We know it’s rough out there. But despite the darkness around us, we’re here to shed some light amidst all of the chaos. This is a story about how two designers recently came together to uplift, inspire, and make a positive impact on the creative community and beyond. Keep reading for an important reminder that we’re not alone, and we’re stronger together.
The Backstory
Meet Aron Leah and Lisa McCormick—two wonderful graphic designers in our community.
Aron and Lisa had been following each other on social media for a while. As fate would have it, on the same day they both happened to share a design on Instagram which essentially branded their experience of sheltering in place: Aron designed an identity for “The Sofa Society” while Lisa chose “The Quarantine Club.” Check out the original designs below:
Lisa and Aron noticed that a lot of designers were processing this time by making artwork. So why not join together? The two started talking through ideas and thought it would be fun to collaborate on something that would also include other designers in the process.
So, they reached out to a handful of incredible artists with a brief—which was to respectfully create an ‘indoor badge’ as opposed to an ‘outdoor badge’. The idea was to showcase outdoor activities that were now taking place indoors, and illustrate creative ways to pass time during the shelter in place.
Everyone was free to interpret this prompt however they wanted, and run with their best ideas. Aron and Lisa provided participants a week to complete their Indoor Badges, and coordinated with designers to post their designs on the same day—Friday, April 3—and tag each other to create a collective buzz amongst the design community.
As you might imagine, the response was extremely positive. Today Lisa and Aron join us to share the outcome of their unexpected collaboration, and some encouraging words about sticking together in these uncertain times.
A few words from Lisa and Aron:
“There’s no doubt we’re all experiencing a significant time in history. People are being impacted in all sorts of ways and this collaboration was about processing this experience as a creative.
I think it’s so important that people continue to “virtually” come together so that no one walks through this alone. It seems like the internet has become a more “human” place over the last few weeks, which is a much needed silver lining in the midst of everything! We hope people will continue to push into their communities in creative ways and stay connected, even if they can’t physically be together.
It’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and routines. We’re all busy, we all struggle and we all have a never-ending to-do list. That being said, it’s been amazing to watch the amount of support independent creatives are offering to their clients and each other. It’s brought everyone that much closer together.”
Row 1: Matt Dawson, Meg Dever, Mark Johnston. Row 2: Kendrick Kidd, Aron leah, Simon Beale. Row 3: Dan Blessing | Design Shark®, Lisa McCormick, Timothy Brennan. Row 4: Kevin Tudball, Samborghini, Ben Howes. Row 5: Lisa McCormick.
“We were careful to be respectful of the fact that many of these designers have families and other personal responsibilities that take precedence—this was just for fun and a way to connect with each other.
Everyone is in a different state of mind: anxious, bored, terrified, overwhelmed, lonely, living their best life, etc. People are all over the place, and it’s important to choose carefully what we put out into the world to not offend anyone but to offer some hope, give people a smile, inspire them to use this time positively, etc. The indoor patches were intended to reflect things that have helped us during this quarantine time, and offer an underlying message of positivity and “we’re all in this together” mentality.
Even this small act of coming together in the design community should help remind us that none of us are alone in this situation and we’re stronger together.
Our thoughts are with everyone during this time and we hope this art brings a smile to your face and encourages people to reach out to one another and start their own collaborations!”
Find Lisa on Dribbble and Instagram.
Find Aron on Dribbble and Instagram.
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