Who we are
Each&Other are an Irish UX design agency, we specialise in solving real life problems, we make the complex simple. COVID-19 represents a huge challenge to humanity, we're going to overcome a little bit of that pain for real people.
Opportunity
A few weeks ago, AnPost, the Irish Postal service offered free postcards with free postage. Whether it was an altruistic act of kindness, or a way to kickstart an already ailing business in times of uncertainty, for a few days there was a flurry of activity - it was really popular!
As genius as it was, it had it flaws, but those flaws are the opportunities that sowed the seed of our idea…
Solution & Impact
Cards of Kindness allows anyone to show their appreciation of frontline heroes, not at a broad general level, but at an individual level, by having a real postcard mailed directly to them at work. These unexpected moments of joy would bring a moment of relief during times of incredible mental strain.
With Cards of Kindness you can also send postcards to those you love, choose from beautifully crafted designs by top artists, or even upload your kid's drawing to send to granny.
All this at a cost that's competitive with traditional postcards & postage, but far more convenient - especially in these times when venturing outside should be minimised.
Cards of Kindness also allows you to purchase boxed set of postcards, to hand write at your leisure, with suggestions on how you can bring joy to an elderly neighbour, a local shopkeeper, a busy pharmacist.
But what makes it really special is that every card has a scannable QR code that allows the next person in the chain to order more and let the cycle begin again. This contagious delight is visualised online as it spreads around the world. Where will your card-zero infect with kindness?
Continuing the project
There's significant potential for this project to succeed as a standalone venture.
Our academic research demonstrates clear mental health benefits for both givers & receivers. Our market research survey, with 131 respondents, indicates a majority of people are anxious or worried in these unusual times. Over 60% of people feel happy to receive a postcard, 71% would send a postcard to cheer someone up, and over 76% would send a postcard to frontline heroes to show their appreciation.
With modest setup costs and digital infrastructure, partnering and integrating with the systems of trusted printers & distributors, a personalised postcard can enter the mail system promptly, and be delivered to a recipient the next day, almost anywhere in the world.
Sponsorship can significantly bring down the costs of sending postcards, and allow for better financial kickbacks to artists. Organic growth and celebrity endorsements really do have the potential to take this viral, across the globe.
After the crisis
Although life after lockdown will be easier, it won't be normal, there'll be a new normal - a normal where Cards of Kindness will still have a strong purpose, with opportunities to grow, and nimbly adapt to a changing world.
Cards of Kindness - an altogether better form of contagion.
All images and artwork used in the prototype and video are for illustrative purposes only. All rights reserved by original creators. Special thanks and credit to the following campaigns, studios and artists which have been featured in this project: ‘Kindness will keep us together’ campaign for Red Cross UK featuring artwork by Anthony Burrill, Rose Blake, Yukai Du, Oli Frape, Timothy Hunt, Rob Flowers, Ruby Taylor, Supermundane, Nina Cosford, Cajsa Holgersson & Bett Norris. STAY SAFE / STAY SANE campaign by Studio Lennarts & De Bruijn & Overdeschreef. Artwork from the United Nations COVID19 Open Call campaign from artists Amy Goodall, Kathryn Gilene, Leyah Mirza and Nin Hol. Additional artwork by Hallie Bateman featured in video. Thanks to Doctors Elaine Quinlan and Kevin Quinlan for their time in the research phase Thanks to all the survey respondents who took part in our research - https://bit.ly/EUvVirusSurvey
Built With
- adobe
- dedication-love-and-resilience-by-each&other
- google-meet
- graphic-design
- miro
- sketch
- slack
- ux-design
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