SOMETIME after graphic designer Akansha Kukreja moved to New York to pursue a masters degree in Design Entrepreneurship from the School of Visual Arts, she decided to take time off social media for a month. It was meant to help her identify how dependent she had become on virtual relationships. Within days, Kukreja, 28, who is originally from Mumbai, had begun feeling lonely. "I realised that until then social media had tricked me into believing that I was not alone." The experiment became the crux of her thesis submission, Sour Journal, a magazine that provided "tools to not check your phone". A result of the interviews she conducted with behavioural therapists, counsellors and heavy consumers of social media, as well as her own observations at the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) sessions she attended as part of her research, the magazine used design principles to tackle anxiety, isolation, distraction, FOMO, stress and low productivity. The thesis led her to think about how evocative visuals can play an important role in mental and physical well-being. Since then, Kukreja has joined hands with Tia, a modern healthcare clinic based in New York developed by women, where she uses her expertise to destigmatise health taboos for women, so that they can be informed and empowered about their bodies.

Ibrahim Attarwala