100 Days Challenge

100 Days Challenge.
People doing their own 100 days challenge online via videos. (source)

Why is the challenge effective?
According to Online National Statistics, just less than 1 in 4 of us living in the UK consider ourselves to be unhappy.
One 27 year old thinks that he has the answer- and sets you a challenge: For 100 days, can you take a photo of something that made you happy, each single day, and post it to either Facebook, Twitter or privately on the 100HappyDays website?
Called #100HappyDays, Dmitry Golubnichy started the challenge after realising he needed a big change. In his opinion, "being happy is a choice and everyone can be happy just by appreciating little things in life one has". It seems that he is not alone in his opinion, as 350'000 people world-wide are taking part in the challenge, whilst the hash tag continues to circle Twitter and Facebook.
Should you consider undertaking the challenge too, or is this just another social media trend?

As MD of The Coaching Academy, I know that our coaches help their clients to get more out of life using well-researched life coaching practices, so I had a real interest in understanding how the challenge might help others with that mission. In light of many aspects of these practices, it's possible to uncover many ways that the 100 Days of Happiness Challenge may be more powerful and helpful for our lives than first meets the eye.
How you answer the following 3 questions may be a sign that it could help you.

• How Much Do You Focus on the Negatives in Life?

What's your first thought when you are making your breakfast and thinking about the day ahead? "I wonder what will go wrong today?" Or "I wonder what could go right today?"During the course of a day, we may choose to focus our attention in specific directions, whether on our long-term goals, on our responsibilities, or even on just surviving through the day.
In this information-rich, digital age, we can be bombarded with negativity from all angles throughout the day. Personally, I avoid reading or watching the news first thing in the morning, as the news tends rarely to be positive. It's perhaps not that surprising that many of us find ourselves focusing only on the negatives setting off from this foot.
The 100 Days of Happiness may not only make you realise how much you focus on the negative, you may realise how much you have been missing as a result.

• Can You Spot the Hidden Treasures of Everyday Life?

By developing the habit of purposefully looking for something that makes you happy every day, you may find that you start to see them everywhere you go, without much extra effort needed.
Imagine that you have your heart set on buying a red mini. You're excited about the prospect, so it's in the forefront of your mind. Do you then spot red minis everywhere you go, and much more than you may have originally?
It could be that the process of the Reticular Activating System, or RAS has come into play.
Each day, our conscious minds filter the background noise of life and choose exactly what to focus on.
In this instance, you may not be aware that you are choosing to pay attention to the red minis more than you did before you went to the showroom.
The same can be said for happy moments in your life. By starting the 100 happy Days Challenge, you will spot happy moments, which will appear more and more as you train your mind, your RAS, to pay attention to them.
Eventually, what you choose to pay attention to may have a strong-hold on the way that you view the world, and how you respond to it.
We could see the challenge, therefore as training our minds the way an athlete may train for their sport: to achieve happiness, we have to regularly practice it and master the skill.

• Can You Choose Happiness When It Seems Impossible?

Viktor Frankl, a neurologist and psychotherapist as well as a Holocaust survivor, talks in his book, "A Man's Search for Meaning" about noticing how his fellow prisoners of Auschwitz incredibly found hope in small moments of happiness when living and surviving in the worst possible circumstance. In his book, he talks about how he noticed in the behaviour of his fellow prisoners, that it is possible to find a small moment of happiness in any given situation.From the sun gleaning through the trees or the memory of a loved one, he noted how those moments can empower the human mind to build resilience and keep focused on the goal, however big or small, and despite any odds.
Have you ever felt hopeless about a goal you have set upon, or a challenge that you need to overcome? Maybe you want to write off the day and start again tomorrow?
By justifying a resigning response like this, what are you missing and how is it affecting the way you experience life?
Viktor Frankl found that our experiences of the challenges in life are always relative, but as people, our minds may be all the same in their capacity to respond as we choose.
The 100 Days of Happiness Challenge can be more than just a social media trend if you fully commit to the approach: there may be an opportunity to train yourself to find happiness, develop resilience and overcome any obstacle to live the life you want.
Could you take on the 100 Happy Days Challenge? Do you feel that it could help you?
What made you happy today?

This is a reason why you should take the challenge and why it is helpful for me and my campaign.

What Creates Happiness

Action For Happiness.

Action for Happiness is a movement for positive social change. We're bringing together people from all walks of life who want to play a part in creating a happier society for everyone.

For fifty years we've aimed relentlessly at higher incomes. But despite being much wealthier, we're no happier than we were five decades ago. At the same time we've seen an increase in wider social issues, including a worrying rise in anxiety and depression in young people. It's time for a positive change in what we mean by progress. Source

Ten Key Things For a Happier Living.

Source

The Ten Keys to Happier Living are based on a review of the latest research from psychology and related fields. Everyone's path to happiness is different, but the evidence suggests these Ten Keys consistently tend to have a positive impact on people's happiness and well-being.
The first five keys (GREAT) are about how we interact with the outside world in our daily activities. They are based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing developed by nef as part of the Foresight Project. The second five keys (DREAM) come from inside us and depend on our attitude to life.

Outside: Our Daily Activities

1. Giving

Do things for others Caring about others is fundamental to our happiness. Helping other people is not only good for them and a great thing to do, it also makes us happier and healthier too. Giving also creates stronger connections between people and helps to build a happier society for everyone. And it's not all about money - we can also give our time, ideas and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good! Read more...

2. Relating

Connect with people Relationships are the most important overall contributor to happiness. People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth. Broader networks bring a sense of belonging. So taking action to strengthen our relationships and create new connections is essential for happiness. Read more...

3. Exercising

Take care of your body Our body and our mind are connected. Being active makes us happier as well as being good for our physical health. It instantly improves our mood and can even lift us out of a depression. We don't all need to run marathons - there are simple things we can all do to be more active each day. We can also boost our well-being by unplugging from technology, getting outside and making sure we get enough sleep! Read more...

4. Appreciating

Notice the world around Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there is! And it's right here in front of us. We just need to stop and take notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future - so we get more out of the day-to-day. Read more...

5. Trying Out

Keep learning new things Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways. It exposes us to new ideas and helps us stay curious and engaged. It also gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps boost our self-confidence and resilience. There are many ways to learn new things - not just through formal qualifications. We can share a skill with friends, join a club, learn to sing, play a new sport and so much more. Read more...

Inside: Our Attitude to life

6. Direction

Have goals to look forward to Feeling good about the future is important for our happiness. We all need goals to motivate us and these need to be challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. If we try to attempt the impossible this brings unnecessary stress. Choosing ambitious but realistic goals gives our lives direction and brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we achieve them. Read more...

7. Resilience

Find ways to bounce back All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or trauma in our lives. But how we respond to these has a big impact on our well-being. We often cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose our own attitude to what happens. In practice it's not always easy, but one of the most exciting findings from recent research is that resilience, like many other life skills, can be learned. Read more...

8. Emotion

Take a positive approach Positive emotions - like joy, gratitude, contentment, inspiration, and pride - are not just great at the time. Recent research shows that regularly experiencing them creates an 'upward spiral', helping to build our resources. So although we need to be realistic about life's ups and downs, it helps to focus on the good aspects of any situation - the glass half full rather than the glass half empty. Read more...

9. Acceptance

Be comfortable with who you are No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy. Learning to accept ourselves, warts and all, and being kinder to ourselves when things go wrong, increases our enjoyment of life, our resilience and our well-being. It also helps us accept others as they are. Read more...

10. Meaning

Be part of something bigger People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They also experience less stress, anxiety and depression. But where do we find 'meaning and purpose'? It might be our religious faith, being a parent or doing a job that makes a difference. The answers vary for each of us but they all involve being connected to something bigger than ourselves. Read more...

Source


Doing Things for Others.
Helping others is not only good for them and a good thing to do, it also makes us happier and healthier too. Giving also connects us to others, creating stronger communities and helping to build a happier society for everyone. And it's not all about money - we can also give our time, ideas and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good!

Why Helping Others Matters.

Doing things for others - whether small, unplanned acts or regular volunteering - is a powerful way to boost our own happiness as well of those around us. The people we help may be strangers, family, friends, colleagues or neighbours. They can be old or young, nearby or far away.
Giving isn't just about money, so you don't need to be rich. Giving to others can be as simple as a single kind word, smile or a thoughtful gesture. It can include giving time, care, skills, thought or attention. Sometimes these mean as much, if not more, than financial gifts.
Scientific studies show that helping others boosts happiness. [1] It increases life satisfaction, provides a sense of meaning, increases feelings of competence, improves our mood and reduced stress. It can help to take our minds off our own troubles too. [2]
Kindness towards others is be the glue which conncts individual happiness with wider community and societal wellbeing. Giving to others helps us connect with people and meets one of our basic human needs - relatedness. [3]
Kindness and caring also seem to be contagious. When we see someone do something kind or thoughtful, or we are on the receiving end of kindness, it inspires us to be kinder ourselves. [3][4] In this way, kindness spreads from one person to the next, influencing the behaviour of people who never saw the original act. Kindness really is the key to creating a happier, more trusting local community. [5]

Happiness and Helping.

Science shows there are strong associations between happiness and helping others. Firstly, happiness helps helping. Happy people are more likely to be interested in or be inclined towards helping others. They are more likely to have recently performed acts of kindness or spent a greater percentage of their time or money helping others. [1][6][8][9]
There appears to be a relationship between happiness and helping others at every age:

• Pre-school children who displayed empathy were more likely to have happy moods
• High school students who said they experienced intense positive feelings were more likely to be involved in community service activities such as volunteering
• Working adults who were happier at work were more likely to help others [2]
• Volunteering has also been related to many benefits for senior citizens, including greater happiness and life satisfaction. [1][7]

Volunteering is also related to increased happiness irrespective of the socio-economic situation of the volunteer. [8] What's more people who give a proportion of their monthly income to chartable causes or spent it on gifts for others were found to be happier than people who did not spend on others, and this was regardless of income level. [9]

Benefits of Helping Others.

1. Helping increases happiness
While it has long been assumed that giving also leads to greater happiness this has only recently started to be scientifically proven. For example, when participants in a study did five new acts of kindness on one day per week over a six-week period (even if each act was small) they experienced an increase in well-being, compared to control groups. [10]
In another study, participants who were given $5 or $20 to spend on others or donate to charity experienced greater happiness than people given the same amount to spend on themselves. Interestingly the amount of money did not effect the level of happiness generated. [11]
And there is now evidence that this leads to a virtuous circle - happiness makes us give more, and giving makes us happier, which leads to a greater tendency to give and so on. This effect is consistent across different cultures. [12]
It makes sense that helping others contributes to our own happiness. Scientists are reconsidering the idea of the 'selfish gene' and are exploring the evolution of altruism, cooperation, compassion and kindness. [13] Human beings are highly social creatures and have evolved as a species living with others.
If people are altruistic, they are more likely to be liked and so build social connections and stronger and more supportive social networks, which leads to increased feelings of happiness and wellbeing. [14] Indeed participating in shared tasks like community service, and other social activities, predicts how satisfied people are even after other factors are taken into account. [15]
2. Giving feels good
Giving literally feels good. In a study of over 1,700 women volunteers, scientists described the experience of a 'helpers' high'. This was the euphoric feeling, followed by a longer period of calm, experienced by many of the volunteers after helping. These sensations result from the release of endorphins, and is followed by a longer-lasting period of improved emotional well-being and sense of self-worth, feelings that in turn reduce stress and improve the health of the helper. [16]
It used to be thought that human beings only did things when they got something in return. How then could we explain people who did kind acts or donated money anonymously? Studies of the brain now show that when we give money to good causes, the same parts of the brain light up as if we were receiving money ourselves (or responding to other pleasurable stimuli such as: food, money or sex)! [17]
Giving to others activates the reward centres of our brains which make us feel good and so encourage us to do more of the same. Giving money to a good cause literally feels as good as receiving it, especially if the donations are voluntary. [18][19]
3. Giving does you good
Giving help has a stronger association with mental health than receiving it. Studies have shown that volunteers have fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety and they feel more hopeful. It is also related to feeling good about oneself. It can serve to distract people from dwelling on their own problems and be grateful for what they have. [20] Volunteering is also associated with psychological wellbeing. [21]
Giving may increase how long we live. Studies of older people show that those who give support to others live longer than those who don't. This included support to friends, relatives, and neighbours and emotional support to their spouse. [22][23] In contrast, receiving support did not influence living longer.
Volunteering also appeared to predict maintenance of cognitive functioning in a study of 2,500 people in their 70's who were followed in a study lasting 8 years. Others studies have shown that amongst teenagers, volunteering has been associated with improved self-esteem, reduction in anti-social or problem behaviours and school truancy, improved attitudes to school and increased educational achievement. [25][26]
Whilst unpicking the benefits of volunteering from other factors can be hard, such as volunteers being more healthy in the first place and so more able to volunteer. The wealth of evidence does suggest some relationship and it may be that volunteering is one intentional activity that people can engage in as a strategy to increase wellbeing and maintain optimal cognitive functioning in old age. [14]

Helping; A Caveat.

Helping is associated with increased happiness and health, but feellng burdened by it can be detrimental, such as in the case of long-term carers. [1] There is evidence that whilst giving for pleasure is associated with higher self-esteem, life satisfaction and positive feelings, giving under pressure is not. [27] There are times when we need to give because it is the compassionate response and the right thing to do, such as in times of crisis or need.
However as a general rule we should try to match our giving activities to things that we find inherently enjoyable, in line with our own goals and feel are worthwhile for ourselves as well as the recipient. If we are happy givers, the recipients will likely benefit more and we are more likely to continue to give. [19]

References.

[1] Post, S. G. (2005). Altruism, Happiness, and Health: It's Good to Be Good. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 12(2), 66-77.
[2] Midlarsky, E. (1991). Helping as coping. Prosocial Behavior: Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 12, 238-264
[3] Algoe, S. B., & Haidt, J. (2009). Witnessing excellence in action: the 'other-praising' emotions of elevation, gratitude, and admiration. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(2), 105-127.
[4] Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The How of Happiness. NY: Penguin
[5] Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2010). Cooperative behavior cascades in human social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(12), 5334-5338.
[6] Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. & Diener, E. (2005). The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855
[7] Greenfields & Marks
[8] Borgonovi, F. (2008). Doing well by doing good. The relationship between formal volunteering and self-reported health and happiness. Social Science & Medicine, 66(11), 2321-2334.
[9] Anik, L,. Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I., Dunn, E. W. (2009). Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior. Harvard Business School Working Paper, 10-012.
[10] Lyubomirsky, S, Sheldon, K M, & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111 - 131
[11] Dunn, E.W., Aknin,L.B. & Norton,M.I. (2008) Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science, 319, 1687 - 1688.
[12] Aknin, LB., Barrington-Leigh, C., Dunn, E.W.,Helliwell, J.F., Biswas-Diener, R., Kemeze,I., Nyende, P., Ashton- Janes, C.E. & Norton, M.I. (2010) Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal. NBER Working Paper No. 16415
[13] Vaillant, G.E.. (2008). Spiritual Evolution: How we are wired for Faith, Hope and Love. NY: Broadway Books
[14] Dunn, E.W., Gilbert, D. T., & Wilson, T. (in press). If money doesn't make you happy then you probably aren't spending it right. Journal of Consumer Psychology.
[15] Harlow RE, Cantor N (1996) 'Still participating after all these years: a study of life task participation in later life' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 71: 1235-1249
[16] Luks, A. A. (1988). Helper's high. Psychology Today, 22(10), 39.
[17] Moll, J., Krueger, F., Zahn, R., Pardini, M., de Oliveira-Souza, R., & Grafman, J. (2006). Human fronto-mesolimbic networks guide decisions about charitable donation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(42), 15623-15628.
[18] Fehr, E., & Camerer, C. F. (2007). Social neuroeconomics: the neural circuitry of social preferences. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(10), 419-427
[19] Harbaugh, W. T., Mayr, U., & Burghart, D. R. (2007). Neural Responses to Taxation and Voluntary Giving Reveal Motives for Charitable Donations. Science, 316(5831), 1622-1625.
[20] Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The How of Happiness. NY: Penguin
[21] Piliavin, J., & Siegl, E. (2007). Health Benefits of Volunteering in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 48(4), 450-464.
[22] Brown, S. L., Nesse, R. M., Vinokur, A. D., & Smith, D. M. (2003). Providing social support may be more beneficial than receiving it: results from a prospective study of mortality. Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell), 14(4), 320-327.
[23] Brown, S. L., Smith, D. M., Schulz, R., Kabeto, M. U., Ubel, P. A., Poulin, M., Yi, J., Kim, C., & Langa, K. M. (2009). Caregiving behavior is associated with decreased mortality risk. Psychological Science; Apr2009, 20(4), 488-494.
[24] Yaffe, K. (2009) Predictors of maintaining cognitive function in older adults: The Health ABC Study, Neurology, 72, 2029-2035
[25] Piliavin, J. (2003). Doing well by doing good: Benefits for the benefactor. In C. M. Keyes, J. Haidt, C. M. Keyes, J. Haidt (Eds.) , Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived (pp. 227-247). Washington, DC US: American Psychological Association.
[26] Piliavin, J., & Siegl, E. (2007). Health Benefits of Volunteering in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 48(4), 450-464. Warburton, J. (2006). Volunteering in later life: is it good for your health? Journal for the Institute of Volunteering Research, 8, 3-15. Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 215
[27] Gebauer,J.E., Riketta, M., Broemer, P. & Maio, G.R. (2008) Pleasure and pressure based prosocial motivation: Divergent relations to subjective well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 399-420

Connect with People.
People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth. Broader networks bring a sense of belonging. So taking action to strengthen our relationships and build connections is essential for happiness. [1][2][3][4][5]

Relationships Matter.

Our connections with other people are at the heart of happiness - theirs and ours. Whether these connections are with our partners, families, friends, work colleagues, neighbours or people in our broader communities, they all contribute to our happiness. Chris Peterson, one of the founders of positive psychology puts it simply as: "Other people matter".
Scholars and scientists agree about the central importance of relationships for our wellbeing and our happiness. [2][3][4][5] Many studies have shown that both the quality and quantity of social connections have an impact on our health and longevity as well as psychological wellbeing. [6]
Not having close personal ties poses the same level of health risk as smoking or obesity. Having a network of social connections or high levels of social support appears to increase our immunity to infection, lower our risk of heart disease and reduce mental decline as we get older. [7]
Close, secure and supportive relationships are the most important for well-being, whether these are with our husband, wife, partner, relatives or friends. See Family and Friends. Research shows that it's the quality of our relationships that matters most. [2] This is influenced by:

• Experiencing positive emotions together - e.g. enjoyment, fun
• Being able to talk openly and feel understood
• Giving and receiving of support
• Shared activities and experiences. [8]

Just as relationships are a two-way thing, it seems the connection between happiness and relationships is too. Not only do relationships help to make us happier, but also happy people tend to have more and better quality relationships. [9]
So working on our relationships is good for happiness and working on our happiness is good for our relationships. That's a win all round!

Relationships are Human Nature.

By nature we are social creatures and it makes sense that relationships are central to our happiness - the survival and evolution of the human race has depended on it!
Indeed some eminent psychologists and biologists argue strongly that, contrary to the well-known 'selfish-gene' theory (i.e. that we are concerned only with the survival of our own genes), it is the survival of the group that is likely to be most successful in evolutionary terms - even if the genes of its members are unrelated. [3]
It does seem that we are wired for relationships - think of emotions and behaviours such as love, compassion, kindness, gratitude, generosity, smiling and laughing. [3] Or how reluctant we usually are to break bonds with people and how painful it is when we do. [10]
Our need to feel connected to other people - to love and be loved, and to care and be cared for - is a fundamental human need. [11] Some experts argue that the capacity to be loved, as well as to love, is the most important human strength. [12]

Happiness is Contagious Across Social Networks.

As well as our close relationships, we all have wider connections with people across the different circles of our lives - at work, in our communities or through our social activities. Although these relationships are less deep, these are also important for happiness and wellbeing.
Having diverse social connections predicts how long we live and even impacts how resistant we are to catching colds! Our broader social networks provide a sense of belonging and influence how safe and secure we feel. Building connections in our Local Community contributes to our own happiness and that of those around us, enabling our communities to flourish. [13]
Remarkable new research shows that happiness is contagious across social networks. Our happiness depends not only on the happiness of those in our direct social network, but on the happiness of the people they know too. In other words, happiness ripples out through groups of people, like a pebble thrown into a pond. [14]
We can help to build happier communities by doing what we can to boost our own happiness and also being conscious of the impact our behaviour on others. Even seemingly small, incidental interactions, such as a friendly smile or act of kindness can make a difference - to ourselves, the people we interact with and the people they affect too.

References.

[1] nef (2008) Five Ways to Wellbeing. Report prepared by the New Economics Foundation for the UK Government Foresight Project, Mental Capital and Wellbeing
[2] Ryan, R.M. & Deci, E.D. (2001) On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141-66
[3] Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Free Press
[4] Ryff, C. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 6. 1069-81.
[5] Huppert, F.A. (2008) Psychological wellbeing: Evidence regarding its causes and consequences. State of the Science Review: SR-X2, UK Government Foresight Project, Mental Capital and Wellbeing.
[6] Uchino, B.N., Cacioppo, J.T. & Kiecolt-Glaser,J.K. (1996) The Relationship Between Social Support and Physiological Processes: A Review With Emphasis on Underlying Mechanisms and Implications for Health. Psychological Bulletin Vol. 119, No. 3, 488-531
[7] Dickerson,S.S. & Zoccola, P.M. (2009) Towards a biology of social support. In S.J. Lopez & C.R. Snyder (Eds.) Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology. NY: Oxford University Press.
[8] Maisel, N.C. & Gable, S.L. (2009) For richer…in good times…and in health: positive processes in relationships. In S.J. Lopez & C.R. Snyder (Eds.) Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology. NY: Oxford University Press.
[9] Diener, E. & Biswas-Diener, R. (2008). Happiness: Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth. Oxford, UK: Blackwell
[10] Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. (1995). The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529
[11] Deci, E.D. (1995) Why We Do What We Do. NY: Penguin
[12] Valliant, G. (2008). Spiritual Evolution: How we are wired for faith, hope and love. NY: Broadway Books

Monster Research

Monster Research.
I have decided to start this 100 days challenge by looking at different monsters so that I can see what is already out there. I also think that I need to stick to the same theme throughout and the same style of illustrations.

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What I like about these monsters are that they are all using just two colours. This would work really well as a screen print. Which is something that I think I will try when it comes to the campaign as I think that it would look really effective. Also using the colours of a brand will allow it to link to the brand itself to support the campaign. Although when creating my monster I would like them to all be slightly different, where as these monsters are all the same shape with different aspects to them.

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What I like about these about these illustrations are that they are really detailed. I think that this is something that I need to consider when starting my illustrations. This is becasue I want to keep mine consistent so that they work well as a set. When producing my monsters I want to make them quite details, although not as detailed as these as I need to produce one per day, and I can't allow them to take up too much time, otherwise I wouldn't get anything else done.

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This set of monsters work as a set which makes them so effective. This is what I mean when I mean I want them to all work in the same way and have the same aesthetic. Using the cream background and the biro is a really good effect for the monsters. This is something I also want to do make them look effective and as a set. I think that I will try and do this by illustrating in the same way each time. Also using two main colours in each monster, this will also make it easier for me if I need to change to colours to link it to a brand.

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I have found in a lot of the successful sets of monsters that I have found is that they don't use to many colours in each illustration. This is something I will bare in mind when creating my illustrations each day.

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These monsters remind me of children and have a really childish appearance. This is something that I really want to avoid as I don't want to be making my illustrations link directly and exclusively to children. I would like my illustrations to appeal to an older audience than children, as they will be more detailed and less friendly.

I will have to consider all of these things when it comes to illustrating my monsters. Audience is a big thing. Also the colour use is very important.