Covid and the ensuing lockdowns that followed were terrible. It was a frightening and isolating experience for everyone. Families were locked down and kids weren’t able to see their friends, older people were alone and afraid, and businesses struggled with remote working.
IT developed some solutions, zoom and teams replaced the wobbliness that was SKYPE, and networking became a viral sensation.
Signage businesses went crazy as stickers, signs and instructions were applied to every surface.
How do you do this in primary schools, without isolating and scaring the kids? What campaign could help kids to feel less alone, yet keep them safe when they returned to school?
This was a question put to me by a local signage business.
They commissioned me to design signage which would help to make the kids feel less afraid, less isolated, yet still keep them safe.
I had to promote social distancing. Design motifs with a playful tone, which would help reassure the children that it would be ok, if they followed the guidance.
I got my kids standing on the garden bench – to establish how far 2 metres was if your arms were outstretched, and realised this is how we learn balance as children, we put our arms out. Whereas all the signage had people with their arms by their sides. Which seemed to me to be a strange way to work out what your balance was in a global pandemic.
I designed a colourful character, which was friendly and fun. The colour palette designed to be inclusive and accessible by all.
I designed a series of different messages to would accompany the balance figures.
“Think safe space” was designed using the bubble analogy which the government used a lot and also as a reminder that we are not only keeping ourselves safe but everyone else too.
The hand washing infographic design illustrates the importance of hand washing to the kids and that it was possible to protect themselves by washing the virus off of their hands, it also eludes to the happy birthday song and the length of time hand washing required.
The designs sold well and were used by many local primary schools as part of their safety and covid messaging internally.
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