Design Solutions to improve Mental Health through everyday experiences

Considering the fact that mental health reflects in everything a person does, there is a scope for improving the wellbeing of people in this fast moving world of evolving technologies and changing social culture. This project is an exploration of mental wellness and its related facets through our everyday experiences, through the products we use, the spaces that we live in and the experiences we get from our surroundings. The entire process considers creating mental health awareness and methods to improve our approach towards mental illness. Taking the objects that we use in our daily life, a new design approach is made considering the actions of a stressful mind and ways to relax it through these products. Textures and materials are explored in this project. The final outcome is everyday product concepts with additional stress release features and tactile texture application: 1) a coffee mug with a fidget in the handle, which lets the user engage in fidgeting actions using the small ball attached to the handle; 2) tactile texture stickers for a computer mouse, for an additional feel and personalisation; 3) an easy footrest whose top part can be rotated or moved, with a stone texture that gives a natural feel. The project “Design for Wellbeing” explores the involvement of design through different mediums in mental wellbeing, and finds scope for new products that help people tackle everyday stress and anxiety through new design approaches.