The BYU Design Department was looking for a way to connect with students and bring people together, even while everyone is miles apart. So they're making a magazine.
In an April 28 Instagram post, design students and alumni were invited to submit their COVID-19 related designs to be part of the 'Quaranzine.'
'We want to document this moment in history, create a collective response, and of course, give away excellent prizes!' the post said.
The department's Instagram account has been posting pictures of the designs that have already been submitted. The contest will continue until quarantine is over and, if the campus is open come fall, the designs will be displayed in a 'coronashow' in the HFAC. They will also be made into a magazine that will be sent to all design students.
Liset Rivet, a PR specialist for the design department, said one of the themes they've seen in the designs that have been submitted so far is unity and support for each other. She said the contest has helped students feel more connected with the department, even though students aren't as directly connected with each other right now.
'It is a really great way to keep them in the loop and also let them know we’re still here, we still see their work and we really appreciate all that the students are doing still,' Rivet said.
Ryann Woods, a junior majoring in graphic design, was the first to submit a design. She created an image of a bottle of hand sanitizer that celebrates this year's graduates.
Woods said she created the design and a few others because she was inspired by some of her friends who graduated from BYU this year and especially by her younger brother who is graduating high school. She said the piece was therapeutic for her and designing it helped her move forward through the pandemic.
'It is a real bummer of a situation, but there’s also nothing else you can do but try to be positive and work through it and make the best of it,' Woods said.