Unwind is a branding and packaging project designed to stimulate people's senses in a manner that helps alleviate their anxieties through affordable sensory experiences.
Major project
Unwind – Your Emergency Anxiety Toolkit!
A Look Inside the Kit
Unwind is based on the Grounding Technique in Psychology. The grounding technique is an in-time method of relief which can provide immediate relaxation while preventing individuals from spiralling from anxious thoughts by using each of their senses to “ground them”. Unwind, as a kit, provides one item for each of the senses: taste, touch smell, and hear while the kit itself is an overall visual stimulus.
Products in use
'Unwind' is defined as to relax after a period of work or tension. The brand's name is based on this behaviour of relaxing or relieving tension. It was picked as it is memorable yet calming, dissuading any sense of intimidation. This was particularly important, keeping international students in mind, so the brand's appeal would not be limited to strong English speakers.
Unwind Posters
As a vision, Unwind not only aims to be sold online to the internet generation but also to mental health professionals and counselling clinics to give clients or to those who are looking for any kind of relief from their symptoms of panic and anxiety attacks. These posters expand the contents of the box into the spaces they are likely to be offered in.
What Else is Inside?
With detail and research, each item in the kit was carefully chosen and the kit was curated. Colour Theory helped define the colour palette, with a mixture of theories, and cultural symbolism offering various reasons for why they are calming to see and are thus beneficial in regards to distress and anxiety.
Unwind Products
The branding and its accompanying visual language reflect the products that are inside, both in their stress-alleviating nature but also in the information they provide. Small cuttings of tree trunks and branches offer a meditative sense of touch as they are encouraged to trace the path of the tree rings with their fingers. The tree cuttings, citrus candies, lavender-scented oils, and wind chimes combine into a series mini-activities that equip its users to take control.
The Unwind Kit (Unboxed)
A key element of the brand's identity was speaking clearly yet poetically to its audience. Continuous line illustrations aided the descriptions of products whilst creating minimalist designs that signalled the brand's goal of combatting overwhelming emotions through concentration and information reduction. Overall, the project contributes towards helping solve mental health crises for individuals that can be used in line with coping techniques that empower people in lieu of medical attention.
Annika Pillai
Major project
Unwind – Your Emergency Anxiety Toolkit!