Stick Me.

Description:

The Stick Me. sticker is for people to stick on each other, like playing tag. If stuck with a sticker, they have to come to the table to find out why. Once someone is ‘stuck’ and find out about signing on to the Open Covid Pledge as an individual they will ideally sign it, get a sticker that says ‘I stuck it to _______’ and fill in the blank and add to a poster to visually represent those that have signed the Open Covid Pledge. The last step is a selfie prop where they can fill the university or org they stuck it to and share on social media and tag the university and others to encourage them to sign on. They can take some ‘stick me for free’ stickers to put around different places to encourage people to go to the website and see what it’s all about.

Objective:

This could be for a physical action, a series of stickers and posters that encourage people to interact with each other. Great for a tabling event.

About this project
Creators:
  • Stacy Early

July, 2020

Image/graphic, Installation/Intervention, Print

United States, Memphis

Varies

Creative Commons BY-NC-SA

Download Original/High-Resolution File:

What worked?

Ideally the success of this would be people having fun, being included, and feeling like they have the power to make a difference by signing the pledge.

Other Notes:

This work had input from the Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 group in general, and C4AA for their inspirational how to get people to act videos!

Reflections from Stacy Early

What was the process/journey of creating this work?

This one took me a little bit to get to. I had tried another interactive piece, but was a bit too involved. After stepping back, watching the C4AA videos, this just kind of came to me. Being able to bounce ideas off others in the group helped, hearing what was needed and wanted allowed me to think more creatively, I wasn’t thinking about this just for me.

Interpretive Statement

User Instructions

Print it and use it! 

Make a version for social media.

Global Solution

Objective:

To call attention to a problem this large cannot be solved in a vacuum or by one university alone.

The Project:

Twitter graphic, or could be a sticker for a call for a global solution to the pandemic.

STRATEGIES:
TRY THIS:

Print it and post it.

Share it on social media. #FreeTheVaccine #PeoplesVaccine

What worked?

Ideally the image would lead people to go to the website and find out more and sign the Open Covid Pledge.

About this project
Creators:
  • Stacy Early
  • The Dog Owl Squad
  • Laura Holzman

July, 2020

Image/graphic, Online/web thing, Print

United States, Memphis

Twitter size

Creative Commons BY-NC

Other Notes:

  • Original files can be provided for exhibition

Reflections from Stacy Early

What skills or perspectives did the collaborators bring to this?

Because I am not a writer it was great to work with others who could come up with a pithy message and then I could play with it for different uses. There is a poster that contains this message with a longer explanation so this, a twitter graphic, and the poster can be used simoultaneously for greater impact.

Monopolies on Meds

Description:

Image that could be for a Facebook post or a sticker.

Objective:

A pithy message that will hopefully direct people to the site or to ask what it’s about.

About this project
Creators:
  • Dog Owls – Laura Holzman (others for the poster/wording?), Stacy Early

July, 2020

Image/graphic, Online/web thing, Print

United States, Memphis

Facebook Post size

Creative Commons BY-NC

Download Original/High-Resolution File:

What worked?

This got the likes on Facebook, however don’t know if anyone went to the FTV site to find out more.

Other Notes:

Reflections from Stacy Early

What skills or perspectives did the collaborators bring to this?

Because I am not a writer it was great to work with others who could come up with a pithy message and then I could play with it for different uses. There is a poster that contains this message with a longer explanation so this, a twitter graphic, and the poster can be used simoultaneously for greater impact.

Interpretive Statement

User Instructions

Print it and stick it!

Share it on social media. #FreeTheVaccine #PeoplesVaccine

“Bridge The Gap” Postcard

Objective:

The goal of the postcard was to get the attention of Pittsburgh researchers (and some administration staff), in order to start a conversation/rally some support for the Open Covid Pledge. We all know how easy it is to ignore emails these days, and we thought the personalized design and hand-written messages would be a better way to get through to our targets.

The Project:

An XL, originally-designed postcard. One side has “Bridge The Gap” along with the Free The Vaccine logo printed at the top. Below there is a typical Pittsburgh bridge and the Cathedral of Learning building. On the bridge walks a researcher holding a syringe (presumably with a COVID vaccine inside). She is giving the vaccine to the public, who is displayed by a series of hands reaching up. The other side also has the FTV logo and says “Pittsburgh: Home of Vaccines for the People!” There is a a short blurb about the Salk legacy and the Open Covid Pledge, and then blank space for a hand-written message!

TRY THIS:

Print some and send them. 

Make it specific to your community.

What worked?

Crafting the message on the back of the card was a helpful exercise. By forcing ourselves to condense our message into a short few sentences, we were able to see more clearly exactly why and what we want from our targets.

About this project
Creators:

June, 2020

Image/graphic, Print, Writing

United States, Pittsburgh

5.5 x 8.5 inches

Public Domain

Download Original/High-Resolution File: FTV-postcard-6-20-v2-1.pdf

Other Notes:

Links:

Reflections from Mahima Arya

What skills or perspectives did the collaborators bring to this?

Each of the collaborators brought a different set of skills to designing this postcard. Some of us are Pittsburgh locals, and knew how to best capture some of the classic features of the city. Some of us have experience in design, and helped with the graphics of the card. And some of us contributed to the text on the back of the card, to make sure we could quickly and effectively get our message across.

Access Warrior Trading Cards

Objective:

Pressure the Researcher, or the University as a whole, to sign the Open Covid Pledge.

The Project:

Sports-style trading cards depicting University Researchers, customized with their photo, school colors, and achievements as stats listed on the back. The cards were sent to the researchers, as well as the President or Chancellor of their University, with yarn pom poms and a hand written note asking them to sign the Open Covid Pledge.

TRY THIS:

Make a version for your target.

Invent a game to play with them.

What worked?

The cards were eye-catching but also easy to send by mail (as social distancing is still happening on campus).

About this project
Creators:

May, 2020

Image/graphic, Print

United States, Los Angeles

2.5″x3.5″

Public Domain

Other Notes:

We targeted UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) and USC (University of Southern California) because there is a long-standing sports rivalry between the two universities, which are both in the city of Los Angeles.

  • Original files can be provided for exhibition

Reflections from Vivian Peng

The Not So Average Singing Card

Objective:

The objective was to introduce a researcher developing a vaccine in Switzerland to the Open COVID Pledge. We wanted to send a letter versus an email, as we feel it’s more personal, but thought it important to put a creative spin on the humble letter.

The Project:

Bored of sending standard letters that don’t necessarily get read? Try something new and send a singing card! We designed the card ourselves, plus recorded our message and inserted it into the card. You may have seen musical birthday cards before — well, now you can send your own musical access to medicines card!

TRY THIS:

Make a version for your target.

What worked?

It’s super easy and creative! We feel it’s more engaging for researchers, and it’s just not that hard or expensive to make. We feel that makes it an accessible and effective action.

About this project
Creators:
  • Alessandra Saviotti
  • Sofie Farkas
  • Jessica Schepis Martinez

April, 2020

Online/web thing, Print

Netherlands, Amsterdam

N/A

Creative Commons BY-NC

Link to Original or High-Res file

Other Notes:

  • A set of instructions exists on how to make this work
  • Original files can be provided for exhibition

Reflections from Sofia Weiss Goitiandia

What would be your next steps, building on this idea, if you had a million dollars and all the time and skills in the world?

If I had all the time and money, I’d really like to scale up the action. Get graphic designers on board, and formalise the fabrication process to make the cards look really professional. Then send them to everyone! In that way, I’d hope we’d make them an iconic tool for contacting researchers / other stakeholders in access projects. And of course it would be great if all the researchers kept the cards and then decorated their desks with them.

If someone else were going to make/use/do something like this, what advice would you give them?

Making the card is really easy and relatively cheap, you just need an EZSound module (most common options are 30” or 60”) that you can buy online for around 10 EUR and record your message. The louder the better! Most of the devices record a looped message, so be aware that can be overwhelming! But perhaps that’s the intention. (If you check out the interview video with us, we talk about how that was our intention and the effect of a looped message!) Pay attention to how to assemble the card, the mechanism needs to be activated while one opens it; it is actually easier doing it rather than trying to explain it. We suggest testing a couple of times to understand the right position of the recorder before glueing it to the card. The easiest way is to get a musical card first (the one you can find for birthday wishes for example) and disassemble it, so you’ll see how it is. Good luck!