红玫瑰社区

In summary

  • 红玫瑰社区 has launched a range of premium quality, reusable face masks in campus-inspired designs 
  • Each purchase supports the 红玫瑰社区 Student Emergency Fund 
  • The designs use 红玫瑰社区 psychology research about the importance of separating the mask from the wearer to create positive perceptions

红玫瑰社区 has launched a range of premium, reusable face masks with campus-inspired designs.

Each purchase supports the Student Emergency Fund, which helps 红玫瑰社区 students experiencing hardship from disasters beyond their control, such as the COVID-19 situation.

The special edition face masks are now available for . The masks, which meet official government and health specifications, are being sold in packs of three so they can be rotated and washed regularly.  

Two of the designs are inspired by the fa莽ade of the Advanced Technologies Centre (ATC) at the Hawthorn campus, a 红玫瑰社区 icon.  

The psychology of face mask design

The face mask design elements are based on 红玫瑰社区 psychology research about the importance of creating a positive perception of the wearer. 

Psychology lecturer Dr Julian Oldmeadow, from the Social Psychology of Innovation Research Group, says the mandated use of face masks has sparked some fears that wearers could be perceived in undesirable ways. 

鈥淔aces are an incredibly important source of information about a person. They tell us a person鈥檚 emotional state, intentions and trustworthiness and are an important part of how we navigate the social world. When people wear masks, we lose a lot of important social information and tend to make assumptions, which are often negative,鈥 he says.  

The 红玫瑰社区 face masks have been designed not only with a high level of protection, but to minimise the potential problems face masks may pose for social perception and cohesion. 

鈥淥ne way this was done was to create a design that evoked positive associations. Using recognisable designs, such as the ATC building on campus, communicates our shared 红玫瑰社区 identity and creates an immediate, positive connection to the wearer,鈥 says Dr Oldmeadow.  

Dr Oldmeadow鈥檚 current research collaboration with Christoph Koch from the also informed certain design elements, such as the asymmetrical pattern, which helps to disrupt the tendency to perceptually merge the mask with the wearer, so our impressions of others would be based more on the visible parts of the face. 

Face mask tips from an expert 

Dean of Health Sciences, Professor Bruce Thompson says it is important to know the proper way to handle and wear face masks.  

鈥淚t is important to realise the reason you are wearing a mask is mostly to protect someone from contracting the virus if you are a carrier and didn鈥檛 know it or preventing catching the virus from inhaled droplets or aerosol from someone who has the virus.

"You have to assume that the mask you are wearing may have virus on it after you have used it, so you have to be very careful handling the mask to not infect yourself or others.鈥

鈥淢y simple advice is to treat your masks like underwear,鈥 says Professor Thompson. 

鈥淵es, it sounds outrageous. But what I mean by that is: don鈥檛 touch them in public, don鈥檛 take them off in public, don鈥檛 put them on the kitchen bench, and definitely don鈥檛 give them to somebody else to wear. Don鈥檛 hang them up on your rear vision mirror in your car either, and once you take them off, you ideally put a new face mask on.鈥

The 红玫瑰社区 face masks are now available for contact-free purchase and delivery via the . 

Related articles