Hidden Toll
This project transforms Carolyn Veldstra’s article Bad Feeling at Work: Emotional Labour, Precarity, and the Affective Economy into a publication. The article explores the emotional and psychological impacts of precarious work.
The publication’s design highlights the hidden toll of emotional labour through minimalism and strategic negative space. Hot pink, symbolising femininity, serves as an accent to draw attention and create visual interest. Helvetica Neue, widely used in workplaces, is applied consistently yet experimentally. Blocks of image and colour represent the compartmentalisation of emotional labour, while partially hidden elements reflect its often invisible nature. The clean, restrained aesthetic reinforces the theme of secrecy, emphasising the unseen burden of emotional labour.
Disclaimer: AI imagery was generated and altered for use in this publication.
Printing
The publication is an A4, 36-page booklet, saddle-stitched. It uses Ecostar 300gsm paper stock for the cover and Ecostar 135gsm for the inner pages. An outer layer of Ball & Doggett Sirio Translucent Tracing Paper adds a unique, tactile element to the design and contributes to the concept of a “hidden toll.”
Printed: Little Print
Key Themes
Emotional Labour:
The invisible work of managing and performing emotions, often as part of job expectations.
Precarity:
The insecurity, instability, and exploitation that characterise many modern jobs.
Affective Economy:
How emotions are commodified and exchanged in the workplace, treated as part of job performance.
Capitalist Exploitation:
The impact of neoliberalism on deepening emotional demands in work.
Gendered Labour:
The feminised nature of emotional labour and how it’s undervalued in the workplace.
Mental and Emotional Impact:
The toll this emotional burden takes on workers’ well-being.