

Reflection

The research I undertook this week proved really useful in deciding what direction my project will take. Speaking to real people who have experienced trying to access mental health support was a really good way of working out where the sticking points are.

Looking at trends allowed me to ensure that my idea was inline with how people are thinking and other trends that are going on. It is something i have not considered looking into before, so was an interesting way to think about a project.

After making my moodboard, I think that the simple and calming design style will fit best with my project. It fits well with the trends I have explored such as wearable tech, at home healthcare and wellness and meditation. I want my design to be very user friendly and easy to navigate, so don’t want too much to get in the way of the user journey.

Reference List

AME GROUP. 2021. “What Are the Biggest Design Trends of 2021? – AME Group.” http://www.ame-group.co.uk [online]. Available at: https://www.ame-group.co.uk/news/what_are_the_biggest_design_trends_of_2021.asp [accessed 6 Nov 2021].

BIRCH, Joe. 2021. “3 Mental Health Tech Trends That Provide Solutions.” Mintel [online]. Available at: https://www.mintel.com/blog/technology-market-news/3-mental-health-tech-trends-to-watch-out-for [accessed 6 Nov 2021].

BUPA. 2021. “Health Trends to Follow in 2021 | Health Assessments | Bupa UK.” http://www.bupa.co.uk [online]. Available at: https://www.bupa.co.uk/health/health-assessments/health-trends-to-follow [accessed 6 Nov 2021].

DESIGN COUNCIL. 2019. “Find out How We’re Making Our A&Es Safer Places to Work.” Design Council [online]. Available at: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/find-out-how-we-re-making-our-aes-safer-places-work [accessed 6 Nov 2021].

HEADSPACE. 2021. “Rising Work Stress and Burnout – Headspace.” http://www.headspace.com [online]. Available at: https://www.headspace.com/work/2021-trends-report.

MANN, Sarah. 2019. “Re-Thinking Our Health Journeys.” Design Council [online]. Available at: https://medium.com/design-council/re-thinking-our-health-journeys-74baf5d83a09 [accessed 6 Nov 2021].

RABIN, Anoushka. 2021. “4 Health and Wellness Trends to Watch in 2022.” Curated [online]. Available at: https://curated-digital.com/4-health-wellness-trends-to-watch-2022/ [accessed 6 Nov 2021].

RAYMOND, Martin. 2010. Trend Forecaster’s Handbook. London: Lawrence King.

ROE, Jenny and Layla MCCAY. 2021. Restorative Cities : Urban Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing. London ; New York: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

SIGANPORIA, Nadezna. 2020. “Why Is Biophilic Design the New Trend in Home Decor?” Lifestyle Asia India [online]. Available at: https://www.lifestyleasia.com/ind/culture/architecture/let-natural-settings-takeover-your-home-decor-with-biophilic-design/ [accessed 6 Nov 2021].

THE FUTURE LABORATORY. 2011. “The Future Laboratory.” Thefuturelaboratory.com [online]. Available at: https://www.thefuturelaboratory.com/.

Lizzie Wa Design