When I walked through the doors of my local Walmart, I noticed a vast array of shoppers wearing colorful masks. What used to be a dull trip to the supermarket now became interesting. Even though it’s more dangerous than usual, I’ve enjoyed looking at the variety of masks residents in my hometown chose to wear amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

With half my face covered in a dark blue mask and my eyes hidden beneath purple sunglasses, I was ready to regain some normality— despite my face wear — and do my own shopping for the first time in a while. Although I felt almost like a cartoon burglar, it was nice to look around and see people engaging in this same trend of following CDC recommendations.

Masks can sometimes strike fear into people, conjuring up pictures of plagues and nearly dead hospital patients, but looking around at grocery stores, it’s hard to be afraid of those masked people when such stylish and sometimes silly designs adorn them.

Making a homemade mask is a great way to have fun while saving vital resources for the healthcare workers on the frontlines.

Michael Brownlee, a member of the Hospital Incident Command team overseeing the response to COVID-19 at UI Hospitals and Clinics, said wearing a mask helps to slow the spread of the virus.

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“The way the virus is spread is through droplets that would come out of your nose or mouth through a cough or a sneeze, and so the masks prevent people from coughing or sneezing and having those droplets deposited like on a surface and then you would touch that and then touch your face,” Brownlee said.

Masks have become another extension of people expressing themselves and what they like. Crimson reds burst out of some masks, whether supporting the University of Louisville or Indiana University, while deep blacks and blues flow out of others.

For constructing a proper mask for personal use, Brownlee recommended going to the CDC’s website and following their instructions, which utilize easy-to-access fabrics such as T-shirts and handkerchiefs. This leaves plenty of room for personalization within safety.

Colorful and unique masks offer a way to avoid a stigma of overreacting or apocalypse feels. It becomes easier to feel normal about wearing a mask when it’s easy to make and becomes part of someone’s fashion style.

For constructing a mask for health-care professionals, Brownlee said that instructions can be found on hospital websites including UI Hospitals and Clinics.  Although these masks are being used in medical settings, these can even be stylishly made. He said Hawkeye-themed masks are some of his personal favorite patterns.

“The ones that are Iowa branded are definitely ones I think are the best, but some of them have superheroes on them which are fun for when there are kids around,” he said.

Casey Gartlan, a graduating senior at the UI, said that she has been making and donating masks that also feature playful patterns to the hospital where her sister works in Chicago.

Gartlan’s face masks originally featured Hawkeye colors. Later she switched over to using some old holiday scrubs covered in cartoons in order to cheer up some of the patients and nurses.

“It makes it less of an apocalypse situation if you have hearts on your masks,” she said.