Design study, Experiences
Harbor History Walks
A self-initiated design study: Fill free docent-led walking tours and turn local residents into ambassadors for harbor history.
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
- Experiences
- Audience
- Residents and visitors curious about the people, ships, and trades that built the harbor.
- Objective
- Fill free docent-led walking tours and turn local residents into ambassadors for harbor history.
- When and where
- Saturdays and Sundays | 10 am, Meet at the old lighthouse
Concept A: In Their Footsteps 12
Places walkers in the footsteps of dockworkers and lighthouse keepers, turning landmarks back into lives. Type style.
Concept B: Easy to Join 12
Answers the basics up front, free, mostly flat, and about an hour, so anyone can say yes. Scene style.
Concept C: Beyond the Plaques 12
Promises the colorful stories the plaques leave out, from smugglers to storms to feuding keepers. Grid style.
Spanish adaptation of In Their Footsteps 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 5.00 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 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Flyer, letter | 11 | 13.5 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Social story, vertical | 13 | 13.0 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Retractable banner | 10 | 10.0 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Display ad, 160 by 600 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Social post, square | 13 | 13.2 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Display ad, 300 by 250 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Postcard, 6 by 4 inches | 13 | 13.2 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Event cover | 12 | 12.0 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Billboard | 12 | 12.0 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Email header | 11 | 11.0 | 5.00 to 1 |
| Display ad, 728 by 90 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.00 to 1 |