Existing Menopause Instagrams
- Lots available, linked to other platforms such as TikTok, Facebook etc.
- Either by women experiencing it who want to share and help other women, or by healthcare professionals
- Highlights of podcasts, news articles, promotions of apps etc.
- All inconsistent design aesthetics on all pages, which would be a fun part to improve on within the subject area
- All aesthetics following the stereotypical feminine art style, with floral type and imagery, soft blues, pinks and purples
- This is appropriate for women older who will be experiencing menopause on average as they are from that generation, however it should be modernised for the time and present a new, more gender inclusive direction for non-binary individuals with uteruses and trans people with uteruses, and women from younger generations who don't want to have their educational celebratory messages about menopause and premenopausal in a traditional pink, what feels patronising tone
- Facebook pages are all about support as well for symptoms and for those to find a safe space to discuss their experiences
- No celebratory pages
"Technically, menopause is only one day in a woman's life, which is exactly when she has not had a period for 12 months," she says. "It's the period of time leading up to menopause that causes all the trouble."
Many listeners wrote to us in response to our call-out for individual experiences with menopause to say that they struggled to get medical support for perimenopause in their mid-30s and early 40s.
Ways to cope with symptoms
For people approaching this stage of life or who are already going through it, here are four steps for making this transition more manageable.
1. Get educated
"Information is key," says Joffe. She suggests that people approaching perimenopause age empower themselves with knowledge.
The Massachusetts General Hospital Blum Center has a curated list of suggested books. The National Women's Health Information Center has a section on menopause and perimenopause. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also has a perimenopause FAQ.
2. Monitor your health
Joffe encourages people to track symptoms: "menstrual patterns, hot flash patterns, mood issues, major life triggers." Using a paper calendar or an app to monitor symptoms can make it easier to give your doctor details that can be otherwise hard to remember.
"Knowing that information, somebody can say, 'Well, over the last six months, I only had two periods or I had hot flashes almost every day,' " Joffe says, "or, 'My mood was as bad as it gets for only two days or for a third of the time.' "
And if you bring a thorough health history to your physician and they still give you a shrug, consider a specialist. "There are OB/GYNs that specialize in perimenopause and menopause," Joffe says.
3. Practice smart self-care
Joffe encourages women to protect themselves from things that might worsen their mood or well-being. This includes reducing stress when they can and making sure they get enough sleep.
"Sleep is critical," she says. "Getting a good night's sleep, and making sure it's not broken in the middle of the night."
There are lots of online tools and apps to help with sleep, she adds.
And familiar health advice like getting enough exercise, eating well and moderating alcohol consumption apply to perimenopause too, says Dr. Steven Goldstein who is the co-author of Could It Be ... Perimenopause? and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the New York University School of Medicine.
At her doctor's suggestion, Edrie developed a mindfulness practice. She says, "I thought it sounded a little 'woo-woo' at first, but being able to pay attention to what my body is doing and why helps me separate those symptoms from what I need to get through my day. So I'm not overwhelmed by what my body is putting me through."
4. Cultivate community
Most of the women who wrote to NPR about their experiences going through perimenopause said that they felt alone and isolated during this transition.
Having a community to talk to can make it easier to cope with the changes, says Payne, who's going through perimenopause herself. She says she has found support from a few close friends from college.
"To be able to reach out to a group of women who are our same age and say, 'Did you go through this? And, you know, it does provide support. I think that's another version of a coping skill," she says.
Edrie says she joined a few Facebook groups dedicated to perimenopause and found one in particular where she got tips on coping with one of her most troublesome symptoms: brain fog. The conversations made her feel understood and validated.
"I can post about it in this group, and, you know, 10 women will be like, 'Oh, last week, that totally happened to me,' or like, 'I forgot my kid's computer on the top of my car and drove away,' " she says.
She says that being able to commiserate helps her get through symptoms "that maybe don't have a magic pill." Some of her online friendships have even taken shape offline. Edrie has met up with some of the Facebook group members while touring the country with her band.
Now she's a big proponent of finding community and speaking out. "As we get older, we get more and more quiet about what's going on with our bodies and ourselves and our lives. We kind of just, buck up and deal with it."
"And I feel like if we talked more about the things that are happening to our bodies — even if we can't actually do anything about some of these things — it would just be better for society in general if we were more vocal about it."
>> What should be included in the campaign references:
> Info
> Apps
> Community Pages Links
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Me_No_Pause Visual Language
> Subvert pausing and stop signs to show no pausing/stopping?
> Skip symbol itself actually works well in incorporating both half the pause symbol and half the play symbol, suggesting what could be a pause turning into an acceleration
> Glitching pause symbol interesting but glitch itself is digital and not reflective of tone or subject as real life issue
> Confusing messages with the mixed stop and go signal, attempt to present shift from pausing perspective on menopause to kick starting life is not clear
> Perhaps rather than focus on pause subverting, visuals should be on symbols of new chapter, beginnings, accelerating, celebrations, empowerment, all key messages in the campaign that would all equally work in communicating subject and tone
> Turning female gender symbol into a go sign would be easy but this is not inclusive of all people who go through perimenopause and menopause
> Using typical empowerment symbols like the hands holding the uterus or having the uterus with a heart feels too typical, common and somewhat too 'love your uterus look after it, nice and pretty', rather than 'powerful, change, exciting' etc.
> More illustrative of empowerment and celebratory rather than symbol or 'logo'
> Presenting the hot flashes as something empowering the individual and taking it with stride is also a very strong image, and the illustration feels more modern (green nail paint, purple less traditional make up on older woman etc)
> Such imagery of each symptom would be great as general visuals for the campaign and social media platforms
> Really like the use of collaging photography to present the different symptoms and feelings of menopause through visuals
> Makes each person look different and individual as well, important for inclusivity
> May not be a mainstream aesthetic that appeals to everyone however, whereas the more commercial 2D illustrations above are
Let's Re-Brand the Menopause | CrunchyTales
- presenting uterus as empowered, this image feels gimmicky with the stereotypical male muscles (completely out of place)
- don't want it to feel gimmicky, despite wanting a strong visual it would be more worth it if the visual was appropriate, empathic, bold
> They're direction = following form of uterus in creating powerful image of bird
> Not necessarily strongly linked to menopause in visuals, as it's difficult to find a logo for me_no_pause perhaps it's worth looking into a less linked image or a type based one?
MNP
M_N_P
> Sense of community in main visual of campaign?
> Could main picture be collection of individuals instead of uterus symbol? Main message should centre around empowering and doing things for yourself, freedom
> Existing charity and movement logos research
> Lots of the charity logos don't have visuals that actually reflect the subject, but rather more abstract representations or just distinctive logo formats
> Me Too Movement uses typical female gender sign and other typical visuals for women empowerment that I feel is over used and too gimmicky and not inclusive for this topic
Peer Feedback
- Having 'pause' as a pause symbol works in your favour as if it was just me no pause viewers would be move likely to miss the image of pause
- Simple ones with me and no above pause symbol most successful
- Pause play button with P extended does communicate well as the tail of the P letter form prevents it from being a full triangular form
> Difficulty of aligning the letterforms with each bar in the pause sign while also ensuring the weight of each letterform is equal and balanced alongside each other > Alterations in typefaces saw some improvement but created inconsistency between style by minute amounts
> Bold and sans serif most appropriate for modern, powerful aesthetic and to coincide with form of pause sign
> Rounded edges of letterforms creates a more futuristic approach, and a more organic tone to each letterform
> Retaining some of the angular edges and points within the letterforms wherein they are points not meeting the edge of the letterform space
> This creates an almost villainous aesthetic, creating an emphasis on the sharper points within each letter form
> This is successful in creating a powerful tone, one that says 'we're not following the rules'
> Gradients strongly used by refinery and are good for creating sense of depth without use of texture
> Angular gradient style to suggest clock shape (need to check if this communicates successfully)
> Type could be more prominent
> Addition of another gradient circle above with use of angle style allows motion of type with change in colours and visibility, which reinforces sense of disappearing and reappearing
> Of the letterforms nearly being hidden away but managing to reappear, like menopausal women being told they are at the end and should suffer in silence
> Movement of angled circle may be too alike radar compared to clock, but this may not be unsuccessful
> radar suggests finding something that is hidden, out of sight, much like menopause in society
> As a logo itself it isn't very clear
> Motion of letterforms reappearing could be used to emphasise message but for a still visual it should feel more powerful, bold, prominent, clear
Peer Feedback
- clock motif motion is very powerful
- type and letterforms is not as powerful, half roundedness could be altered to match more successfully with colour palette chosen and general direction
TO DO
> Primary Research Call with Alice, experienced Menopause cis-woman and nurse
> Finish Logo
> Create social media posts and animations
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