“Five Years” pulls from a 17 year old patient’s firsthand documents, journals, test results, and psychiatrist notes. This pieces purpose is to advocate for those who have been harmed from institutions meant to help, and to showcase the struggles of being in your adolescence.

This graphic design piece was created on Canva and utilized journal entries, screenshots from MyChart, and direct messages from a patient and a doctor.

The first slide features a triangular black and white collage that consists of photos of the front page of a journal labelled “Sarah’s Over Dose”. Behind the triangle is layered text that appear to be from another journal in a Sans-Serif font in a white, unicase style. The text is white and the background is back. Over the text, there are two overlays. There are two fonts: a handwriting-esque font (Lazydog) and a Sans-Serif font (Glacial Indifference) in a bright red colour. The text in the upper-right corner is a statistic about deaths by suicide and the text in the bottom-left corner is a quote from The 1975’s song, “The 1975“, which additionally acknowledges the age of the patient.

The second side features the same theme with a triangular collage of photos of handwritten journal entries with a black and white filter. This time, the background features an inverted chart of a patient’s acetaminophen levels, and a gauge for healthy acetaminophen levels in the blood.

The third slide aligns closer to the first slide and features the same triangular collage and white journal entries in a Sans-Serif font in a unicase style. Behind the text is a faded, inverted list of prescribed medications. This layer may be difficult to see.

The fourth slide aligns with the second slide’s theme. The triangular collage remains, but this background features screenshots of a conversation between a patient and a doctor. The snippets of the conversation express frustration and difficulty with treatment, and there is a negative tone. The final text is in the same bright red colour in a Lazydog font and reads out a statistic acknowledging the abuse that many go through when attending an inpatient facility.

Each slide features a snippet from a patient’s firsthand experience that highlights the potential struggles and pain of the experience.