Critical Daily    Critical practice in graphic design

Have you noticed that every day we are overwhelmed by lots of information? It comes through various channels — television, social networks, radio, podcasts, etc. We may try to get away from it, but it’s still there. In the news, we hear about pandemic measures which are rapidly changing every moment; however, many people don’t agree with these regulations.

Some people cannot control their emotions and don’t respect others on social networks. Instead of giving people hope, they spread negative feelings. The consequence is that we feel better and safer outside of online life. 

From the beginning, our idea was to create something positive, because we wanted to spread happiness to everyone. It was the first collaboration between the two of us and we had a great time throughout the process. For this project, we decided to give a badge to strangers. A badge with a smile. We chose to use the line Usmej sa očami [Smile with your eyes], because nowadays we can’t see emotions through the face masks. And we succeeded.

We went to the supermarkets in Michalovce and in Žilina (Slovakia) and asked shop assistants to give strangers these badges when they made a purchase. The reactions were awesome. The shop assistants told us that we ‘made their day’ and that we should have been there to see the smiles those customers gave them — they were very pleased, and realised they should pay more attention to good things.

This project was created in order to make the day more pleasant for all. Don’t let negativity envelop your soul. Get rid of fear and smile with your eyes, as smiling is the best way to face daily problems. A smile crushes every fear and hides every pain.

“Every day may not be good. But there’s something good in every day.”
– Alice Morse Earle