I wanted to represent the three stages of stress: anxiety, frustration, and exhaustion through a series of abstract, flat vector shapes using color and line only. It was initially difficult to decide what words I exactly wanted to choose to represent the feeling I have when I'm engulfed in stress; because it truly is so many. I began my process by mind-mapping each "buzzword", including stress itself. 

Deciding on a color scheme was a difficult process for me because I truly didn't know which colors represented stress the best. I ultimately landed on oranges, reds, and blues after researching color theory and how individual colors affect human emotions. In my first draft, to add visual contrast and depth, I chose different hues of the same shade in each individual composition instead of veering off into other colors; so I could get a better grasp on how my design was evolving visually. 

After becoming confident in my baseline designs, I tweaked my colors to make them more visually cohesive as a set. Together, I find them incredibly inspiring to look at and believe they accurately represent the internal, emotional stages of stress.