The poster project ‘19 Artists vs Covid-19’ was curated by Spanish graphic designer Álvaro López, and was realised in collaboration with Fedrigoni UK and printers Push, based in Bermondsey, London.
López was stirred by a desire to take action as the world retreated into quarantine. He went about contacting designers based in five continents to contribute a poster design benefitting NHS Charities Together (which represents more than 230 National Health Service charities that support staff and volunteers throughout the United Kingdom).
The nineteen designers involved include Shweta Malhotra (India), Alejandro Paul (Argentina) and British-born designers Matt Willey (US) and Vince Frost (Australia) as well as a raft of Europe-based practitioners such as Sarah Boris, Götz Gramlich and Nina Jua Klein, who interpreted the phrase ‘Stay Home’ in myriad ways. Boris, whose poster is handsomely printed in gold and two neon inks, says: ‘The structure of the type echoes both half-timbered house structures as well as vertical wooden slats painted in colourful hues which can be found on beach huts.’
Pentagram partner Matt Willey took inspiration from his New York surroundings. ‘I liked the way this big arrow, which feels like a “you are here” icon, doubles up as a pictogram for a house, or a home,’ says Willey. ‘I wanted to make the poster as a physical object, a hand-painted sign, something you could nail to a fence or hold above your head, using things that I had access to around the apartment during lockdown.’
As the Coronavirus is of international concern, López ‘wanted this initiative to be represented by a multicultural group of artists who understood how to communicate the message “Stay Home” to a global audience. It’s been exciting to see how artists from eleven different nationalities each interpreted this message in so many different ways.’ The posters are available for purchase for just nineteen pounds (£19), and many sold out within days.
Shweta Malhotra says: ‘I tried to create a form for the vaccine that looks like home or tall apartment buildings, trying to bring out the fact that the only way you can stay safe and protected right now is by staying home.’ Alejandro Paul’s poster similarly reiterated the message that in Covid times, keeping your distance is an expression of care and concern: ‘The pandemic has found us in different places, distanced from our loved ones but we have been separated so that we can soon be together again, You & Me.’
‘19 Artists vs Covid-19’ occupied the physical world, with posters on walls around the world, and it captivated the digital realm, with multiple posts on social media. ‘Positive messages through a design medium have been crucial for people to get through this period in a positive way,’ says López.
Communicating vital messages has been an urgent task for design in 2020. But spreading hope is equally important.