Interview with Petra Bachmaier, Sean Gallero of Luftwerk and Renata Graw from the design studio Normal. Petra, Sean, and Renata collaborated on the project SOS Color Code 2020.

Beginning on September 15th, the International Day of Democracy, through the 2020 US Election Day on November 3, SOS Color Code 2020 will transform the international signal of distress into a sign of solidarity and connectedness. Using the universal languages of morse code and color theory, the three flag installation will appear in multiple locations throughout Chicago and the US, calling for humanity and a willingness to help one another. Visualizing morse code into dots and dashes a pattern forms with each flag representing the letters S (three dots) O (three dashes) S (three dots) allowing it to remain an effective visual distress signal, an ambigram that can be read upside down or right side up.

When the international distress signal SOS was adopted in 1908, its easily recognizable and unique code produced aural unity, a sense of calm in life or death situations. As the world adjusts to new norms in challenging times, SOS Color Code 2020 offers a reconsideration of how language, objects and symbols, and even color can help us find stable ground and safety no matter where we are. Situated in specific public and domestic settings, during the crucial time leading up to the US Election, SOS Color Code 2020 reminds us, as US Representative John Lewis said, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.”