It all begins with an idea.

A square piece of fluorescent paper with a small strip of adhesive on the back. Written on the front, ‘You are beautiful.’ in black handwriting.

Back in college I had a final assignment for a sculpture class, I chose to cover the violence against women. The execution was bandaids, bandages and gauze with selected women’s stories written on them. I used red and brown markers to give the appearance that they had been used and drive home the feeling that abuse had taken place. It felt sad, awful reading their stories. It had an impact. I did well, my teacher loved it and displayed it in a display case. It was a success.

But it didn’t give me the same level of elation and joy that say, telling someone they look nice that day or opening the door for a stranger. It got me a good grade and made me feel as though I did a good job. It made an impact and talked about an ongoing and horrible issue. But it didn’t give me joy and it didn’t spread joy around to others.

This is a project I’ve wanted to start for years. I want to spread kindness around, infectious and viral kindness.

Back when we learned about ROA (random acts of kindness), my mom and I took it seriously and were inspired to do something with it. She took to sticky notes on bathroom mirrors and I, young at the time, tried to find any way to do something nice for strangers around me.

Today is my mom’s birthday, in honour of her (don’t worry, she’s still very much alive and well) I’m going to launch Kindness. As a graphic designer, my brand is focused on happiness, love and connection. I always wanted to join the two. Design and kindness.

What is Kindness? Check back as I continue to post about it.