Physical distancing is vital if we are to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Yet as lockdown eases in many countries we are now going out more into social spaces and encountering others – friends and strangers.
While we all know the rules, it can sometimes feel awkward to ask someone else to keep their distance. A young creative artist, Anandi Smith, has come up with a bright idea for us to remind each other in a fun and friendly way. She has created a series of logos for badges and masks which give the clear message to save lives by maintaining physical distance. “Have a great day from 2 metres away!” says one badge. “Greetings from a Distance!” says another. The genius is that we can remind the other person in an amusing, pleasant and effective way just by pointing at the badge.
Anandi came up with the idea while isolating at home with her mum, Sally Smith, during this lockdown time. Dr Sally Smith is advising the Anglican Alliance at the moment on technical aspects of the COVID-19 response.
In this video, Anandi explains how she took the Anglican Alliance logo and adapted it for messaging on physical distance. “I’ve come up with ideas for badges for slogans for people to wear so that we can all keep social distance,” says Anandi. “I’ve developed messages for different audiences: children, workplaces, different groups, and others.”
The Anglican Alliance is very grateful to Anandi for this creative idea and we are making badges using her designs. Anandi is encouraging us all to adapt and make the badges and masks for our own context – with the national health messages on maintaining safe physical distance.
Please spread the idea on social media and send us your ideas. Keep safe! Keep physical distance! Have a great day from 2 metres away!
