How the Irish design community is supporting mental health awareness
reports out The Institute of Designers in Ireland’s launch of ‘Mind over Matter’ fundraising event.
When Kim Mackenzie-Doyle became president of the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) in May 2017, one of the aims of her year-long tenure was to promote mental health awareness within the design community.
It was an issue close to the product designer’s heart, as she was keenly aware of how pervasive the effects of poor mental health could be.
“My father had depression, so we lived with it growing up. It has always been a part of my life. To me, it was always more prevalent in men, and then working in a male-dominated consultancy, I was witness to some of my colleagues struggling with issues.
“Then I read a study where it said that creatives were 25% more likely to suffer mental-health issues in their lifetime than the general public. It made so much sense to me.
“We have a lot of different stakeholders on projects — we have the clients, we have the user, we have our bosses, so there is a lot of pressure.
“We have to remain open to inspiration, you are getting judged all the time from your peers, clients, bosses, and you are expected to produce exceptional work every time. It’s not 9-to-5, we don’t switch off.”
And she sees her role as being an advocate for mental health awareness.
“IDI is about promoting a stronger more effective design community and from an employer’s perspective to have healthy, very creative staff, is a win-win.
“We wanted to make sure that people had the opportunity to have that conversation and reduce the stigma around it”.
Her intention took shape in the form of the Mind Over Matter initiative which ran last year for the first time, in conjunction with Aware, a non-profit group providing education, support and information around positive mental health, depression and bi-polar disorder.
“We had a national day of design in aid of mental health, and we had about 130 designers give up a day of their time, and we booked each hour of their day as a consultation.
“Businesses came in and they had the experience and expertise of a designer, and they discussed how design could add value to their business, for example, in branding, product development, or design strategy.
“We had multiple venues across Ireland, and it was really successful, we had exceptional feedback from the business involved, but actually a key part of that was to get the designers themselves to network for the day.
“We have a lot of sole traders and people working in their own homes, and it was a way to get them out — to make sure that they know that there is a design community out there, because it is very reassuring to know that somebody might have the same issue as you — the same stresses, that your friends might not understand.
“It was also to let the business community know that there was a design community in their area, so that regionally they didn’t have to go to Dublin if they are in Cork, that there’s a thriving design community there. For the designers involved, they obviously got new business. It was great for everyone”.
Mind Over Matter will now be held each October on World Mental Health Day. Speaking at the launch, Kirk McCormack, (who took over the IDI presidency from Mackenzie-Doyle in May) wil continue to support Aware.
“The IDI is honoured to try to assist Aware, in a very small way.
“And particularly, IDI is now more conscious of its obligation, as a professional representative body for designers, to inform and educate on the nature, extent and consequences of depression within our specific community.”
This coming October, Mind Over Matter will run in nine venues — in Belfast, Cork, Carlow, Dundalk, Waterford, Limerick and Galway, and two venues in Dublin.
The venue in Cork will be Republic of Work on South Mall, which offers flexible workspaces for freelancers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and established businesses in all sectors.
Andrew Brett is a brand consultant, with a graphic design background, and is the venue manager for the Cork event.
“Essentially my role on the day will be to coordinate the designers who are on-site; to liaise with the venue representation themselves; and to welcome the members of the business community — to make sure that they’re catered for, and that they get to meet with their designer as scheduled.
“We’ve got great support from our venue. There’s a lot coming together, there’s really good energy — but the more we talk about it and the more people are getting involved it’s really becoming something.
“I’m really glad to be a part of it, and I want to put more into it.”
The Limerick event will take place in ENGINE on Cecil St, which was set up by Innovate Limerick and which, similar to Republic of Work, offers businesses and entrepreneurs a variety of fixed office spaces, hot desk options, meeting rooms and training rooms.
The venue manager for the Limerick event is Louise Lawlor, who has had her own graphic design business, Blink Design, for almost 17 years.
She attended one of the inaugural Mind Over Matter events last year and was happy to volunteer for this year’s event.
The deadline for designers to sign up to volunteer their expertise for Mind Over Matter closed on August 22, so the focus now is on getting the message out to businesses to book appointments, Lawlor says:
“We’ve been working really closely with IDI and Kirk, and working really hard to get sponsors and partners on board.
“We have LEO Limerick on board, the local enterprise office, as a gold sponsor, so we’re delighted, but we’re busy working on other sponsors as well.
“The big element really will be letting the business community know that this is what we’re doing, that it’ll be a beneficial event for both the design community and the business community.”
Businesses, entrepreneurs or start-ups can book a one-hour consultation for €75 from a professionally qualified designer from a range of backgrounds, with 100% of the fee going to Aware.
The booking site goes live today and a second launch, to mark this next step in the initiative, will run across the following venues on Thursday next, August 30: ENGINE in Limerick; Boxworks in Waterford; Mimosa in Carlow; and The Dean in Dublin.
These business-focused launches will run as lunch-time networking events and will each feature a panel discussion of business leaders, alongside a leading designer.
The aim is to encourage those attending to book an hour with a designer on this national day of creativity in aid of mental health awareness.
Mackenzie-Doyle says: “Last year’s event was a big success, and we want to build on that.
“We want to get the local business community working with the local creative community.
“It’s for a wonderful cause and a great investment for your business — so what are you waiting for? Book now!”
For more information on Mind Over Matter or for businesses who wish to book a design appointment, visit: www.idimindovermatter.ie
www.idi-design.ie
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