Canton Mayor Shares 'Signs Of Hope' In Community Amid Coronavirus

CANTON, GA — Instead of being paralyzed by the fear and negativity surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, Canton-based Grant Design Collaborative has focused its energy and resources on an inspiring way to lift community spirit, celebrate health care workers and encourage first responders.

Collaborating with printing partner 360 Creative Solutions Group in Kennesaw, the Canton-based brand and graphic design firm created and produced a series of colorful, heartfelt lawn signs featuring simple messages, such as “Hope. Heal. Together.”

“What was originally meant to be a positivity campaign for our local Cherokee County community went viral on social media. We’ve had hundreds of requests for these signs from all over the country, and we’re now making these signs available for everyone,” said Bill Grant, chief creative office for Grant Design Collaborative and the mayor of Canton. “I could not be more proud of my team for translating the uncertainty of this crisis into an opportunity to serve our communities in a creative and inspiring manner. Matt DeFrain, our creative director, and Elizabeth and Kurt Seidle, our senior designers, demonstrate the power of great design to transform fear into hope. As a firm, we believe design still has the potential to bring change, healing and comfort. We are encouraged this project has resonated with so many people across the country.”

The Grant creative team began placing the signs in the company’s hometown of Canton. They placed signs near residences and businesses in the historic downtown district, as well as Canton’s city hall, police station, and local parks and green spaces. Most importantly, Northside Hospital Cherokee welcomed the sign campaign along its private drive to support local health care workers, coronavirus patients and their families. The team also installed signs in Marietta’s historic district around Kennestone Hospital and in the Decatur area surrounding Emory and DeKalb Medical Center.

Grant’s ultimate goal is to share the program with friends and colleagues across the country to implement in their own communities. To that end, Grant Design Collaborative has created high-resolution PDF files of their original artwork that can be downloaded and printed at any location. The firm will also be sharing the basic guidelines it created for the program for other creative professionals to design their own signs, produce them with a fabrication partner and distribute them in record time.