Time to Talk – Stuart Semple’s designs for mental health
What unites Ruby Wax, Frankie Sandford from The Saturdays, Ricky Hatton, Russell Kane and Rachel Bruno?
Mental health, it turns out – and more specifically, the Time to Talk temporary tattoo campaign, promoted by a design by artist Stuart Semple.
The campaign is run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and aims to ‘end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems’.
Semple was brought in to create the design having been an ambassador for Mind for the last few years.
The graphic uses a winged heart device, meaning supporters literally wear their hearts on their sleeves.
‘As it’s a social media thing, the design had to translate well for Instagram and Twitter and things, so it had to be quite bold and graphic’, says Semple.
‘It had to fit in with what the campaign’s trying to say, but still be quite fluffy and cartoony.’
It’s hoped that the campaign will encourage people to open up about mental health, either online or in person, and promote more open, honest support for people affected by the issues.
‘Having experienced the effects of mental health problems first hand, I do believe there is a lack of awareness’, says Semple.
‘It’s sad to see individuals not wanting to speak up about their problems because of the discrimination they might face. My design is intended to literally lift the hearts of people with mental health problems.’
Although the campaign is running until the end of the month, it’s been such a success so far that the temporary tattoos have now run out. However, people are still encouraged to download the graphic from the Time to Talk website, and spread the word through social media, or on their email signatures.
Time to Talk is funded by the Department of Health, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund. To get involved in the project or find out more visit time-to-change.org.uk or tweet #timetotalk
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Stuart Semple, an artist, is outspoken in his support of the advantages of creating and enjoying art for people’s mental health. Stuart established the creative treatments fund as an advocate for the charity Mind, helping to promote art therapy activities across England and Wales. Among his magnificent public works is HappyCloud, where he covered the London skyline with tens of thousands of pink clouds with smiley faces made of helium soap and vegetable dye. I was so moved by his thoughts that I once had his drawings and creations altered at https://wannabeink.com/collections/full-sleeve-temporary-tattoos to be used as temporary tattoos.