Krickelakrak – when chaos in your head becomes art

Bremerhaven students want to raise awareness about ADHD with their campaign

Chaos in your head and thoughts that jump in all directions – that's what everyday life with ADHD looks like. Those affected not only have to live with the symptoms, but also with the prejudices. Because outsiders see the behaviour, but not the suffering behind it. Students at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences have now made ADHD the subject of their ‘Krickelakrak’ campaign. Their interactive posters are now on display in Bremerhaven. The accompanying website can be found at krickelakrak.de. 

It's the one child in the class who is always inattentive and loud. The one who drums their fingers on the table, forgets their school supplies and always calls out without raising their hand. Everyone else feels disturbed. But how does this child feel? How do they live with the feeling that their head is like a remote control that someone else is controlling? Five students, Julia Heinemann, Marieke Finn, Gianina Schomacker, Lea Hartlein da Silva and Miriam Henke, asked themselves this question and also asked people affected by ADHD. With their campaign ‘Krickelakrak’, they want to educate people and help reduce prejudice. The name symbolises the supposed chaos that many associate with ADHD. However, the students see a lot of potential in this creative chaos: the symptoms include not only restlessness and lack of concentration, but also, for example, great creativity, hyperfocus in areas of personal interest and enthusiasm. 

The students have been working on the campaign since October 2024. First, they thought long and hard about their target groups. To find the right design, they worked with scratch pictures, in which shapes are scratched into a black surface to reveal the colourful layer underneath. Later, they sent doodle pictures with chaotic shapes to nurseries and schools. The children were asked to paint pictures based on these. ‘It's amazing what the children saw in the scribbles. Their pictures are really creative,’ says Julia Heinemann. This gave rise to the idea of making the posters interactive. Anyone who scans the QR code is taken to a website where they can watch the chaotic scribbles come together to form a real picture. The same is true for those affected. ‘ADHD is complex, lively and sometimes chaotic. But it is also full of energy and creativity. We show that every scribble can become a work of art – with corners, edges and lots of character,’ says the project team.

The idea for their project topic in the ‘Social Campaign’ seminar in the Digital Media Production degree programme did not come to the students by chance. They all know people who have been diagnosed with ADHD. Before starting her studies, Julia Heinemann trained as a nursery school teacher and worked with affected children on a regular basis. Lea Hartlein da Silva's brother was diagnosed with ADHD. ‘The beginning was difficult for everyone. The diagnosis changed everything,’ she says. Often, there was little understanding from outsiders. That's why the students compiled information on the website krickelakrak.de. There, interested parties can also find further information on support services. 

The campaign posters are now on display in Bremerhaven. The campaign project was supported by the Dieckell Foundation, the printing company Müllerditzen, the supplementary and independent participation counselling service (EUTB) and Sarah Theinert, a special needs teacher at the practice for neonatal support and family coaching in Geestland.