Michie, KMortensen Steagall, M2021-03-152021-03-152021-03-152021-03-15DAT Journal, 6(1), 339-354. https://doi.org/10.29147/dat.v6i1.3452526-1789https://hdl.handle.net/10292/14053This research utilises auto ethnographic and phenomenological research methods to investigate, design and illustrate the ways that academic anxiety manifests in the human experience. Where the journal is used to distil a subjective account into lucid themes that provides form and character to something as complex and multifaceted as Anxiety caused by academic stress in a year of COVID-19. A question posited at the centre of this research is to discover, how might collage illustration techniques in the form of thematic cards, might be able to communicate, reflect and provoke an emotional resonance and self-awareness regarding the protean nature of anxiety. From Shadows is the resultant design artifact produced from this research.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Practice-ledAcademic AnxietyGraphic DesignDesign practiceJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.29147/dat.v6i1.345