Mood-boosting Design
My first day back in the office after the holidays was January 6. I was feeling optimistic and ready to tackle my to do list. My first newsletter of the year was top of my list.
As you can imagine, my to-dos were left undone. Instead of kicking off the new year with a productive day, I spent most of it glued to the tv. My optimism was shot. My new-found focus was gone. I put off everything but client work and doom scrolled twitter for the rest of the week. It was not the start I’d been hoping for.
The brief anxiety break.
Fast forward to today. We made it through the inauguration, which was a tour-de-force that had progressives across the country weeping with joy. I felt happiness and pride watching Gaga belt out the National Anthem. I had chills listening to Amanda Gorman read her brilliant and inspiring poem. Sane, experienced people with good intentions were back in charge. I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
Sadly, while my anxiety dissipated some, I must confess that I still feel less than fab about the state of the world. It’s not just politics. Pandemic fatigue seems to have set in. To top it off, the snowpack is abysmally low, which means that not only does the skiing suck, but also the threat of wildfire will be high again this summer (unless it dumps all spring, of course).
I’m guessing I’m not alone in this struggle, and I started wondering if there is any design/art out there that could help cheer us up.
I started digging around on the ole’ World Wide Web, and, at first, I couldn’t find much. Clearly designers were contributing to the general COVID-19 efforts with informational design and work that celebrates the heroes of the pandemic, but I didn’t find much that lifted my spirits. And then I hit the motherlode, or one of them anyway.
FINE ACTS - Spring for Hope
Co-founded by two TED Senior Fellows and an Obama Scholar, Fine Acts is a nonprofit for socially engaged creative solutions across issues and borders. They believe in the power of art and play to make people care and act. In April of 2020, they launched Spring of Hope and commissioned a selection of artists from around the world to produce posters that would meet the need for hope and positive messages during the pandemic. They also opened a call for submissions so anyone who wanted to could participate. Spring for Hope resulted in over 100 works - all free to use, share and adapt. It was featured widely by media outlets such as Mashable and It’s Nice That, and endorsed by global organizations such as TED, The Obama Foundation and Creative Commons. (Apparently, I missed all of that coverage. I’ve been distracted. Ok?)
Some of my favorite posters are below. NOTE: I didn’t check those links until after writing this, so the fact that those super smart, famous people also featured the ones I like is pure coinky-dink (or shared brilliance - take your pick).
Keep Going is by Cachetejack, a Spanish freelance illustration duo (Nuria Bellver and Raquel Fanjul). They’ve worked together since 2011 and consider themselves to be nomads.
Their illustration universe is full of colors, energy, humor and irony, and Keep Going does not disappoint. The colors are to die for and immediately make me feel more energized (red is known to do this). The shoes climbing up the fingers are a quirky and whimsical element that drives home the inspirational message with a smile.
Amber Vittoria is a Forbes 30 Under 30 artist working in New York City. Her work focuses on the portrayal of women within art. She has collaborated with NBC, Warby Parker, Gucci, The New York Times, and Instagram, amongst others.
Her submission communicates a softer, sweeter message, but it’s uplifting nonetheless. The woman in the poster feels like a warm hug to me. She’s got an armload of red flowers that say she cares. Vittoria also uses energizing red, along with a bright, cerulean blue, but the salmon pinks soften the overall feel. The green brings in a bit of nature that’s always healing in tough times.
Atanas Giew is a Bulgarian designer who pushes boundaries between graphic and motion design. He says that he is a great poster lover and jazz fan with a passion for animation and motion design.
I love the simplicity of this poster and the creativity of creating the letters from the word “unite.” Sometimes it’s hard to hang on to hope, but uniting with others helps, right? Unite for hope. That’s all.
Ulas Eryavuz is a Turkish designer living in Istanbul. She works for BravoIstanbul who, according to their website, love many, many things.
This poster came in through the open call, but I think it’s fantastic. It’s simple, graphic, bright and creative. The offset half tone adds a funky element, and the heavy black outline makes the image pop. To me, it says that our homes can be bright, flowering, and full of joy, which is good, since we’re stuck in them.
This is a tiny sampling of the amazing work from Spring of Hope. I doubt you can leave the site without feeling better, even if only a little, so head on over.
PLEASE REACH OUT!
If your blues are too severe for bright colors and uplifting messages to help, you are not alone, and there are lots of resources available. A few are listed below. I have never in my life regretted reaching out to someone in times of crisis, and I cannot encourage you enough to do the same.
Disaster Distress Helpline: CALL or TEXT 1-800-985-5990 (press 2 for Spanish).
Veteran’s Crisis Line: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Crisis Chat or text: 8388255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for English, 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish, or Lifeline Crisis Chat.
GEMMA CORRELL
I leave you with an image from one of my favorite illustrators, Gemma Correll, who has been making me laugh practically since the start of this thing. She describes herself as a cartoonist, writer, illustrator and all-round small person (which might be one reason I like her so much). She sells lots of stuff that’ll make you smile and even laugh, so be sure to visit her shop.
