For my senior thesis I wanted to talk about a topic that is close to me and many of my peers: period shame.
The average woman spends an approximate total of ten years of her life on her period. However, so many people, especially young people with periods feel shame and embarrassment about this normal bodily function.
This shame leads to secrecy and puts up an emotional divide between those with periods and those without periods. Code Red is an organization that works to reduce period shame, provide educational resources, supply period products to those in need, and create a community that encourages empathy, independence, and confidence when it comes to personal health.
I want to empower and educate younger audiences about menstrual health to inspire confidence in their own bodies. Although education and providing resources will be the surface goal, the underlying goal is to inspire confidence and independence when it comes to personal health. The main audience will be young people who have either started their period or are about to start their period. However, there will be an extension of the system to provide supplies and resources to older adolescents, reaching into high school ages, that focus on how to make period health and care more personalized to certain lifestyles.
The Branding
I did some specific research into medical branding and color theory when it came to determining the direction I wanted to go forward with. I was interested in bold colors so the reddish-orange colors were seen as the primary palette of the brand. I noticed that there was a trend in medical branding where red and more direct representations of blood were avoided. After making that observation, I decided that I certainly needed to include a more literal blood color/blood drop shape due to the candid and honest nature of the brand.
The Truck
Utilizing a truck, Code Red could reach out to communities in need and could participate in events throughout the greater Charlotte area. Additionally, Code Red produces care packages that provide period products to fit multiple different lifestyles such as on-the-go, heavy flow/heavy pain, sustainable, and beginner. Through the educational materials and events, I will teach young people with periods and others how to advocate for their own health and feel confident with their own bodies.
The Care Package
As mentioned previously, there will be care packages that fit different needs/lifestyles. I want to create at least one box physically for presentation and photography purposes. That consists of itemized menstrual-related contents, tissue paper, a card detailing the contents, and a custom box. I had the custom box created from Vistaprint so that I could have a full-color, full-bleed design.
- The Starter Kit
- Pads
- Light Tampons
- Panty Liners
- Stick-on heating patches
- Treats such as candy or tea bags
- Card detailing the contents of the box
The Starter Kit is the one I opted to design for my physical creation but I could see the other boxes using different brand colors to signify the differences between them. For example, I could see the sustainability one using the softer colors of the palette like the cream and pink.
Going Forward
Although right now starting a non-profit isn't in my immediate future, I'd like to bring this project into the real world in some way as I am really passionate about the topic. I have been looking in to community pantries/fridges in my area and may see if I can make mini, less branded versions of my boxes in the time being and drop them off periodically to supply those in need with period products.