UNMAKE
Victoria Griffith
Overview
Unmake is a series of tactile toolkits designed for individuals experiencing creative burnout. Each kit combines hands-on materials with guided prompt cards that encourage playful, low-pressure making without the expectation of a finished outcome.
Structured around four common emotional states that often accompany burnout: sad, overwhelmed, unmotivated, and critical, each toolkit offers a different direction back to creativity. Through guided prompts and tactile materials, Unmake invites users to gently re-engage with making at their own pace.
Instead of emphasizing productivity or perfection, Unmake creates space for experimentation, curiosity, and rediscovering creativity as a source of joy rather than pressure.
Rationale
Growing up, making was something that came naturally to me. I could play, explore, and express myself without hesitation. Over time, however, perfectionism and external expectations began to reshape my relationship with creativity. Creating started to feel heavy, pressured, and tied to performance rather than enjoyment.
Within many art and design spaces, making can become closely linked to grades, critiques, productivity, or monetary value. When my creativity felt constantly evaluated, it became harder to access the curiosity and freedom that had once inspired me. I soon realized this shift in my experience was not just personal, but something many others quietly struggle with as well.
Unmake emerged from a desire to create an alternative: a softer, more compassionate way of returning to creativity. Through tactile materials and thoughtful prompts, the project creates room for imperfection and exploration. It encourages users to experiment, make mistakes, unlearn self-judgement, and reconnect with the simple joy of making.
Process
For the visual direction of Unmake, I wanted to balance playfulness with sophistication. The process explored how design can reflect the experience of being an adult while still longing for the freedom and creativity often associated with youth.
Bright colours, soft shapes, and tactile forms were used to evoke curiosity and spontaneity, while a clean, minimal structure keeps the project feeling thoughtful and refined. The overall aesthetic is fun, approachable, and easy to engage with, without feeling juvenile.
This balance was important to the concept of Unmake: creating something that feels welcoming and lighthearted, while still resonating with adults seeking a more gentle and imaginative return to making.
The Kits
What’s Inside
The Sad Kit
Graphite and pastels
These encourage slower, lower-pressure interaction, allowing users to externalize emotions without needing to create something polished.
The Unmotivated Kit
Watercolour
It’s fluid and unpredictable, which lowers the pressure, to do things “correctly” and encourages gentle re-engagement with materials.
The Critical Kit
Collage
Introduces cutting, rearranging, and disrupting, which helps redirect self-critical thoughts into something more physical and exploratory.
The Overwhelmed Kit
Embroidery
The repetitive, tactile process helps slow things down and create a sense of grounding through small, manageable actions.
