The Depression Project

Illustrator, Designer, Art Director

In collaboration with founders Danny and Mathew Baker, I worked as a freelance illustrator and designer for The Depression Project, an organization dedicated to mental health awareness, resources, and support with over 2 million followers across social media. My design contributions ranged from a new logo, to eye-catching e-book covers, to animated and static social media graphics.

Logo

Designing a new logo was the first project I worked on with the team. We determined the most important concept to showcase in the logo was the “Storm to Sun” framework developed by The Depression Project. This simple language for describing depression is a cornerstone of the organization, offering a resource for both individuals suffering from depression and a clear guide for their loved ones. Many variations and brainstorming sessions led to our final logo, showing a figure going from the “Storm Zone” to the “Sun Zone.”

Logo brainstorming

Character style

One of the next major phases of the project was nailing down the illustration style across the brand. We knew we would be featuring a wide range of characters in illustrated social posts and e-book covers. They needed to feel friendly and approachable, but still informative when used in an infographic. It was also important that the style be able to illustrate a range of ages, ethnicities, and gender expressions. We landed on a rounded vector illustration style that would lend itself easily to animation. We narrowed the color palette down to warm tones in the pink and red family, which would pop against the blue, teal, and yellow primarily used in the rest of branding.