Shifting the focus of burnout from our audiences to ourselves.
Starting at Simple Truth was incredible. From the jump we worked on projects, started preparing for meetings, checking the schedule for important events, etc. There was no holding back and I loved that because it made things go by swiftly. It was clear that this was going to be a great challenge and even though I’m approaching my last semester, I realized I still have a lot to learn.
For example, they always teach us in school the many ways we can be creative and organize our thoughts, but no one ever teaches you how to step back and see the bigger picture. As part of my internship experience, I was asked to work on a personal intern project that reflected my interests and skills as a designer. I had a million ideas on where to take this project.
In one of my other projects at Simple Truth, we found “Unreasonable time pressure, lack of communication and support, and unfair treatment” are main causes of burnout. This inspired me as I began to work on my intern project. I set out to make an illustrative manual on how to avoid and deal with burnout. Having the ability to convey the complex emotions people experience during burnout through illustration was the key for this project.
As I began to design, I knew I needed it to be consistent with the message I had in mind. When the sketching started happening, I began to see how the illustrations would all come together as a series. Working with the Simple Truth design team helped me push the project forward to make sure both the illustrations and typography worked well together and read in a clear and consistent way. Below is an animation of my final manual.
Overall, I learned so much in my time at Simple Truth. I learned how to pay close attention to the details and move forward with feedback. What I loved about Simple Truth is that everyone is like a family. I never felt like I was alone because everyone was always there to lend a hand. Whenever I had questions, I would receive support from everyone! I hope my new manual will be used by creatives for years to come.