What a terrible name for such a great campaign.
One thing that makes me sad is that their website has this posted:
Does mental illness count? YES! See more here.
Now, it makes me very happy that they're including mental disorders, but it's unfortunate that we still have to ask that question. Mental illness is a misnomer. In mental disorders, there are things going wrong with your brain. I read somewhere that the brain is important.
Please help spread the word about the awareness week!
12 comments:
I will add a link to my blog. The awareness week is important, but the name is awful!
I'm having a hard time getting past the FIVE fonts used in the ONE sentence at the top, and the Mr. Yuk toxic waste glowy halloween colors.
I propose a Global and All Too Visible Bad Graphic Design Awareness Millenium.
What an awful name and presentation. A touch of orange and it would have reminded me of Halloween
The green! I knew something bothered me, but couldn't put a finger on it. It's the alien/Halloween scary green. Maybe next year they'll do a better job.
Ew.
Sorry, I can't post about that yet. I have to wait until the supportive chunk of my brain beats the aesthetic appreciation sense into submission. Right now I can't get past its pained screaming.
Okay, since we're on a roll, there's something else that bothers me about this poster (actually, everything does. There's just not one example of decency in design in the whole thing).
"WOW! Nearly 1 in 2 people in the U.S. have a chronic illness"
WOW! An interjection starts a sentence right! WOW is for, well, the best Schoolhouse Rock ever, and sleazy ads trying to sell you pills for instant weight loss.
manxome: I have to admit to being a little dubious about this campaign. It has the feel of astroturfing to it. It's sponsored by "Rest Ministries HopeKeepers" which offers their "Wow! 2 for 1 subscription" to HopeKeepers Magazine. HopeKeepers Magazine is described as "A magazine just for you that offers a Christian perspective for this chronic illness journey." Plus the website for this campaign has all kinds of things for sale. Their webring seems to be more about sites offering stuff for sale than offering support. And the blog of Lisa Copen, "founder and director of Rest Ministries and HopeKeepers for the chronically ill" seems to give at least tacit approval to James Dobson's books about raising children.
This is an imporant issue, one that I suffer with (sever lymphedema and CHF) and deserves to have much more attention, especially because for many of us these are also disabling conditions. But I've got to say that my skeptometer is reading in the red zone here.
It's certainly possible I'm way too jaded and distrustful of religious organizations trying to sell me something. It's entirely possible that Rest Ministries is sincere and does real, positive work. Does anyone know anything about this organization?
tng-Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk! That's what I get for not doing my homework. Oh (clutches forehead), maybe we can have our own Invisible Illness Awareness Week?
Well, to be clear spotted-e... I want to be wrong. Like I said, important cause and something I personally relate to. There's also an element of disablism involved in that people think if they can't see your disability then you must not have one.
So anyway, I want to be wrong, just color me skeptical for now (it's a shade of ultraviolet doncha know).
Starting our own Invisible Illness Awareness Week... Hmm. A whole week, I'm not sure that's doable. A day maybe? Let me let that idea marinate for a while.
All that, and, I get what they mean about "invisible illness," but something about the combo of the 50's garish color scheme and that phrasing is making me think in fact they are campaigning on behalf of that dastardly Invisible Person Syndrome.
"goddam! i can see right through you! no, i mean i can SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU!"
wooOOOoooo
neural:
I have that same jaded distrust thing, which is why I didn't go after the ministry aspect, but yeah. I saw all the promo materials for sale and I certainly didn't miss the "ministries" part, but like you, did a pre-emptive backing off.
An invisible illness day? Sure. Heck, who do I know with an illness that's NOT invisible?
Post a Comment