Meet PMDD: A conceptual awareness campaign

Project overview

• Assignment brief: Design a “for good” sustainability project across at least three mediums
• Topic choice: Mental health, focusing on PMDD awareness and reducing stigma
• Role: UX/UI Designer, Campaign and Content Strategist
• Timeline: 2024
• Type: Coursework project combining UX/UI and branding
• Tools: Figma, InDesign
• Primary audiences: People with PMDD, their partners and support systems. Secondary, the general public.
• Research: Women's health projects, PMDD medical literature, and interviews about lived experience.
• Original concept vs. final direction: I first planned a t-shirt as a wearable symbol of solidarity. But peer feedback and early discussions made it clear the journal would support daily coping and learning better than a t-shirt, so I shifted direction. The sense of solidarity is still there through community events and social media.

The challenge

The assignment asked us to design a sustainability project for social good. We had full freedom to choose the topic and approach. I chose PMDD because it affects many people but is often misunderstood. It gets dismissed as “just PMS” on the regular, but it’s much more severe and can be debilitating. I wanted to create a campaign to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and support people with PMDD and their loved ones.

The campaign needed to work across several mediums. At least one medium should be analogue. The primary goal was to reach two groups: people with PMDD and their support networks. Secondary, the general public. I created a campaign that stays cohesive while serving different needs. It encompasses private symptom tracking to public events and everyday awareness.

Campaign scope:

• Digital elements: Landing page and social media ads to promote awareness
• Analogue element: Journal for symptom tracking and partner dialogue to normalize conversations

Creative process

The design

What I learned

• Sensitive topics need grounding: The design and content should lean on both facts and empathy. Some early ideas lacked facts, others empathy. Finding the right balance meant combining medically accurate information with real stories. This way the experience could be both comforting and truthful at the same time.
• A good core idea helps the design: The campaign spoke to people with PMDD, partners, and the general public. I didn't force one solution to fit all groups. Instead I created different touchpoints for each. The content was similar, but not identical. This created connection between them while ensuring each group got tailored content.
• Remember who you're designing for: The resources were for people dealing with PMDD symptoms. Every choice had to work in both calm moments and crisis moments. What feels clear on a good day can feel exhausting on a bad one. I designed with this in mind, aiming to make something that felt easy and supportive at any time.

References

I developed this project through research into existing PMDD awareness initiatives. This included related women's health projects, and scientific research and other topic discussons. The approach combines evidence-based information with lived experiences to create an empathetic campaign.

Research sources:

• International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD)
• McPin Foundation: PMDD Awareness
• Mind: PMDD Information for Friends and Family
• PMS-förbundet: Har jag PMS/PMDS?
• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists: Raising Awareness of PMDD