Good learn: Insomniarghh is a dream-inducing zine for irregular sleepers
Falling asleep is never fun, but the fear of our new normal has only made it more difficult to get a good night's sleep over the past year.
Last August, a study by the University of Southampton showed that the number of people suffering from insomnia rose from one in six to one in four during the pandemic. Experts called the phenomenon "coronasomnia".
Insomnia is something that London-based copywriter Kitty Sutherland has a lot of personal experience with. When she was not asleep for most of 2019, she began to write down everything she learned and felt during her insidious journey through the dark tunnel of insomnia.
“As someone who has never had problems with sleep, it struck me a lot. The more I talked about insomnia, read about insomnia, and feared insomnia, the more I didn't sleep, but the more I wanted to create something for my fellow sleepers, ”says Sutherland CR.
"I've listened to so many podcasts and playlists, inhaled lavender, wrote diaries, and self-medicated, but all I really wanted was to feel a little less alone and … work together on something comforting."
Sutherland had more time during the lockdown and worked with Melbourne-based illustrator Zac Fay and Ton Studio creative director Clint Sutherland to create the sleep-themed zine Insomniarghh.
“I gained some sort of sleepless superpower during the first lockdown in London and found that life is too short for all these unfinished projects. That's why I contacted my dream illustrator and Zac said yes, "says Sutherland. "Art direction and design were a big part of it, and I was very lucky to have an advantage with that as Clint is my brother and knows how my brain works!"
Designed as a helpful guide to fighting fatigue, the zine has 24 pages of carefully crafted content, including illustrations, recipes, and a painting area to help you feel less alone when battling insomnia.
The creative trio approached Insomniarghh's editorial and artistic direction in a fairly relaxed manner. “Most of the words were already there from me. The first step was to work with Zac on a color palette that evokes calm, and then we worked as a team through all the spreads, ”says Sutherland.
"Clint's main focus was on a typography treatment that complemented Zac's illustration style and his handwritten elements. While we were dealing with a serious subject, we wanted it to be playful and accessible. So that's where Clint's art direction came in, and here the fonts played a big role in bringing it all together. "
While the zine is a standalone project at the moment, Sutherland says she would definitely be ready to do another band in the future. “We'd also like to do merch, we all need an INSOMNIARGHH! Coffee cup, ”she adds.
“As with every project, I've had these moments since then when I should have done this, and I now have more to share as I (mostly) sleep again, often sleep deeply, and dream more than I've ever dreamed of. There is a lot to be said about sleep! "
For more information on the zine, please visit @insomniarghh