Sticker activism at Utah State

Students at Utah State University have found a new way to communicate with one another — without speaking at all.

Stickers have become a hot commodity at USU. Just one walk through the Hub in the Taggart Student Center would show many students with them on their personal items, such as their water bottles, laptops and notebooks.

USU sophomore Lauren Payne places stickers on her water bottle from events she attends or local artists as a way of self-expression. Looking at them reminds her daily of what she loves and is passionate about.

“It’s a way to always carry a small piece of me,” Payne said.

Payne enjoys looking at the different stickers she sees around campus. She said it’s a way to get to know somebody before you even start a conversation.

“It’s also a great conversation starter,” Payne said. “I have one from a band that I was a part of in high school. And it is one of the things that people ask about the most, which is something I don’t usually get to talk about.”

More than anything, Payne describes decorating her water bottle with stickers as simply a fun thing to do.

“It’s just such cute little happy way to express yourself,” Payne said.

Hope Quick, a USU sophomore, started putting stickers on many of her belongings in high school as a way to personalize them.

“It makes my things look cool,” Quick said. “I enjoy showing off the things that I like.”

Quick believes students at USU who use stickers are using them to express themselves.

The art of collecting is also a huge part of USU student’s interest in stickers.   — a USU junior with a minor in art — has always loved collecting affordable and unique pieces of art from places she visits or local businesses.

Mackinnon finds creating and selling stickers is one of the easiest ways an artist can get their work out there.

The accessibility of art through stickers inspired Mackinnon to start making her own.

“Once I realized that my art is sellable, I could see that there was no reason why I couldn’t sell stickers just like the ones I have always admired,” Mackinnon said.

Mackinnon said she feels stickers — just like clothing — are used to communicate. She loves the many ways one can express themselves. She is drawn to simplistic, communicative stickers.

“Personally, my stickers communicate travel I have done, activities I enjoy, and occasionally my political opinions,” Mackinnon said.

Mackinnon wanted her stickers to appeal to a lot of people, so many of her designs represent Utah and general outdoor activities. She adds her own style, but tries to stick to simplistic designs that can communicate to anybody.

Mackinnon will first sketch her stickers and then digitize them using Adobe Illustrator. She always uses vinyl for her stickers as it is weatherproof and the stickers can be used anywhere. You can check out her stickers at her Etsy shop, ArtShopMM.

Stickers are particularly popular within USU’s College of Natural Resources. Jenna Mills, a senior in NR, said outdoorsy people have a certain affinity to stickers.

“They want to catalogue where they’ve visited,” Mills said.

Mills collects stickers to show her artistic expression.

“I’ll collect stickers for years, and then when I get a new water bottle I’ll take a few hours and arrange them according to the color and shapes that I like,” Mills said. “Like a collage. It appeals to the designer in me.”

Mills love for stickers started when she was little. She used to spend her birthday money on the 3D scrapbooking stickers that sold craft stores.

“I would put them on cards, drawings, anything that I could hang on the wall,” Mills said.

That love blossomed into making stickers of her own. Now Mills belongings — such as her water bottles, laptop, skateboard decks, the back of her phone, her mirror and even her field notebook — are covered in these unique and original stickers.

Mills obtains her stickers from everywhere.

“To be honest, I can’t walk into a coffee shop without buying one,” Mills said. “But I’ll also buy stickers from other artists, or at places I visit, like museums and visitor centers.”

One time Mills was gifted a sticker by a local artist in Salt Lake City while she was playing her guitar on the street.

She also has collected many of her stickers in a small sticker shop in Moab.

“They sell stickers with geology puns,” Mills said. “I spend hours in that place. I think it’s a hip way to support artists and small businesses.”

Mills loves the way that stickers communicate. She uses her stickers to communicate the different things that she is passionate about — such as fire safety.

As a watershed sciences student, one of Mills favorite stickers has a campfire on it that says “Don’t be a dimwit; extinguish it!” This sticker expresses something that is very important to her.

“My friends all know me as a fire safety gal,” Mills said. “I’m always hearing about drought and the effects of fires on the ecosystem and people, and I have family who are firefighters. So, it’s something close to my heart. I’m a big advocate for mindful camping.”

Mills is always on the lookout for more stickers representing sustainability. She encourages anyone with an idea for a sustainability sticker to contact her, as she is looking to design more.

Mills said she believes USU students in particular use stickers, as it has become a part of the culture. Many different student organizations and clubs at USU create stickers — as it is a great marketing strategy, according to Mills.