Sian Laüra
Skipton
Project Question
How can I use joy as a tool to counteract feelings of negativity and improve people’s every day experiences and overall mental health?
Aim and Objective
Simply to spread joy through design. After conducting research into how the brain creates and stores positive experiences – I found that we have to actively work our minds and pay attention to the good that is within the world as our minds instinctively emphasise negative experiences over positive ones. With this in mind, I set out to design and create a space that opens opportunities for interactive and creative play within my local community. Through this active repetition of joyful experiences, I planned to create positive and long-lasting effects.
Final Outcome
Joy in Numbers is dedicated to bringing joy to communities through engagement. Through collaboration with Historic England and Fresh Perspective, I was able engage with local creatives and talents to provide a series of live online workshops/sessions free of charge to the general public.
By creating an interactive space, we have managed to build a community that encourages people to engage in new activities, share their outcomes directly liaise with a range of creative practitioners. Thus, creating a space that brings people together and forms a feeling of community spirit and generosity – and most importantly, joy.
Due to the current Covid-19 regulations, the workshops up to date have primarily been based online. As soon as I’m able to, I’d love for these to evolve into in person workshops, taking place within local business indoor and outdoor venues.
How has your practice developed while studying the MA in Graphic Design with a global cohort?
For sure, I was able to meet a wide range of wonderful individuals, bounce ideas back and forth and gain interesting new perspectives along the way.