Design and Wonder in the Everyday

PSAs for teens

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Color us impressed with the series of PSAs by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, working in collaboration with the Ad Council and the Inspire USA Foundation. The Reach Out campaign is designed to reduce the incidence of suicide and suicide attempts among teens in the United States. Usually, we’d think it to be another lame attempt by adults to be “hip,” but these PSAs are visually compelling and emotionally powerful. (They even have a YouTube channel and a Facebook page.) View our favorites:  “Running is Not Forever,” “I Believe,” and “Please Understand.”

Comic battles stigma

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Daryl_Cunningham

Cartoonist Darryl Cunningham is getting some well-deserved attention for his upcoming book Psychiatric Tales. The book challenges the stigma associated with mental illness and debunks commonly held stereotypes. From what he posted online so far on, it looks like a wonderfully illustrated and well-informed piece. Let’s hope this sells a lot of copies. View chapters from the book on bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.