In this eye-opening poster series, Nick Barclay depicts the effects of depression with simple geometric designs and solid colors. The six powerful posters highlight individual symptoms of the often-misidentified and often wrongly treated mental illnesses. Barclay tackles the abstract concepts of isolation, withdrawal, dread, hope, clarity and confusion with a combination of lines, circles, dots and bars.
In one example, he visualizes the lack of hope that people with depression experience by drawing green inset rings, symbolizing varying degrees of radiating optimism for the future. A black dot at the very center of the rings represents the depressed individual, who feels cut off from all future happiness and success.
The posters, available for free download from the artist's website, are a powerful tool for helping people on the outside understand what's going on in the minds of individuals struggling with depression. The posters can also provide a sense of solace for people dealing with the common condition, offering simple visualizations that help make sense of a complex and scary place.
