With ♥️ from afar
Shortly after starting Standup Systems, I found myself on a trip out west, and I bought a box of Amazing Animal Facts– 50 beautiful, colorable postcards drawn by Maja Säfström. Within a month, I had mailed the first two cards: sea otters holding hands as a "thank you" for the trip and a flamboyance of flamingos for another friend's birthday.
Two years plus a month and a half into social distancing later, it's the end of April 2020, and I've uncovered the remaining 47 postcards buried on my desk. Again.
After a moment's reflection for the works of John Steinbeck and Robert Burns, I outlined a simple idea: mail the cards to family/friends, ask them to color it, and give them a place to share it when they're done. Facetime and Zoom had allowed us to catch up, but this was something for us to do together from a distance. Plus, it felt personal, without having to write something original to everyone. Also, it rhymed.
lines are guides, strict rules they ain’t
Snap a photo when you’re done,
here’s my e-mail, share the fun!
Early notes called this the COVID-19 Coloring Project.
Accurate and alliterative for sure, and also limiting. Maybe we'd want to do this again if/when the pandemic ever ends. Maybe other folks would want to do something like this with their friends and family. 80+ names were tested against potential use-cases and fed through domain registrars for availability before Coloring Cards won out.
There are big plans ahead for this site (artist pages, public/private groups, a little SaaS), and the first one is ready to share with you. It's called Coloring for Change, and everyone’s invited.
Postcards colored by friends & family of Coloring Cards. Original artwork © 2016 by Maja Säfström.