Myth Busters: A design project by Barcelona's Velkro to beat misinformation on Covid-19

Can garlic really beat Covid-19? A little warmth from the sun, too? This is some of the false stories floating around that Barcelona studio Velkro hopes to beat with its latest design project, Myth Busters.

Founders and designers Eva Vesikansa and Patricia Armada decided to create the campaign and submit it to the United Nations Global Call Out To Creatives to help stop the spread of the virus.

"We're all dealing with something completely new," says Eva. "Governments, scientists and healthcare professionals around the world are still trying to determine the best ways to fight the COVID-19 outbreak. There's plenty of misinformation on the internet about home remedies, ways to know if you have the coronavirus and about the virus itself.

"It's no wonder people are feeling confused, but it's important that we don't spread rumours and get our information from a credible source."

With this campaign, Eva and Patricia want to help people navigate the flood of information and distinguish facts from myths. Patricia adds: "We hope to encourage people to check the latest instructions from the World Health Organisation website using a friendly, funny and approachable tone.

"The characters used in the illustration are figurative to allow audiences around the globe and across all ages to identify with one or more of them. To overcome the Covid-19 crisis we need everyone to come together and tackle the spread of misinformation."

For Myth Busters, the pair chose eight common myths about coronavirus – about cats, garlic, sunshine, hot baths and cold weather – and developed a series of posters, short clips and social media materials. Creative direction and the copy was by Sanna Kolehmainen. Both Eva and Patrica urge you to download the material and share it.

Share

Get the best of Creative Boom delivered to your inbox weekly