Uncertainly in the time of coronavirus

When I redrew my Sketchbook B fish logo a few months ago, I decided to draw him with a few different emotions by moving the eyes around and changing his expression. The nameless little fish has been a proxy of sorts for me and I thought it would be cute to switch out the logo on the site for how I was feeling. I even drew a few with hats and sunglasses for the summer.

Today, I decided to change the fish on Sketchbook B for the first time because of the coronavirus. The pandemic response is impacting everything in my life. My conference presentation in Memphis was moved online. My grad school classes next week are cancelled and going online only for a couple of weeks after that. For now, my wife and kids are still in school and my daughter’s lacrosse season continues, but all of that can change with an email.

Cancelling everything is completely the right call. Preventing the spread of the pandemic should be the priority for everyone, but everything has changed so quickly. Even for someone like me who has been following the coronavirus spread closely, things went from scary to terrifying so incredibly fast.

I opened the Affinity Designer file with all my fish variations and looked for the appropriate one for how I feel about the coronavirus pandemic. I fully intended to use one of my “disappointed” fish, but as I looked around the screen, at the top edge of the artboard was one of the last fish I drew: my “anxious” fish. I didn't think I’d ever use him, but honestly, if I don’t use him now, I don’t know when I’d use him.

For now, I’ll go with the anxious fish. And as my emotions about things change, I’ll switch out the little guy. I look forward to the return of the happy fish and can’t wait to use the version with the Cubs hat for opening day.

My logo, for now.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create.