The Quarry

Our design problem was to encourage university students to consider their mental health and seek help if they needed it. Our solution to this problem revolves around the use of rocks as a metaphor for the weight of stress, anxiety and mental ill-health. We’ve used this metaphor in a number of fun, humorous and lighthearted ways. Firstly, we created a short animation that tells the story of Barry, and how on a bad day his rocks built up to crushing point, until he asked for help. From this animation, we created a range of deliverables, such as posters, stickers and a tram wrap.

We also designed a potential O-Week Event in which people could make their own pet rocks. Another fun way to interact with our campaign was the large “Uni Boulder” that we made. This could be placed at random and hilarious places around campus for people to find and photograph. All of these deliverables link back to our social media pages and website, which can serve as an ongoing hub for student interaction. These pages could provide further support, community and information regarding mental health.