Behind Closed Doors is a digital storytelling project that explores depression among young Norwegian women through illustrated, personal narratives presented in an interactive and visually engaging format. The project is based on insights from a survey conducted among women aged 18–40 who have experienced depression.

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Inspired by NOU 2023:5 The Great Divide – On Women’s Health and the Significance of Gender for Health, a public report that maps structural inequalities in women’s health, the project examines how visual communication – through drawing, colour, and composition – can be used to convey women’s health and mental wellbeing in a way that creates emotional closeness, evokes feeling, and fosters recognition.

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The goal has been to create a digital platform where users can encounter others’ experiences of depression, within a visual environment that invites reflection and a sense of belonging. The content is intended to offer insight into depression – but above all, to create a sense of community: a quiet message that one is not alone.

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By amplifying the voices of young women and making their experiences visible, Behind Closed Doors seeks to contribute to greater understanding and awareness of how depression can be experienced and expressed – and how design can open up new ways of engaging with the subject.

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Charlotte Fure

Arbeider