About
Hello there! Thanks for visiting this blog. It’s named after a particular project which was inspired by my emotional un-intelligence but is intended to grow to be about emotions in general. Specifically, I’d like it to cover current interest in the area of affect and the cross over areas between art, spirituality, design, visual culture, language, psychology, science and research. Sounds like a wide remit doesn’t it?
My aim is to ultimately work towards the happiness of all beings. Understanding emotion helps me (and maybe you?) to work toward that goal: how can knowledge and research break down the barriers between people? How can we observe emotional experiences but not get caught up in the types of visceral and cognitive waves they bring? How can we see the ‘insideness’ of people around us, their humanity, despite the apparent differences between us? How can empathy and compassion be nurtured and consciously developed?
I’m fascinated by dialogue between knowledge sets and experiences. The skill of writing well is something I admire in others, as are people who work in healthcare, ‘pure’ and action research, programming, leadership, conceptual art, economics, music and choreography, education… the list goes on. If you are such a person, I’d love to hear from you.
I myself come from a graphic design background, having completed both a degree and MA in the area, and have worked as lecturer at these levels. I have over ten years experience working commercially in design; within multinational agencies, small studios and independently.
Design and health fascinate me as do psychological well-being; spiritual practice; meditation and mindfulness; and how cognitive therapists are using these techniques in contemporary practice.
My heroes include Sister Corita Kent, Joan of Arc, Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, Marion Milner, Galileo, Yuri Gargarin, Rosa Parks, Nuala O’Faolain, Maura O’Halloran, Nina Simone, John Snow, Simone de Beauvoir, April Greiman, Laurie Anderson, Edward Tufte, Gerald Manley Hopkins, Nelson Mandela, That Nich Hanh.
Currently I work indepentently as a graphic designer and live in Cork, Ireland.
E}V Blog 
Wow! Orlagh – I am so thrilled to have just found your blog and your emotionally vague project. Just watched your Pop Tech talk – fascinating stuff. And quite relevant to a project I am currently working on.
It’s called the Sympathy Project and the mission is to modernize and add meaning to the visual and language communication around sympathy, i.e getting beyond the flying doves, floating swans and stock standard sentiments. I guess I am in the process of asking an open ended question as well – what does sympathy look, sound and feel like in 2013?
I am in the process of putting together a one page website explaining the project with a brief for art/word submissions that will eventually be turned into an online sympathy exchange – with electronic and printed cards as an option. The project keeps morphing as I go along, but my interest lies most importantly in gathering a creative collective to sort of redefine sympathy communication.
Your joy, sadness and love color bars just completely flicked a switch on for me. And it has me wondering two things:
1.Would it be possible to use those three color bars and a reference to your project as an intro image to my one page website? it would be part of a slideshow of images but one which just really hits home with the message of connectedness.
2. Would you have any interest in somehow designing those color bars into a proper sympathy card? (with an advance against royalties contract)
Really, really love your work. Hope to hear from you.
All the best,
Andriana
(andrianamatis@yahoo.com)
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Hi Adriana,
Lovely to meet you here! Your ideas sound pertinent and much needed. I’ll shoot you over an email in response.
Kindest
Orlagh
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Hello,
I’ve observed the images of your project circling around the internet for a while, but I’ve only just looked into what it is all about. Its fantastic by the way. I love the description of your blog under your welcome and I’m really keen to follow what you post over time. Studying as a teacher, with clinical depression, extreme emotional sensitivity and a penchant for almost every art form I am supremely keen to discover more into this concept of where these things meet. Thanks for getting there first and sharing all you have done. So keen to see what else you find/create 🙂
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Thanks for your openiess and words of encouragement Leigha!
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Hi Orlagh,
So impressed. Fascinating. Enabling. Beautifully presented, every choice so appropriate.
Congratulations.
Andrew K
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Dear Orlagh,
I love this blog – beautiful to the eye and a sensitive exploration of the experience of illness.
I’m just starting a PhD at the Royal College of Art in London, having spent the last 15 years or so as an NHS doctor. Time after time, with whatever medicines or miracle cures are available, the barrier we come across in practice is a perceptual one, where there is a tendency in the system not to acknowledge the patient’s perspective. This makes everyone’s life more difficult – ironically the clinicians too – and care far less subtle.
I’m especially interested in this gap between patient and medical worldviews, and how design might help broker the doctor patient relationship. I’m also contemplating starting a blog some time.
I’m just starting out, so a a blank canvas really. I just wanted to say hi, really special work – and hopefully we might talk soon.
Dave
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Hi Dave,
Thanks SO MUCH for your kind words. It’s exciting to be starting out on a PhD with the questions in mind. Your background and intention is fascinating. Please do leave a link to your blog and keep us updated on the work.
Best,
Orlagh.
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