Beauty from the heart of a pandemic

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There can be no doubt that COVID-19 is the most catastrophic global event for a generation. And at a time of unprecedented uncertainty, where the road back to normality seems greater by the day, it’s crucial for all of our sanity to look for silver linings to all of this ominous cloudiness. 

So thank goodness for all those creative souls out there.

There’s been a constant stream of output from the creative community, and it’s just what we need. As we at Digital Radish – like creative workers everywhere – spend our time in isolation, working from home, following guidelines and generally going a little bit barmy, we’ve put in several measures to make sure we keep our creative mojo intact. One of these includes daily inspiration pods, looking out to our industry for new pieces of creativity that inspire us. Through this, we’ve noticed a real upsurge in fantastic design pieces, particularly those that have been born as a direct result of the current fight against the Coronavirus.

So we thought we’d take the time to appreciate them. Stand by for true beauty among all this beastliness…

Christoph Niemann’s “Critical Mass” for the New Yorker

A delightful cover for the New Yorker, with a domino effect chain reaction, visualised in the shape of a virus cell.  At the centre of it all stands a single person, boxed in, representing isolation that the Coronavirus brings with it – something that has affected us all. The artist spoke of the anxiety he had as a child when playing dominoes, which adds to the sense of urgency encapsulated by a high level of recurring detail.

The New York Times

NYT published an article on the topic of Social Distancing, which was brought stunningly to life with this simple text arrangement. Through the heavy use of hyphens, they were able to create this beautiful conceptual effect which reinforced the point of the written piece.

@Sarashakeel

An award-winning crystal artist, Sara Shakeel, uses her crystals to highlight the importance of handwashing. Sara’s art originates from highlighting beauty in scars, which feels almost fitting for the current state of play, where she’s bringing beauty to what was once such a trivial part of our day-to-day.

See more from Sara here

The Economist’s March 14th cover

Depicting the large shadow of the Coronavirus cast over the nation’s economy, the cover epitomised the sense of being at the edge of something monumental. At the centre of it all stands a single, isolated political figure, whose words are covered behind a face mask. This beautifully shaded illustration uses simplicity and striking imagery to emphasise the themes of isolation, uncertainty, and darkness to come.

Time Out /Time IN

An altogether more positive message, and one that TimeOut is looking to continue using for the foreseeable future, this delightful rebrand uses creativity to encourage good practice among Time Out’s user-sphere. With much of the world now in lockdown, TimeOut is dedicating their considerable resources to find their audience stay-at-home activities instead. This, like many of the best ideas, is one that seems absolutely obvious in hindsight. But just remember – someone had to think of it first!

Nandos

We love this post by Nandos, keeping a light-hearted rivalry going and putting smiles on their followers’ faces by referring to one of their largest competitors’ slogans. It’s a great creative thought, backed by an important message that many will be hoping to follow.

Sara Andreasson

Sara Andreasson, a British illustrator, beautifully depicts the importance of staying at home during this enforced isolation period. By equating the spread of the virus to that of fire, with the matches representing people, she’s produced a truly relevant and creatively stimulating metaphorical piece that hammers home a crucial piece of advice.

See more from Sara here

And there’s plenty more where that came from…

These may be a few of the more beautiful pieces we’ve seen so far, but we doubt they’ll be the last. As life continues in its current state, with most or all of us self-isolating, staying in and following good practice, we’re sure those creative souls will continue to amaze us with their talents. And, as they do so, remind us of the beauty of human creativity during the toughest moments.

If you’ve seen anything you particularly like, please do share it with us – we’re always keeping our eyes out for more!

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