From graduation project to healing power: Taiwan Tech Alumni release comic to break depression myths.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of people with depression in Taiwan has surpassed two million, with the proportion of younger patients rising year by year. However, stigma toward related issues still persists in society. In response to this phenomenon, Taiwan Tech Department of Design alumni Pai Lin and Lin Yu-Heng published the illustrated comic book “When Depressy Strikes, Hold It Tight” Through the endearing yet mysterious character “Depressy,” along with warm, bright illustrations and clear, accessible text, the book guides readers to explore depression, dispel misconceptions and stigma, and help more people gain accurate knowledge about depression in an approachable way.
Lin Bai (right) and Yu-Heng Lin (left), alumni of the Department of Design at Taiwan Tech, chose depression as the theme of their graduation project. They created the cute yet mysterious black creature “Depressy” and established an information platform on depression services to support people quietly affected by this condition. Photo courtesy of “Little Melancholy Crashes In”; Photography by Hung-Tai Chen.
“When Depressy Strikes, Hold It Tight” was first created as the graduation project of Lin Bai and Yu-Heng Lin during their senior year. They hoped to use the power of design to break the misconceptions surrounding depression, encouraging greater understanding, empathy, and the courage to seek help. Later, at the invitation of a publisher, they expanded the project into a book, with its content reviewed by psychiatrists and psychologists to ensure accuracy. The book was not only selected by the Ministry of Culture as a recommended extracurricular reading for primary and secondary school students, but also released in Thailand, where it quickly topped the bestseller list of the country’s largest bookstore and remained at number one. Through this lighthearted and creative approach, the two aim to bring attention to depression, reduce stigma, and raise public awareness of mental health.
With warm, vibrant illustrations and simple, accessible language, the book skillfully transforms complex medical knowledge into an easy-to-understand form. It shows that design is not only about aesthetic form, but also about building bridges of understanding.
Inspired by the idea that “treating depression is a journey,” Lin Bai and Yu-Heng Lin created the illustrated comic book “When Depressy Strikes, Hold It Tight”. The book provides accurate knowledge and support not only for those living with depression but also for their friends and families, helping them gradually learn to coexist with “ Depressy.” In addition, Bai and Lin have continued running the “Depressy Trouble” website and social media platforms since 2015, gathering more than 48,000 followers. Through lively illustrations and easy-to-understand educational content, they share various mental health insights, offering readers practical information when they feel low or suspect they may have depression. Yu-Heng Lin noted that although she has a full-time job, she still devotes her evenings and commuting time to creating content, writing posts, and responding to messages - continuing to invest her energy in mental health advocacy.
The Kindness Social Service Association, Taiwan’s first nonprofit organization founded by people with depression, invited Lin Bai (center), Yu-Heng Lin (right), and the association’s Secretary-General, He Su (left), for a radio interview to discuss depression-related issues and their experiences in mental health education.
The book also offers practical advice on how to support friends and family members with depression, helping more people learn how to be a source of strength.
In terms of design, Lin Bai and Yu-Heng Lin are truly complementary partners, each contributing their strengths with a clear division of roles. The written content was co-conceived and drafted by both, while Bai focused on illustration. Meanwhile, Lin carefully managed brand visual identity, project planning, social media operations, and external communications. After the publication of “When Depressy Strikes, Hold It Tight”, the two began receiving feedback from various sectors. Bai recalled one touching surprise: when a family member brought home an exam paper from school, she discovered that a note in the test cited content from their book. “I never imagined that one day our work would appear on exam papers,” she said, deeply moved. For her, it symbolized that their creation had become part of the knowledge-sharing process.
Reflecting on her experience studying in the Taiwan Tech’s Department of Design, Yu-Heng Lin emphasized that the school provided solid professional training and abundant resources, particularly in brand and information design, which greatly influenced their later projects. “Taiwan Tech didn’t just teach us how to design - it taught us to use design thinking to solve problems.” She added that the program also offered multimedia practice, which trained them to work across platforms and mediums, enabling them to extend their projects through animation, social media graphics, and other formats to reach a broader audience. She expressed special gratitude for Professor Ting-Yi Lin’s information design course: “The professor guided us in deconstructing complex information and restructuring it into visuals and text that are easy to absorb. This skill has been invaluable in translating psychological and medical knowledge.”
Bai laughed, saying that although she never expected a publisher to approach them, she had always been passionate about books - so much so that she would have self-published even at her own expense. In that sense, the book fulfilled a long-standing personal dream. Later, the two crowdfunded an independently published sequel, “Depressy !? —oh great, now Anxie’s here, too!, a comic that chronicles Bai’s own journey after being diagnosed with anxiety and depression. By sharing her lived experience, she hopes to encourage fellow sufferers of anxiety and depression with the message: “You are not alone.”
In addition to When Depressy Strikes, Hold It Tight, Pai Lin and Lin Yu-Heng also crowdfunded and independently published Depressy !? —oh great, now Anxie’s here, too! The comic documents Pai Lin’s personal journey of being diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
Pai Lin encourages younger students to broaden their learning by exploring different courses. Beyond completing design projects, she suggests improving foreign language skills, seizing exchange opportunities to expand horizons, and starting freelance projects early to gain practical experience. Lin Yu-Heng, on the other hand, advises juniors to stay curious and keep learning, to step outside their comfort zones, explore cross-disciplinary skills and media, and focus on discovering creative directions they truly love and that carry real impact.
As for future plans, Pai Lin hopes to develop her career as a professional artist and looks forward to producing more extended works, including animations and exhibitions. Yu-Heng Lin aims to find balance between life and work while continuing to hone her expertise in brand design and art direction. She also hopes for “Little Melancholy Crashes In” to be published in multiple languages so that readers from diverse cultural backgrounds can access the work, while continuing to support Taiwanese readers and create a positive impact.
When Depressy Strikes, Hold It Tight has been selected 40 times as a “Recommended Extracurricular Reading for Primary and Secondary School Students” by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture. The “Depressy” platform also won the 2016 Red Dot Communication Design Award in the Social Responsibility category in Germany, demonstrating its value as both a design project and a socially meaningful initiative. From left: Yu-Heng Lin’s father Tung-Te Lin, fellow award-winning classmate Hsiao-Chieh Tung, Yu-Heng Lin, and her mother Hsiu-Yu Wan.