Tessa Drenth

Design - Graphic & Interaction Design

You just need to breathe - The layers of social anxiety and misunderstanding

Step inside and experience my mind. Question what you assume about people. Question your own behaviour. 
 
“When I was younger, people used to call me shy. At the end of 2024 I started going to therapy and I got a diagnosis for social anxiety disorder. People have told me a lot, “How could you possibly be scared of so many simple things? It is not that serious, you just need to breathe.”. But to me it is, my whole mind is a collection of fears, scraps from the oldest memories, conversations, experiences that together have made me into the skittish little bunny that I am.”

As an intuitive graphic designer, Tessa works from a personal perspective on the outside world to communicate with the audience through different mediums. This work explores the designer's experience with social anxiety by encapsulating fears, thoughts and memories into one installation. She strives to take as many of her fears as she can, working with the chaos and layers instead of rejecting them to make it easy for what she calls “normal people” Each layer represents a specific fear, accompanied with a layer of personal thoughts and one with common remarks by the public. 

Her work is meant to make you question what you assume, how you behave and to let people connect with it in their own way; seeking recognition or gaining a new understanding for those around you. Just make sure to think before you tell someone that they just need to breathe.

Contact

E-mail

Instagram