PMDD

Enter the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH), with a mission to raise awareness and educate the masses. Their only stipulation? Avoid using the colour red. But here’s the thing—red is powerful, especially in conversations about menstrual health. We knew we had to push back on this one. Avoiding showing the colour red creates more stigma and discourages important conversations. Normalising and opening the conversation around mental health and the menstrual cycle means we shouldn’t shy away from it.

We felt that using red, sensitively and thoughtfully, would highlight a more realistic depiction of the subject and instantly become more refreshingly relatable content. We proposed exploring shades of red within our colour palette to get the point across effectively while keeping the visuals approachable and considered. Our goal was to open the discussion on the importance of including red rather than avoiding it, and the client loved it. Win!

To convey realism, we aimed to include a human feel through diverse characters, emphasising inclusivity and sensitivity. Our pitch highlighted the importance of representing all people who have periods, regardless of their identity. We focused on creating gender-fluid, abstract depictions that resonate with various demographics. The characters had varied characteristics, non-typical features, and diverse abilities to engage women and anyone struggling with PMDD. We conveyed emotion and playfulness through limited expressions, supporting animations, clever use of color, and creative movement.

With the green light, we jumped into production, focusing on an abstract, bold aesthetic to bring our characters and key points to life. We kept text sparse and integrated it intentionally into the composition. Our minimal yet impactful visual style incorporated softened and boiling edges for a tactile feel. Depicting PMDD moments required careful consideration, using a less literal, image-led approach to convey emotions and struggles. We played with color and placement to enhance the voiceover script and visually represent technical details. Fluid colored gradients guided the movement and pace of the piece, reflecting the portrayed moods.

The project was particularly championed by our female designer and animation duo, Eryn and Izzy. Covering a topic like PMDD was incredibly close to their hearts and passions in creating accessible tools for education, and a step towards normalising conversations around menstrual health. Eryn, fresh from maternity leave, felt a deep connection to the subject matter and was thrilled to contribute to something so meaningful. Izzy, with her background in menstrual health advocacy, brought invaluable expertise and passion to the project.

Reflecting on this project, it was not just professionally rewarding but also personally fulfilling for our team members. It highlighted the importance of advocating for what you believe in and showed that a little pushback can lead to significant breakthroughs with clients.