“See The Signs” Campaign
A poster series promoting social connection and suicide awareness among U.S. college students.
Artist
Clare Morris (2022)
Caption
There are many social determinants of health influencing suicide risk in college students—economic stability and community support should be identified as two substantial risk factors. Studies have shown that low-income students are more likely to commit suicide than high-income peers. Additionally, first-generation college students, who may lack family support in comparison to their peers, experience higher suicide rates compared to the general U.S. college student population. College students that perceive their social support network to be lacking are also more likely to commit suicide—loneliness in college students has been found to be associated with greater suicide ideation. Furthermore, clinical studies on suicide found that loneliness was the most frequently cited cause of suicide ideation in 47% of adults with a history of suicide ideation. Notably, research has also found that excessive social media and technology use increases loneliness among college-aged individuals.
Artist Lens
As a college student myself, I feel that student mental health is not a priority for many, which can quickly lead to a mental health crisis and, eventually, suicide on college campuses. This topic is one that has become especially important to me in recent years, as I had a close friend greatly affected by the suicide of one of their college-student relatives. Ultimately, the motivation behind the posters I created is to change the culture on college campuses to prioritize interpersonal relationships and place less importance on social media presence/one's curated image that they present to the public eye. My target audience is U.S. college students, and this is reflected in my choice of creating solely posters instead of a mix of posters and billboards. College students don't often drive around and instead congregate on campus. Thus, placing posters all around campus seems a much more effective way to reach this target audience than with large highway billboards. I would envision the more serious, detailed, and somber posters I created in more private yet frequently trafficked campus places, like bathroom stall doors. In contrast, some of the more simplistic posters would function well in areas where people spend just a few moments, like a student union building door, classroom hallway, or dining hall entryways.
Media
Digital