A picture speaks a thousand words and we all know it’s sometimes easier, and friendlier, to send an emoji thumbs up than just an ‘OK’. But what if you could use pictures to explain your job at CERN, or show the things you saw during a visit?

Well, now you can, as CERN has launched its own set of virtual stickers for use on iOS – a collection of 35 images portraying the Organization’s symbols and activities.

With their simple and user-friendly design, the CERN stickers are for everybody to use and enjoy, from people working at CERN to visitors and science enthusiasts.

The images include a collision event, a dipole magnet, the Globe of Science and Innovation, male and female scientists wearing CERN lanyards, and the colourful CERN safety helmets, known to every CERN visitor. These are just a few of the stickers already available, with more expected in the future.

“Our goal was to create an easily available and comprehensible way to showcase CERN activities, who we are and what we do here. We would like for people who love science to feel part of a global CERN community by using them,” explains Esma Mobs, the designer of the CERN stickers. 

The other purpose of the stickers is to introduce a new, less formal means of communication between people working at CERN. “For example, with the stickers of the three main restaurants on site, we now have a fast and visual way to ask somebody for lunch. There is also a sticker for the CERN community’s main fuel – coffee – which is even animated,” adds Esma.

If you are an Apple user, you can download your CERN stickers immediately from the App Store and use them on all your iOS devices. If you have any other kind of device, don’t worry – you can download the full set of stickers and attach them to your messages and e-mails. Soon enough there should also be a specially designed keyboard for Android devices.

Do you want to add your personal contribution to the collection of CERN stickers? You are welcome to send your image ideas to cern-stickers@cern.ch.