Design During the Pandemic

Well, let’s face it: our lives have changed. Come to a screeching halt. Given us pause and time to think about the things that really matter in life. We’ve entered the Twilight Zone. I continue to be amazed that the entire world has shut down and socially distanced or full-on quarantined. I’m in disbelief at the spirit of human cooperation, as well as the incredible images of the earth healing from smog and pollution. It’s been a month in the U.S., longer in Europe and Asia. Whatever your political leanings or spiritual beliefs, you have to agree that we do indeed live in interesting times.

I have been blessed to work for a variety of clients and projects over the years. I have admitted repeatedly that travel & lifestyle design is my passion and one true love, and a lot of my musings reflect that. However, I am equally grateful for my client The Endocrine Society and their flagship magazine Endocrine News, and that could not be more true in this moment. Editors Mark and Derek and the contributing writers had to flee their offices, switch gears from the usual grind, and start researching and writing current event pieces based on stories from the front lines. The huge annual conference of endocrinologists slated to take place in San Francisco last month was canceled and is being recompiled as an online gathering slated for June so that members around the world can keep up with research and technology during the pandemic. The term “essential worker” has truly been redefined.

I am honored to play a very tiny role in all this, as art director of Endocrine News. My fellow art director Tony and I take as much pride in our work as the rest of the team, and we strive to create a visually compelling magazine each month to properly convey the research and gravitas that goes into every issue. The current April 2020 issue shows the colossal shift that has taken place both at the magazine and in the field of endocrinology. The following article is just an example of the content of April’s issue, and of course now we are working on May.

I urge everyone to take this time to consider the plight of all those healthcare workers on the front lines assisting COVID-19 patients (and all other patients!), the medical and scientific researchers who are putting in equally long hours to study the virus itself and various treatment possibilities, and finally the health and human services administrators and physicians who are grappling with various bureaucracies to create guidelines to keep us safe or determine policies and procedures to allow us to restart our lives eventually. Their creed is “First, do no harm.” And I assure you, they are doing their damnedest. They deserve your prayers and support, not your criticism. They absolutely have my love and admiration.