Channeling my emotions into this 15th century medieval demon from the Netherlands (via WeirdMedieval on Twitter). Originally drawn on election night, 2024.
Did you know I used to work at a sign shop? Did you know that it was my very first job out of college, in the middle of the pandemic?
The best, most effective solution isn't always one that's pretty... It's the one that does it's job well for as long as possible.
Remember all those "social distancing" signs you saw pop up at the beginning of the pandemic?I was responsible for making a bunch of those for local businesses in the Bay Area, back when I worked in a sign shop in 2021.
Those social distancing, "please wear a mask," type signs were extremely important in the continued functioning of essential industries like healthcare, grocers & food, and education. When companies started having folks come back to work, they needed even MORE signage.
When I first started working, we were also social distancing, wearing masks in the office, and using a LOT of hand sanitizer.
But because of our essentialness to slightly more important essential businesses, we were considered essential by proxy and not just allowed to stay open, but actively encouraged with lots of customers.
The signs I made for these businesses weren't complicated. In fact, all of them were deliberately bland and highly legible.
But their lack of personality perfectly suited their function of keeping as many people as possible safe and knowledgeable during the most dangerous pandemic of our lives.
We made floor decals to show folks how far away 6 feet actually is. We made "sterile" door stickers for the hospital. We made mask requirement signs for just about every tech company in the area. We made signs calling attention to hand sanitizer dispensers.
I still see many such signs still in use, still counting six-foot intervals and adorning front doors. Feels good to make a product that lasts.
A lot of my personal design philosophy stems from what I learned during this period of my career. A lot of my technical knowledge stems from there too. I wouldn't be the designer I am today without having had the experience of being an essential, in-office worker during a global pandemic.
It made concrete, very quickly, exactly how important clear, accessible communication is to the functioning of society.
These signs may not have been pretty or remarkable from an aesthetic standpoint. Many were downright ugly. But they helped keep us all safe, and they did their jobs well enough to continue being used after the social distancing and mask requirements were lifted.
I carry that lesson with me in my work today. The best, most effective solution isn't always one that's pretty... It's the one that does it's job well for as long as possible.
“honeybook” this, “dubsado” that. how about you rattle some acorns around in a pint glass and i’ll appear on your doorstep with a wax-sealed contract and quill
