This was a month-long project completed for my major studio course in Spring 2016. I decided to tackle the subject of women and body image, designing a notebook that guided the user through a 30-day journey that aims to help her build a healthy relationship with her body. I chose to focus on women because my research showed that eating disorders disproportionately affected females, and I felt there were such large systemic issues that contributed to these statistics. Thus I set out to encourage this vulnerable group to take a critical look at the deeply embedded culture of dieting and fatphobia.

What I learned:

• Graphic design! In grad school, for each project I chose (a) a topic I wanted to research more about, and (b) a skill that I wanted to learn or get better at. Arriving in school armed with an environmental science degree and two years at a neurosurgery lab under my belt, I was overwhelmed and insecure at even the thought of graphic design (especially because most of my peers had had either academic or professional experience in it, or both). So I took this project, as well as a free student Lynda account, as an opportunity to learn something about graphic design and layouts.

• How to take a straightforward school assignment and end up writing an entire book!

• How design can be therapeutic