Design study, Community
The Bayfront Line Opens
A self-initiated design study: Get first-time riders onto the new rail line during free opening weekend and show that bikes ride along.
These are self-initiated studies, not client work. Each is a fictional campaign; none was commissioned by, produced for, or approved by any agency or organization.
The brief
- Line of business
- Community
- Audience
- Neighbors along the new rail line who drive to work and have never tried transit.
- Objective
- Get first-time riders onto the new rail line during free opening weekend and show that bikes ride along.
- When and where
- Free rides July 10 and 11, All Bayfront Line stations
Concept A: One Ride Away 12
Shows familiar places, school, work, and the bay, now one ride apart, so the city feels newly connected. Type style.
Concept B: Free Ride Weekend 12
Leads with the easiest invitation possible, free rides all weekend, plus how to bring a bike. Scene style.
Concept C: Someone Else Drives 12
Celebrates the small luxury of reading, napping, or texting on the way to work instead of gripping the wheel. Grid style.
Spanish adaptation of One Ride Away 12
The first direction adapted rather than translated: the headline, supporting line, and call to action rewritten in Spanish, with the layout reflowed for the longer text. Type style.
What was checked
Every one of the 48 pieces was checked as it was composed. The lowest text contrast measured anywhere in this study is 6.19 to 1, against a minimum of 4.5 to 1. Type sizes are in the units of each format: pixels for digital formats, and for print, units of the drawing at the sizes shown.
| Format | Minimum type size | Smallest set | Lowest contrast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poster, 18 by 24 inches | 11 | 13.2 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Flyer, letter | 11 | 13.5 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Social story, vertical | 13 | 13.0 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Retractable banner | 10 | 10.0 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Display ad, 160 by 600 | 10 | 10.0 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Social post, square | 13 | 13.2 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Display ad, 300 by 250 | 10 | 10.0 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Postcard, 6 by 4 inches | 13 | 13.2 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Event cover | 12 | 12.0 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Billboard | 12 | 12.0 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Email header | 11 | 11.0 | 6.19 to 1 |
| Display ad, 728 by 90 | 10 | 10.0 | 6.19 to 1 |