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With classrooms at the University of Tampa empty due to COVID-19, Assistant Professor of Art, Graphic Design, Christina Singer, challenged her students to use their digital design skills to create PSA’s for the Tampa community.
“In the same way that it is a citizen's duty to vote, it is a designer's responsibility to be socially aware and employ our skillset to spark change with design activism and creative visual PSA's,” explains Christina Singer.
Her Graphic Design 2 students supplemented designs for two City of Tampa social media campaigns to support the City’s COVID-19 communication efforts. The students in this class are a mix of juniors and seniors.
The first was based around the City of Tampa's #FaceTheFactsTPA campaign. Through a “design sprint” activity, students produced visual PSAs promoting the use of facial coverings. The City created this social media campaign by publishing graphics of Tampa icons wearing facial coverings and asking the community to submit photos of themselves wearing them too.
The second project was to create motion graphics around the general theme of safety awareness during COVID-19 with the City’s #HappyAtHomeTPA campaign as an option. Students were given 1 month to complete their motion graphic PSA projects using After Effects.
You can see some of the students’ creations here: https://bit.ly/3cey9G5
While many students in this class are not native to Tampa, these projects allowed them to stay involved with the Tampa community through design activism.
“While working on these projects themed around COVID-19 and the City of Tampa social media campaigns #FaceTheFactsTPA and #HappyAtHomeTPA, it was quite an emotional/sentimental experience for them to go through their images of Tampa and UT to create graphics for these campaigns since they are now working remotely on classes from various states and countries,” says Assistant Professor Christina Singer.
Mayor Castor also complimented the students for their talent and for using their skills to spark change.
“It makes me proud to see students using their creativity to stay involved, uplift our city, and spark change,” says Mayor Jane Castor. “By using their skills and talents, these students are spreading critical information to their peers and others in our community in a really engaging way.”
In addition to these social media campaigns, the City of Tampa has utilized other creative methods to keep the community safe, informed, and to boost morale, including the use of sidewalk stencil PSAs, Mayor Jane’s Karaoke Dance Party, a Social Distancing Spotify Playlist, at-home activities from Tampa Parks & Rec, and more.
The City of Tampa would like to thank Christina Singer from the University of Tampa and her graphic design students for supporting the City of Tampa’s COVID-19 communications efforts.
Stay Connected
The community is invited to submit their own #FaceTheFactsTPA and #HappyAt HomeTPA creations by tagging @CityOfTampa on Instagram and following the City’s social media channels: