It was time to decorate my laptop; it has its share of scratches and dents, and I could personalize. So, I tried to find bumper stickers that worked well. Problem: not many work well. Most of the time, my positions are too nuanced to fit in a dozen words or less.
The “Atheist Bus” campaign was a reasonable start. I didn’t want to use their slogan, but I wanted to show solidarity through similar design. So, I found the font they used: “Dirty Headline“. In finding it, I found what is probably the most memorable pro-science quote I’ve ever heard. Fire up Seashore, throw some colors together, add in a gratuitous Out Campaign scarlet-A logo, and voilà!
And I realized I really like the font. So, I found another idea that had been rattling around my head for a while. For this one, I had to upgrade to the Gimp because Seashore doesn’t seem to have a rainbow gradient, but I think it was worth it:
I bought some inkjet bumper sticker paper from Office Depot and printed these out… and they turned out great. I wouldn’t put them on my car, since they don’t seem particularly weatherproof, but on the computer I have no such worries. The atheism sticker is currently on my laptop; the second one isn’t yet, since I overestimated the free space on the display. (I own a MacBook Pro and don’t want to cover up the glowing status symbol.)
Feel free to download and print these; high-resolution versions of both are available. As for licensing, they’re Creative Commons Share-Alike; I can’t see putting heavy restrictions on something that only took me an hour or so to create. So, share and enjoy!
#1 written by Monado June 24th, 2009 at 22:41
Thanks, I’m going to ‘borrow’ those. Love the colors.
#2 written by Benjamin Geiger June 27th, 2009 at 14:37
@ Monado
The colors for the first are taken directly from the “atheist bus” ads. The second is simply a rainbow gradient.
#3 written by JefFlyingV August 16th, 2009 at 11:38
Benjamin Geiger does the adhesive of the sticker degrade from the laptops heat?
#4 written by Benjamin Geiger August 16th, 2009 at 11:53
Not that I’ve noticed. It’s on the lid of the laptop, away from the body, so the heat doesn’t get particularly bad. And they’re supposed to be suitable for use on cars, and cars get mighty hot down here in Florida.