External Collab - IBS and diet

The most famous diet used to control IBS is the low FODMAP diet.
FODMAP stands for "Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols". They are short chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine.

The diet does not cure IBS - it is only used for controlling the symptoms of IBS. The diet stops you from consuming foods that your bowels cannot digest, therefore reducing the excess of gas, bloating, cramps and possibility of a bad stomach. Research shows that up to 86% of people who follow a low FODMAP diet notice a significant improvement in symptoms.

The diet reduces the consumption of high FODMAP foods such as:

The diet works by cutting out all of these foods for 6 weeks, and then reintroducing them one by one to see which foods would affect you as an individual, as everyone's bodies are different.

stringent FODMAP restriction is not recommended owing to risks of inadequate nutrient intake and potential adverse effects from altered gut microbiota. - (include significance of following doctors advice!!)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4918736/

There are a variety of factors that affect IBS, and diet is just one of these. If other factors, such as stressors or hormonal changes, are more active on a particular day, then dietary triggers are more likely to push your symptoms "over the edge." - importance of stress management alongside diet

There is no evidence that digestion of food is different in those with IBS compared to those without IBS. Diet, food and eating do not cause IBS.

However, muscles and nerves are over-reactive in IBS. This can cause the bowel to over-respond to stimuli.

Even a normal event such as the act of eating itself, and not a particular food, may aggravate symptoms at times. Eating releases hormones that stimulate the gut. - source (IFFGD Publication #220 by Peter J. Whorwell, MD, Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.)

Alcohol, caffeine and carbonated drinks can also induce symptoms/IBS attack.
Soluble fibre rather than insoluble fibre.
Fried foods.

External Collab - composition experiments

In order to come up with a layout for the magazine I needed to experiment with composition. I laid out some initial compositions in Illustrator, just placing text and photos across the pages. I found this to be a really useful exercise as I came up with lots of different layouts I could use across the magazine. To continue onwards with this exercise I tried to look for some compositions that could be applied to specific pages in my publication. As some pages are more text based and some are more photographic, I will need to adjust the elements a bit more when it comes to the final designs.

1. Cover
2. 
3. personal intro (with photos)
4. contents
5. illustration 
6 - 7. about IBS
8 - 9. illustration and quote 
10 - 15. photo editorial 
16 - 17. bloggers normalizing IBS
18 - 19. Personal page - listen to body
20 - 21. diet
22 - 23 Mindfulness and illustration
24 - 25. yoga section
26 - 27. yoga illustration and other natural remedies
28 - 29. general advice (clothing, dating)
30 - 31. other resources 
32. back 

personal intro 

contents and illustration

about IBS

illustration and quote

photo editorial 

bloggers normalizing IBS

listen to your body

diet

mindfulness and illustration

yoga section

yoga illustration and other natural remedies

general advice

Research project - Hubbub workshop

Uni ran an environmental workshop: 'Living with Less Plastic' by Hubbub who are an environmental charity.

Hubbub communicate environmental issues in a fun, positive way.
They try to improve sustainability in a way that resonates with the public. This includes basing campaigns on fashion, food, homes and neighbourhoods.

They set up the Leeds by Example initiative. This is a 6 month program to recycle food and drinks packaging. One machine in town gives you a 10p token for recycling plastic bottles.

Plastic was first invented in 1869 as a substitute for ivory. Mass production for it began in the 1950's and since then we have produced 18.3 billion tons of it. And the production of it is expected to increase by 40% in the next decade. 
1 million plastic bottles are bought around the world each minute. 
Plastic takes 400+ years to degrade. 8 million tons end up in the ocean each year. 38 million pieces of plastic have been found on Henderson Island, which is uninhabited by people. Microplastic has also been found in 50% of human stools sampled.
Only 58% of water bottles are recycled. The bottles are made of PET plastic, which can easily be recycled, however 15 million per day are not when they could be.
300 tons of litter are cleared from the River Thames each year, 75% of fish have plastic fibres in gut.
There are campaigns such as 
Sky's Ocean Rescue
Daily Mail war on plastic
Blue Planet

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall also bought to the public's attention that 1 in 400 of 2.5billion coffee cups are recycled. Since this now 1 in 25 are recycled.

The government has been attempting to make changes to reduce the use of plastic
- introducing a 5p pay for plastic bags. This has reduced the use of plastic bags by 83%
- eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years
- proposed plastic free aisles in supermarkets

Companies have also been trying to do their bit to reduce plastic use
- Iceland are aiming to go plastic free on their own brand products by 2023
- wetherspoons have replaced their plastic straws with paper ones
- waitrose have eliminated disposable coffee cups within their cafe and only serve drinks in a reusable cup
- Starbucks introduced a 5p levy on their cups which is donated to Hubbub
- Sky have created a 25 million innovation fund

Zero Waste Leeds
directory of zero waste shops

ecotopia
seagullsreuse,org
the jar tree
leedsbikemill.org/volunteer
leeds repair cafe
Leeds union zero waste shop

One interesting thing I learnt was about contamination. If something is thrown into the recycling and cannot be recycled, or leaks etc. all over the rest of the recycling then the whole lot is contaminated and will be thrown away. Also, compostable cups aren't always the best option either. The cups cannot be thrown into the recycling, and can't be composted in a landfill. The conditions need to be just right in order for the cups to break down. This is a problem as students do not have a composting system readily available to them, the cup will just sit in landfill and add to the pile of waste.

Plastic is also found in surprising places
clothing
chewing gum
shampoo
teabags
sanitary wear

4 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Responsible use

We then did a workshop in groups where we identified use of plastics within the home, on the go and at work and how we could swap these for something else to reduce the use of plastic.

This workshop was really useful as I got to learn about Hubbub, as well as different initiatives that have really helped to reduce the use of plastic and make a positive change. I also found some zero waste stores that I could research for my project, and I got the email of Lucy who works at zero waste Leeds so I could ask her questions in the future.

External Collab - revised planning

In our initial meeting, myself, Pippa and Angie planned the page order and content for the magazine. 

1. Cover
2. 
3. personal intro (with photos) 
4. contents
5. illustration
6 & 7. intro to IBS (including text and diagrams
8. & 9. illustration and contact blogger
10 - 17. photo editorial
18 - 19. bloggers normalizing gut issues
20 - 21. personal page - listen to body
22 - 23. food and natural remedies/recommendations
24 - 25. diary
26 - 27 exercise 
28 - 29. dating
30 - 31 ?
32. back 

After research and Angie's photoshoot, the pages will have to be rearranged to create a better, more cohesive layout. Angie gave me all the photos however only edited and recommended 5, less than expected. This is fine as I can cut down the editorial section and instead fill with more content. Pippa will be providing more illustrations than originally expected too so this can even out the numbers slightly. 

1. Cover
2. 
3. personal intro (with photos)
4. contents
5. illustration 
6 - 7. about IBS
8 - 9. illustration and quote 
10 - 15. photo editorial 
16 - 17. bloggers normalizing IBS
18 - 19. Personal page - listen to body
20 - 21. diet
22 - 23 Mindfulness and illustration
24 - 25. yoga section
26 - 27. yoga illustration and other natural remedies
28 - 29. general advice (clothing, dating)
30 - 31. other resources 
32. back 

Internal Collab - billboard

To expand our campaign, we decided to create billboard advertisements.

Initially, I created the advertisements as an extension of our existing poster, featuring the same banner and text running across the top of the design. However, we felt we could vary the outcomes more, not use the same design across different outputs, but still keep the same imagery and branding to make sure that the designs were cohesive.

Instead, I decided to swap out a photo for a larger section that would use the brand colours and logo to keep the campaign obvious it was for The Case For Her, and also feature the slogan in a larger capacity. This makes the slogan have a stronger impact, and I think the use of this purple compliments the other colours within the campaign. 

One of the mockups we had allowed us to create an advertisement featuring all of our models. This allows us to show the diversity within the campaign and make sure everyone is represented. The same design was applied in the smaller billboard design as this was successful.

Internal Collab - period box research

Emma and I researched into existing period product packaging, looking at both pads and tampons. We were looking for a few different considerations including 

• design
• language
• content
• use of icons
• shape
• size
• fastening

From the bodyform boxes, the packaging style was typical of what you would find across other period products. The box was pink and decorated with 'sparkly' patterns. Both of these design features lend themselves to a feminine aesthetic. Tampax however used less gendered style, using a deep blue and circular yellow patterns across it. This made the box look more medical/clinical than bodyform.

Both boxes had a fastening where one flap of the opening was glued to the other, so to first open the box you would have to rip these flaps apart. The bodyform box also featured a perforated section where you could rip this out and have the box dispense pads through the hole made. The tampon box however had a handy tab that could refasten the box when not in use. 

The bodyform box was taller than it was wide, although the orientation of the sides of the box varied. One was vertical to match the front of the package, and one was horizontal, so the box could be stored in either orientation. The tampon box was square, and wider than it was deep, this looked to be the best way to package condoms. Notable extras in the design features was that the body form box featured a cut out in the front of the box so you could see the pads through.

Content

The content for the products varied across type and brand. The recurring features were obviously the name of the product, as well as the number inside the package, and the type/absorbency of each product. Any other information seemed to describe beneficial features of the product e.g. fresh, comfort etc.

Also in use on the packaging was the use of imagery to show what the product is, as well as icons to represent absorbency. This is clear in getting across what the product inside is, and I think icons could be used in our designs as this seems to be a useful feature, instead of using ambiguous words that could be open to interpretation.

Internal Collab - packaging style research

From our questionnaire, we discovered that respondents wanted packaging that was:

• cool
• modern art
• something they'd be happy spending money on
• not pink/flowery
• gendered language free
• stated purpose, not tailored towards a particular market

From this, Emma and decided that the aesthetic we should go for should be colourful, yet minimalistic. We thought that the use of colour would satisfy the 'cool' 'modern art' specifications, as well as tie in with our campaign. We had already used a bright orange and bright blue to attempt to avoid gendered colours. Carrying over these colours into the packaging design would create a cohesive set of outcomes, as well as satisfy the 'no pink' request.

The minimalistic approach came from the mention of patterns within period product packaging design. The packaging typically carries a pattern, normally of flowers or something typically feminine. By avoiding a pattern, we would avoid this association. Most importantly, we listened to the non gendered language and the concept of selling products based on their purpose, and not tailoring them towards a particular market. Selling products for their purpose alone would be a very direct, no nonsense approach to selling, and we wanted to reflect this by avoiding a lot of text and information. By clearly stating what the product is and only accompanying this with necessary information this automatically lead us to the concept of minimalistic design.

• Uses bold colour to signify separate products within the whole range
• big numbers to further enforce the separate products
• strong use of type 
• accompanying consistent monochrome palette

• bold use of colour as main design feature
• clear direct differentiation between types of milk (by fat percentage)
• still using colour but as alternate way of signifying
• strong use of typography

• colour as one of two main design features
• limited typography
• instead uses clear as icons as other design feature
• mostly muted colour palette
• 
  

• both use a monochrome colour palette
• simple shape packaging (no nonsense)
• bold sans serif type
• type states what is in the product nothing else
• differing weights in type makes sure design is kept interesting
• almost clinical/scientific feel

Internal Collab - Editing photos

Internal Collab - LBGT design

Callen - Lorde

LGBTQ+ health organization

uses varying colours in a nod to the rainbow

elongated type, stamp like typography

created a new identity that served as an homage to Callen-Lorde’s activist roots

anti - corporate identity unseen in healthcare

empowering and cheerful

Pyramid seven period boxers
genderless period boxers
female underwear is shaped for sanitary products, boxers are not 
features gusset to attach pads to 

Transgender spreads: Galileu magazine

features bold big type

use of photography

monochrome with one additional colour