Design study, Public Safety
Life Jacket Loaners
A self-initiated design study: Get more people wearing life jackets on the water by making a well-fitted loaner easy to grab.
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
- Public Safety
- Audience
- Families, paddlers, and anglers heading out in small boats, kayaks, and paddleboards.
- Objective
- Get more people wearing life jackets on the water by making a well-fitted loaner easy to grab.
- When and where
- Free loaner jackets all summer, At launch ramps and docks
Concept A: Come Home Safe 12
Focuses on the people waiting at home, the strongest reason anyone has to buckle a life jacket. Type style.
Concept B: The Loaner Rack 12
Shows the loaner rack and the sizes on it, so borrowing a jacket feels as easy as grabbing a towel. Scene style.
Concept C: Best Look Afloat 12
Owns the fact that life jackets are not glamorous and argues they are the best look on the water anyway. Grid style.
Spanish adaptation of Come Home Safe 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 5.19 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 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Flyer, letter | 11 | 13.5 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Social story, vertical | 13 | 13.0 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Retractable banner | 10 | 10.0 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Display ad, 160 by 600 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Social post, square | 13 | 13.2 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Display ad, 300 by 250 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Postcard, 6 by 4 inches | 13 | 13.2 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Event cover | 12 | 12.0 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Billboard | 12 | 12.0 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Email header | 11 | 11.0 | 5.19 to 1 |
| Display ad, 728 by 90 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.19 to 1 |