Design study, Maritime
Cross-Bay Ferry
A self-initiated design study: Introduce the new weekday ferry route and get car commuters to try it during launch week.
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
- Maritime
- Audience
- Weekday commuters who drive around the bay and sit in bridge traffic every morning.
- Objective
- Introduce the new weekday ferry route and get car commuters to try it during launch week.
- When and where
- Starts Monday, September 13, Ferry Landing at Pier 3
Concept A: Water Over Traffic 12
Contrasts brake lights with open water, selling the ferry as time given back rather than another transit option. Type style.
Concept B: Door to Dock 12
Lays out the facts commuters weigh: where it docks, when it runs, and that bikes can ride along. Scene style.
Concept C: Sea Lion Commute 12
Gives commuters bragging rights, since few people can say they waved at sea lions on the way to work. Grid style.
Spanish adaptation of Water Over Traffic 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 6.59 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 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Flyer, letter | 11 | 13.5 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Social story, vertical | 13 | 13.0 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Retractable banner | 10 | 10.0 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Display ad, 160 by 600 | 10 | 10.0 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Social post, square | 13 | 13.2 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Display ad, 300 by 250 | 10 | 10.0 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Postcard, 6 by 4 inches | 13 | 13.2 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Event cover | 12 | 12.0 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Billboard | 12 | 12.0 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Email header | 11 | 11.0 | 6.59 to 1 |
| Display ad, 728 by 90 | 10 | 10.0 | 6.59 to 1 |