Art Therapy
A couple of months ago, I received an adult coloring book as a birthday present from my cousin. She told me they were all the rage in England (she currently lives there with her British husband and adorable twin daughters). I'd never seen an adult coloring book and honestly, my initial response was somewhat lukewarm.
Maybe it was a British fad? I had not seen or heard of this craze in the U.S. I brushed it off as novelty, but a few days later, began taking a closer look at the details. The title was simple, "Adult Coloring Book." But it was the description or subtitle that caught my eye, Stress Relieving Patterns. Hmm? I started looking inside and came across the "How to Use This Book" page. It was actually quite simple:
1. Break out your crayons or colored pencils (I actually chose colored markers as I wanted a more colorful and saturated look).
2. Turn off your phone, tablet, computer, whatever.
3. Find your favorite page in the book. That is the beginning.
4. Start Coloring
5. If you notice at any point that you are forgetting your worries, daydreaming freely or feeling more creative, curious, excitable, delighted, relaxed or any combination thereof, take a deep breath and enjoy it. Remind yourself that coloring, like dancing or falling in love, does not have a point. It is the point.
6. When you don't feel like it anymore, stop.
And so I began...and it turned out to be very enjoyable. Serene and peaceful—that's how I felt. This entire experience took me by surprise, but nothing in life happens by chance, right?
I began to think about the toys, books, and action figures along with coloring books, crayons, and pencils placed strategically in Pediatricians' offices. These items are there to:
1) occupy and entertain the child while the child and parent are waiting to be called into the doctor's office, and
2) they purposefully help distract both child and parent to reduce their stress level.
As a parent, when you have small children, you wholeheartedly welcome these artistic distractions as a blessing. I can say the same the same is true when you take out a young child to a restaurant. The white paper tablecloths with the chubby crayons nestled in an unassuming bistro glass are a welcome site, and every parent knows they have a few minutes of respite before their child moves on to the next activity.
I shared these thoughts with a close friend of mine, who has worked in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. We both came to the same conclusion—adult coloring books can be a wonderful design tool/accessory in commercial applications. Think hotel lobbies, doctor's offices, healing centers, hospice centers...the list goes on.
The funny, and maybe not so coincidental, part of this story was that within a week of receiving my birthday present, I started to see adult coloring books everywhere— on television, Facebook, Amazon, mobile apps, ETSY, Pinterest, and much more. How did I not know about this? But it turns out that 2015 was the year of the adult coloring books.
I am very drawn to the the concept of healing within design. After all, doesn't great design achieve that, if done properly? Designers and architects use color, shapes, textures, artwork, object and furniture placement to create functional and beautiful spaces. When done correctly, the end user "feels" the space, and it taps into our emotions and literally can heal us.
The adult coloring books beckon our inner child and we only need to answer. Let the adult recede to the background for awhile, while we remember our carefree selves and just for awhile, allow ourselves to be healed through art.
