Manchester, UK : Sixty-nine per cent of Brits make small talk every day about things like the weather, yet 45% of us never open up about how we really feel*.
Comedian and author Ruby Wax’s charity Frazzled has created an innovative, interactive digital sky ceiling to get more people talking about their mental health by asking, “How’s the weather in your head today?’
Hosted by Europe’s largest digital ceiling (measuring 900 square metres ) which is located above the indoor streets of Printworks Manchester, ‘The Feeling Ceiling’ uses lifelike full motion VFX effects to make the screens seem like skylights, unleashing dynamic weather conditions above visitors’ heads to convey “frazzled” states of mind.
Created by Frazzled and Revolt, the seven day campaign breaks on 12th May and runs for the duration of Mental Health Week (12th May – 18th May) via a two hour daily window. Frazzled founder Ruby Wax visits the entertainment venue on 12th May to launch the Printworks SkyLights experience and talk to visitors about how they feel.
Using immersive audio, animations and special lighting, the interactive experience is designed to stop visitors in their tracks and start conversations about how they really feel. The VFX work is produced by Flipbook.
Visitors can interact with the display via a touchscreen, answering the question ‘what’s the weather like in your head today?’ by choosing a weather symbol which triggers that animation on the vast ceiling above.
Representing different emotions, dark clouds coalesce into the word ‘ANXIOUS?’, lightning illuminates the word ‘STRESSED?’, raindrops fall to form ‘TEARFUL?’ and rolling fog reveals ‘BRAINFOG?’ A sunny blue sky conveys how a chat with Frazzled “can brighten up your day”.
‘The Feeling Ceiling’ was the sole winner in the Printworks Skylights category of Ocean Outdoor’s 2024 Digital Creative Competition which each year seeks original bold new concepts in Digital Out of Home (DOOH).
Ruby Wax said: “Brits never shut up about the weather. So we start Frazzled sessions by asking ‘How’s the weather in your head today?’ to ease into those deeper conversations. Our ‘Feeling Ceiling’ brings that question to life, in the biggest, boldest way we could imagine. We hope to capture people’s attention and help more people weather their storms with Frazzled.”
Matt Roach, creative director at Revolt, said: “Winning the Gold and bringing this to life has certainly been good for my mental health. With the recent proliferation of AI slop, we loved designing these amazing real-life VFX with the wonderful humans at Flipbook. It’s sure to captivate visitors and start lots of vital conversations.”
Ocean Outdoor UK head of marketing Jennifer Bell said: “This idea looks and sounds amazing. Our competition judges liked how a complex issue had been boiled down into a neat idea which is completely immersive and perfectly crafted for Printworks SkyLights.”
Experts say that simply opening up and sharing what’s bothering you can help lift a weight off: 85% of people who have attended an online session with Frazzled say they felt better after just one chat (this figure is taken from a 2024 survey of 1,258 attendees).
Another recent study found a massive 86% of us feel stressed at least one day a month and as many as one in nine (11%) experience stress every single day.
*A survey of 1,000 UK adults commissioned by Frazzled found that 69% of Brits make small talk every day about things like the weather, our weekends or the news, yet almost half (45.5%) rarely or never discuss their feelings.
Ocean’s 2025 Digital Creative Competitions which are held in seven European countries are now open for entries. The closing date is 29th August and it is free to enter.
To find out more visit https://oceanoutdoor.com/digital-creative-competition/
