Post-pandemic Dreams: Walking the Long Road Back

It has been a while since my last post, so I felt it was finally time to wrap up my thoughts about the pandemic that is still ongoing despite our best efforts to overcome it. At this time, I have still not secured full-time employment in the creative industry that I love, but I have managed to find freelance work in graphic production layout, however sporadic that pursuit has been since July of this year. I was a bit downhearted over the news that this Administration’s policy toward mandatory testing and vaccines for large business employees had been stymied by the U.S. Federal Courts, but it is understandable considering how highly politicized these issues have become since the last Administration. Popular opinion is already taking the position that COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future and that the public at large here in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world will need to move on with their lives as best they can regardless of individual threats to their health and well-being.

This is a sad comment on humanity, but not a new concept considering how major disease outbreaks have shaped society since the beginning of recorded history. The best example of this I can think of as a creative is the Black Plague of the 14th century and how it shifted the focus from the spiritual afterlife to physical existence, ushering in the Renaissance period which elevated representational art to a much higher plateau. One might say this was a double-edged sword, as nature did its callous work to control the population through survival of the fittest, while those lucky enough to live through the pestilence were allowed to develop their skills in preparation for the next economic transformation. Similarly, former design leaders like myself on the brink of age susceptibility have enhanced their skills for the next shot at economic security, and are forced to take educated risks moving back into social situations without support of modern health system protocols. No wonder remote employment opportunities are twice as popular as onsite ones in a culture where many would rather not be forced take responsibility for their own health, let alone the health of others. What happened to the world in which we used to exist that eradicated all the major diseases, and the public at large was willing to cooperate with the healthcare community to support? Has humanity become so selfish and resource-starved that we are willing to sacrifice our fellow humans for the sake of our own share of the spoils? If so, we are doomed to walk that long road back to “normal”, gloating over our achievements while allowing our less fortunate brothers and sisters to fall victim to a continuing scourge along the way.

That said, I am ready to do whatever it takes despite the risk to succeed in the post-pandemic economy. This ordeal has made me realize the value of real relationships, and the futility of virtual business networking toward the ever-elusive pivot in an economy turned upside down by crisis. From my standpoint as a traditional experiential designer, I am starting to see the flickering light of returning solvency, but we have so much further to go while much of the rest of the business world seems to be settling back into its former selfish pursuits, a trend that sickens me to no end. It is our responsibility as humans to design a better future for everyone, so that we are prepared for the next crisis that comes along, as most assuredly it will. The landscape of creative has changed, and those organizations savvy enough to diversify their operations while staying nimble for future change will be the ones to prosper.