UPDATE 05/28/2013: Cafepress.com has flagged this image for potential copyright violations, and have, for the moment, removed it from my store. I’m sad that there likely will be no more profits to donate to ICAF, but anyone who wishes to print their own can grab a high-res version here: https://michaelmcfarlandmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/coexist-hi-res.jpg
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Today I awoke to a text message from my good friend Eli asking, “Is that your coexist that George Takei used to celebrate 2,000,000 fans?” Now, to be fair, the text was sent at 10:00 AM, and my phone’s persistent notifications didn’t actually wake me up until 11:00 (what, I was up late last night reading the Walking Dead comic graphic novels – and it’s Sunday. I’m allowed to sleep in.), but a quick Facebook check insured me that, yes indeed, Mr. “Oh my…” himself had used my graphic:
Now, the overall concept of a sci-fi “coexist” parody is not original to me, just this execution, so I’m not going to take credit for the idea. I’d designed this in February, and had posted it on Takei’s facebook page (it seemed the sort of thing he might re-share), but hadn’t really thought about it for a while. My sister-in-law had bought the bumper sticker, and a handful of other people here and there had picked one up as well, and I thought that was probably as far as it would go.
As soon as Takei shared the image, people immediately started requesting a bumper sticker. Since I didn’t design this to make money, I decided to donate all proceeds to ICAF – the International Child Art Foundation. Here’s where you can find it:
Buy the Sci-Fi Coexist bumper sticker
Buy the Sci-Fi Coexist t-shirt
Update 06/05/2012:
The response to this design since George Takei shared it has been overwhelming! At this point sales raised nearly $1000 for ICAF!
I’ve figured out most of the sci-fi references, but what is the x?
Jessica-
Here’s a complete run-down of the ships/symbols in Sci-Fi Coexist bumper sticker/shirt:
C: Death Star (Star Wars)
O: The Stargate (Stargate)
E: Klingon Bird of Prey (Star Trek)
X: Starfury (Babylon 5)
I: 10th Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver (Dr. Who) & the Colonial Fleet insignia (Battlestar Galactica)
S: Opening Title Sequence (Farscape)
T: Serenity (Firefly)
All I can say is AWESOME!!!! I have watched all of those shows and to put them all together is a wonderful idea!
Thank ou so much, Stacey! Glad you like it!
Micheal,
Any way I could get this as a poster, this is fantastic!
Hey, sorry for the delay on my response here, just got done combing through 400+ spam posts to find the 3 real ones!
No plans to print posters in the immediate future, but here’s the high-res version if you want to print one for your own personal use!
https://michaelmcfarlandmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/coexist-hi-res.jpg
Hey thanks for putting the Hi-res pic up I went to vita print and got a couple bumper stickers and a few pens. Then I went on over to ICAF and made a donation so they still made some money off this. Thanks again.
That’s awesome, Joey! I’m glad that people are still able to enjoy this, and that a great charity is still be helped out. The internet needs more people like you! 😀
Do you no longer make these stickers because I went to buy one and it was an empty page
Cafepress.com has flagged this image for potential copyright violations, and have removed it from my store, so I’m unable to sell the bumper stickers any more. I’ve provided a high-resolution version of the image (above) for anyone that wants to make their own. Hope that helps!
I’ve been driving the same car since 2006 and it was shortly after I bought my car that I found your sticker the first time. I was so excited by it, not just because I’m a sci-fi geek but also because I’m a Unitarian Universalist, and practically every car in my church’s parking lot has a standard “COEXIST” bumper sticker. I wanted one, too, but *needed* for it to reflect my uniqueness. Your sticker provided that (and is way cooler than the more generally-available one).
That car is in hospice care, so I’ve bought a new one. It’s a silver sedan. I fall asleep just looking at it. It *needed* some color. It *needed* this sticker. I was dismayed to see that it’s not something I can buy directly from you, but I’m so grateful that you provided the image. I’ve gotten it printed (I hope?) otherwise and even got an extra just in case, because this is *important*.
–A new fan
I saw a link to buy this as a bumper sticker. I would love to have one. I clicked the link but it takes me to a semi blank page. Is there anyway to still get one? Thanks for you help!
Brandi-
Cafepress.com has flagged the image as possibly violating copyrights. I can see where they’re coming from and the need to protect their interests, so I didn’t try to fight it. Because of this, I’m unable to sell the bumper stickers any more. There’s a link to a high-resolution version of the image (above) if you’d like to make your own. Hope that helps!
I’m so bummed I can’t get another bumper sticker! I had one on my old car but just traded it in. I desperately want one for my new car. 🙁
Just used the high-res image (thank you!!!) to order one on Zazzle. Here’s hoping they don’t reject it.
I’m guessing from the Cafepress.com mentions above about copyright violations that I can’t post on FB…I’d really like to…is it a no-no?
Anyway–it is truly a great design!
Bobbie-
I don’t see a reason that you couldn’t post on Facebook – it got shared around a lot when George Takei posted it, without issue. I think CafePress is just super careful about anything that might be in an intellectual property grey area – they’d rather take things off the site than risk having to pay lawyers later on. Go for it!
http://fabrily.com/SyFyCoexist
The only profit is $1 per shirt and yes I am going to donate to ICAF again.
Very cool! I’m just happy to see people are still using the graphic! I saw a bumper sticker on a stranger’s car a few weeks back, made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside 😀
Got one on mine, my sisters, and a couple friends.
This is awesome! And thank you for including Farscape!!! 😀
Is this still available for purchase? This is one of the best I have ever seen!
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Unfortunately, due to copyright reasons (if I were to get a lawyer and fight for it, I could probably win, but that’s not something I have the time or energy for). You’re free to do whatever you’d like with the high-res image in linked above – if you scan the comments, you’ll see a few routes others went to print their own.
Thanks!