Hi there, my name is Brie and I am originally from Waiuku, a small town in southwest Auckland. I enjoy reading and have an ever growing book collection. I have always been quite creative and enjoyed drawing and art class throughout school. It wasn't until year 12 when design was offered as a subject, that I realised it was something I could see myself pursuing as a career. I chose the University of Waikato as it was a good equal distance between my parent's homes. Coming to the end of my degree, I have realised I made a good choice as I have had a good experience studying design at Waikato university and from this course, I have found that I enjoy print design, branding and illustration.
Project Description
WAM (Women with Autism Matter) is a campaign project that educates and raises awareness on New Zealand women with autism. I aimed to create this for approximately 16 to 25 year old females who might be on the spectrum or have been recently diagnosed with autism. I wanted to make women feel identified by educating them on autism and help them understand how they may function as well as offer help and support resources. I believe my strengths lie within print design compared to media or interface so I wanted to create a physical campaign using a pamphlet/poster that can be advertised in doctor’s waiting rooms, guidance counsellor offices in high schools and universities as well as a roadshow booth. I added individual life experiences with autism to further connect my readers to the topic. The choice to use the rainbow as my colour scheme was inspired by the fact that it represents the spectrum and it is commonly used within an infinity symbol to represent autism awareness and the community.
I decided to choose this project as it is a topic that I wanted to learn more about, myself, and I believe it is something that needs more recognition. I chose women specifically as it is proven to be harder to diagnose in women possibly because they are better at masking the symptoms than men. Therefore, diagnosis usually happens later in life, if at all. Potentially, this could lead to them not receiving the proper help and support they need to function well in their professional and daily lives.
