Research on contagious happiness

I found a few interesting writings on studies done on contagious happiness. These recent scientific research show that the level of happiness can increase within one's social network. Also, how one's happiness level can be closely affected by people surrounding them, even strangers.

British Medical Journal written by James H Fowler (professor at the University of California) and Nicholas Christakis (Harvard professor)

Here's how other publications/individuals have responded
US News and World Report
New York Times: Health: Image: Contagious Happiness
Scientific American Podcast
Merv Benson: Contagious Happiness
Scott Lazerson: Contagious Happiness
Globe and Mail: Happiness is Contagious
Healthy Ontario

Here's My Plan...

Having decided to use pennant flags as the visual metaphor of my project is not enough. I started looking at the possibilities this could bring. With a kind reminder from an instructor saying that we only have 7 weeks lefts, I had to nail down the deliverables.

A Happy Kit (This is the name for now, I'll think more on it)

1. Book
- Photographs, illustrations, and my own writing about happiness (eg. stories I've heard, experiences, childhood memories, etc...).
- My goal for the raw materials in the book (for now...):
- 8-10 photographs
- 8-10 illustrations
- 20 short writing entries
- Instruction of the making the flags (vector illustrations)
* the number would be more solid once I've sketched out my plan
- Concept:
- Make it open-ended (illustrations and writings)
- Bridge the gap between the reality and imagination with the combination of photography and illustration.

2. Printed Flags (to be photographed)
- 6 to 8 good word combos.
- print 20-30 for each word combo.
- white on solid coloured flags
- sewn individual velcros
- blank flags (include in the kit)

3. Posters
- Illustration-heavy posters
- I'm aiming for 3-5
- Use of the flags as the subject and derive bold and imaginative illustrations.

4. A housing device for the components.

......... okay, let me get onto it. My goal this week is to finish the copy materials I need to write and sketch out my plan for the photo shoot.

Fun Stuff from Value Village

Here are some stuff I found from Value Village. The nostalgic typography and use of colours is so much fun! I couldn't resist.

Thanks, friends!

Thanks to Ellen, Ginger, and Mandy who've all thought of me when they were surfing and found this. Alex Ostrowski is a young and talented designer from UWE Bristol who made The Happiest Book in the World. Unfortunately, only one coy exists.

The Happiest Book by Alex Ostrowski
In one way or another we are all looking for happiness. Some people even say that man's sole purpose for existence is to hunt down and capture this intangible and elusive treasure. In 2006 researchers at The University of Leicester concluded that Denmark is the happiest country in the world - this was good enough for me. In March 2008 I made the decision to visit happiness, and embarked upon a pilgrimage to find it. My experiences are presented in this book.

Pennant Flags

Pennant flags. YES! They are so much fun. These colourful triangular flags always remind of time when I was really happy. The immediate smile that I realized I have on my face seeing these flags trigger ideas of including these flags as the "main character" of my project.

So, I started making my prototype 1.0 testing its size, typefaces, word combinations, and so on.

Less overthinking = more doing

After my phase two presentation, I feel more at ease having three ideas presented and get useful feedbacks. I've been quite sick during the week of the presentation and was feeling somewhat frustrated with the project because I don't feel 100% with any of the ideas I've come up with yet...

After the class critique and another small critique with friends (Ginger, Tobias, Alana, and Alex), I finally have a better idea and feel more confident about the direction I'm going into.

Here are a few points I'd like to have as the backbone/driving force of this project. (aka point form conceptual framework)
1. Make happiness contagious.
2. Comment on "free/low cost happiness." Simple things that make people happy.
3. Bridge the gap between reality with imagination. Allow people to dive into their imagination.
4. The project will act as prompts to remind people about happiness.
5. My own indulgence and commentary on happiness. A good friend of mine tells me that "best work is highly enjoyable and fun. Make the audience smile in their mind/heart"
6. Bring a smile to people's faces.

So, these will be more or less the "ruler" for me to measure my project as I go on.

I'm now onto Phase Three of this project. Which means, I'll need to do more and overthink less. I'll need to dive into it quickly and start producing. I need to set myself free from overthinking. So, you'll be seeing less posts compare to my earlier phase. I'll try my best though to keep a record of things.

Lovely strangers

With a terrible cold still lingering, I couldn't think straight and drove out to Yaletown for a meeting without even bringing my wallet. I arrived, got out of the car and just realized that I didn't bring my wallet along... I called the number on the meter hoping that I can pay by phone with the credit card I had registered. Turns out, the credit card I had registered with was outdated. In a panic,I didn't know what to do. I had to go to the meeting. I felt completely helpless.

Luckily, two very nice gentlemen in their 60s parked behind me and saw me standing in front of the meter in a panic. I explained the situation to them, they smiled and immediately asked how much time I needed to park and fed the meter for me.

The sunshine, these gentlemen, and two other strangers who gave me directions made my heart warm and toasty today! Thanks starngers.

A sweet gift from Ginger

Her Morning Elegance By Oren Lavie

Sun been down for days
A pretty flower in a vase
A slipper by the fireplace
A cello lying in its case

Soon she's down the stairs
Her morning elegance she wears
The sound of water makes her dream
Awoken by a cloud of steam
She pours a daydream in a cup
A spoon of sugar sweetens up

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And She goes...
Nobody knows

My mentor: Genevieve Gougeon

Genevieve Gougeon is an amazing instructor/advisor who works at the Immigrant Services Society. She obtains a masters degree in pschology from the University of Montréal.

I met up with her today at Café Artigiano and spoke to her about my last project on helping immigrants. We exchanged some thoughts. Genevieve offered me many pieces of valuable advice and was very supportive. Our conversation then nicely segued into my current thesis project.

I started talking to her about my brainstorming progress and some ideas I have in mind. One of my ideas that she encouraged me in exploring is the idea of using a series of posters to form a conversation and trigger the public to start considering happiness. Given that there are too many ways to interpret happiness, Genevieve agrees that leaving my project open-ended would be more powerful. When she asked me what are some key ideas I want to get across the audience, I jotted down some notes and thoughts while I was talking along.

• little and random things that make people happy
• create conversation
• trigger people to start consider happiness
• stimulate minds
• not preaching
• create a domino effect
• bring a smile to people's faces
• make happiness contageous
• leave this open-ended and allow the audeince to project their own definition of happiness
  

Genevieve is such a classy lady with a demeaner that just makes you want to do better. She's one of the most patient and generous people I have met. I have such a respect for her, so I asked if she could be my mentor of this thesis project.

And, she said yes!

Seeing old friends makes me happy!

Weiheng is an old friend I've known for quite some years. He graduated in the Communication Design program at Emily Carr in 2006 and went on to New York for a great adventure. With his visit back in Vancouver for Chinese New Year, we got a chance to meet back up today with other Emily alumni Joyce, Kathy, and Freda. I was sick like a dog, but I just can't pass on this precious opportunity to meet up with old friends...

Of course, being a keener that I am, I had to take the opportunity to talk to them about my happiness project. After describing to them my intention and the frustration I'm going through with the topic, Weiheng and friends reminded to do start with something simple, small and open-ended then let the ideas grow... Thanks guys!

These constructive chit-chats definitely calmed me down. I can finally focus...

Time to pull myself out of that happiness pool

Eli No, a children's book about a puppy who's told no all the time.
by Katie Kirk & Nathan Strandberg of Eighthourday.

This is very much like the relationship between me and my own voice.

During the field research when I talked to strangers about happiness, responses have been positive. The smiles I got from people when I mentioned the word happiness was what got me to stick to this impossible subject. Having said that, out of the 80 pre-stamped postcards I've sent out, I got less than 20 mailed back to me. Maybe I'm too naive to think that people actually care. It's hard not to feel discouraged. But this is not a perfect world, so I'm just going to look at surveys I got back and promise myself to stay optimistic.

I just want to do something for the people because it makes me happy when I'm able to help. I simply want to bring a smile to more people's faces.

...

After stewing in a pool of happiness for the past few weeks. I started to feel very tired of the word happiness. Something seemingly simple is becoming overly analyzed and loosing its spontaneity I first wanted to achieve.

What happened to child play? What happened to my gut feelings? What happened to my imaginations? There hasn't been one second I haven't thought about the topic. And it's getting really stale and old. I tend to step on the break when I get this idea in the head. I hear voices of suggestions and critiques. I worry about the outcome of the project being superficial or clichés. I need that balance. I need to switch from shutting off of my own judgement voices to grilling and testing my ideas. (yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know that... I just need to write it down to remind myself)

Since there hasn't been a minute that I haven't drenched myself in others' ideas of happiness, even the thought of that h word starts to irritate me. I feel like I'm a dog chasing its own tail. I've sketched out idea but feel like I'm going nowhere.

Like what's been discussed today in class, I need to pull myself out of it and think within. What's really important to me? What do I want to do for this project? It's been a habit of mine to please others, so it's hard to all of a sudden weigh my own voice heavier than others.

Also, like what Sharon said. I need to do some metathinking and image that I'm floating above all of these ideas and chaos. Looking at the process and evaluate with a clear mind.

Ommm.... is what I need to do tonight.

Word scramble

Talking to others about my project helps. Letting people know my frustration also helps. I'm lucky to be surrounded by helpful peers and supportive instructors. I feel like I'm hitting the bottle neck at this point. I can seem to squeeze out any brilliant ideas that others agree upon. I don't want to produce something superficial. At the same time, I don't want the opportunity to showcase my skills to suffer. Am I too greedy to want to do well? I HATE BEING A PERFECTIONIST. I can't seem to let go of even perfecting my thoughts. Just thinking of executing these ideas is tiring enough.

Anyhow, I was really going to say is that Peter was helpful in allowing me to see possibilities and forced me to be random and spontaneous. With these words that I got from surveys I handed out, Peter discover word combos that are more interesting that the individuals by themselves. (ie. recycle, sunshine, cheese) So, I've cut up all the words and phrases and randomly pick groups of threes out. The results are way more interesting! Thanks, Peter.

Explorations of Deliverables

Shutting off of my judgment voice, I put down deliverable ideas I could think of.

1. Handkerchieves with silkscreened thought/encouragements
• Yes. Maybe the messages themselves need to be more open ended rather than something specific.
• Installation
• Distribution to the public
• Documentation
• Book

2. Interactive Book
• Combine real stories from people with tools to help you achieve happiness (focused on constructive planning)
• Invent tools to help people to do things
• Give-away (things for people to keep as a reminder to stay positive and act instead of worrying)
• With instructions and activities to help people forget about sadness, frustration, and stress (IDEO's method cards?!)

3. Pop-up Posters
• Thoughts from survey
• A journey from scientific facts to human thoughts (Dan Gilbert's theory on people's synthetic happiness and ability to imagine the future)
• Info graphics? Stats? Colours?

4. Interactive Calendar
• Again, focused on constructive planning and fighting procrastination & unnecessary worrying

5. Silly de-stress games/activities (release anger, frustration, and get everything out of your system)
• Extremely stupid games that help people forget unhappy thoughts.
• Shooting tapioca at a photo of someone
• Breaking recycle plates, smashing ceramics

Mindless drawing

It was great to drop everything and just look at books with fun and happy visuals. I drew, I traced, I learned, and played. It's very therapeutic and meditative.

More Interesting Lists

Here are some of the least popular choices. I thought I'd share these interesting thoughts.

What makes you happy?

• a day off
• things that fit nicely together
• breakfast
• an orange wedge when I'm hungry
• recycle
• curiosity
• dreams/hope
• discovery
• spontaneity
  
• cheese
• birds singing

What makes you sad?

• knowing the truth
• gaining weight
• fat on my belly caused by cheese (my favorite!)
• douche bags
• idiots with power to affect my life (another one I like)
  
• the price of gas
  

Top 10 Lists

Top 10 Happy List:
1. Friends
2. Family
3. Love
4. Accomplishment/Success
5. Good food
6. Seeing Others Happy
7. Laughters
8. Learning New Things
9. Sunshine
10. Sleep
+ Surprises

Top 10 Sad List:
1. Loneliness
2. Disappointment
3. A Gloomy Day
4. Stress
5. Hunger
6. Seeing Others Sad/Suffer
7. When I lost my Goal
8. Conflicts
9. Negativity
10. Work

Tomorrow's Goal...

...is to tally up my survey regarding people's answer for my happiness. Start drawing and doing. I'll be shutting off my judgment and thinking for a day tomorrow to see what I can get.

BE SILLY and HAVE FUN is my goal for tomorrow! (or I mean, today)

Celebration

It was Chinese New Year's Eve tonight. Friends invited me over to dinner and later had a house party of karaoke. Fun! Fun! Fun! I sometimes forget how being silly can bring this much joy. Singing and laughing with friends are now I think what makes me happy. Letting loose definitely feel awesome. I was to apply that to my project but seem to be running into that push and pull dilemma where I want to produce a work without over analyzing and keep the spontaneity but I don't want this project to turn into just an art project...

I need to be happy for the project to spread happiness

It's Chinese New Year in two days. I called home and talked to my mom. She was cleaning the house with my dad (a must in our culture to clean the place and welcome the new year).

She says that Audrey (my sister) and her husband are arriving home tonight and wishes I was there too so the whole family can be together for the Chinese New Year. I heard 3 seconds of silence, and my eyes started to water. Both my mom and I were trying our hardest not to cry because we both know that if we do, we'll make each other worry. She'd be worrying me being along and I'd be worrying her worrying about me. Being people-pleasers like us, we wanted each other to be happy. So I held my tears back and told her my eventful plans I have ahead, going to friends' and how we'll celebrate. After that wave of missing each other, me and my mom said our quick goodbyes so grandma can talk to me.

Of course, when I talked to her, she said, "Happy New Year! Why aren't you back here? We all miss you... But I understand that you're doing what you have to do. So, don't worry and be happy. Because only when you're happy I can be happy."

Another great insight grandma has taught me. I need to be genuinely happy to allow other to feel the same way. This goes the same for my project I suppose.

Olle Eksell-A Happy Designer/Illustrator

Alright! It's here, it's here. A book I've waited has finally arrived. I swear, every time my books arrive from Amazon feels like a X'mas morning for me.

Olle Eksell is an amazing Graphic Designer and Illustrator who's work is filled with genuine graphics, cheerful colour usage, and lively composition. I grew up seeing Joan Miró's paintings my dad hung up on the walls (in fact, they're still on the wall in my room.) I never got tired of it. I've always been a great admirer of the sincerity, innocence, and abstraction of Miró's work. Now discovering a designer adapting that sense of sincerity and innocence into design work is so very refreshing!

I was talking to Nina and Heather yesterday in the car about how we all strive to achieve creating work that will have longevity in terms of its visual impact. Imagination, sincerity, passion, and honesty I think play a big part in that it would allow the audience to participate and indulge themselve to be a part of the creation. And that's what I think the qualities that both Joan Miró and Olle Eksell share in their work.

ps. Thanks Jane for introducing the book to me.