Need to Know

New York – The interactive installation is the first brand campaign by health supplements company Thorne.

The Frontier Within takes consumers on a journey to discover their biological inner self. On National Selfie Day (21 June), Thorne launched an activation in which visitors could create inner selfies. To do this, they were connected to biometric sensors that captured their respiratory, circulatory and neurological biodata, which was digitally mapped across their body and visualised on a screen.

Created in collaboration with Droga5 and digital arts group Marshmallow Laser Feast, the experience aims to show the complexity of our vital inner systems. According to Justin Durazzo, co-director at Droga5, ‘we basically wanted to create a new visual system for people to think and change their perception to how they think about their body’.

As the pursuit of The Optimised Self continues, health and wellness brands are highlighting the importance of decelerating and prioritising our internal needs rather than buying into our pervasive performance culture.

Mumbai – The print toolkit addresses the surge in mental health disorders among Indian children and teenagers.

Created by NeuroGen Brain & Spine Institute in association with TBWA\India, One Mindful Mind helps to turn parents into counsellors for their children, developing a preventative approach in positive child psychology. The physical toolkit comprises five resources, giving children the freedom to choose.

The tools include a set of illustrated flashcards that list everyday feelings and a set of coping mechanisms; a mood journal to promote emotional fluency; and thought cards, a game to improve focus and concentration. With a lack of mandatory mental health education in schools – and one in four Indian children aged between 13 and 15 suffering from mental health disorders (source: World Health Organization) – the country is in need of practical solutions like One Mindful Mind.

As we explored in our macrotrend Anxiety Rebellion, mental health support should be endorsed from a young age. This is especially vital in India, a country in which access to therapy is still lacking.

The next generation are creating a name for themselves as super-creatives, according to a new report, Into Z Future, by JWT and Snapchat. The study, which explored the attitudes of US and UK consumers aged between 13 and 22, found that this generation may be monetising their creativity, but they are moving away from the concept of the personal brand.

While 56% of respondents use social apps to express themselves creatively, only one-fifth say they use social media to develop or create their brand. Furthermore, nearly half (46%) are doing it because it’s a passion, and most don’t consider themselves to be a brand.

As this study shows, Generation Z are stepping away from a curated identity and Instagram feed, using their social channels as platforms for micro-businesses.