Design study, Environment
Protect the Eelgrass
A self-initiated design study: Help boaters recognize eelgrass beds and anchor outside them to protect young fish.
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
- Environment
- Audience
- Recreational boaters and paddlers who anchor or launch in the shallow parts of the bay.
- Objective
- Help boaters recognize eelgrass beds and anchor outside them to protect young fish.
- When and where
- Year-round, every outing, Shallow waters of the bay
Concept A: Nursery Below 12
Reveals that the green blur under the hull is a nursery for young fish, which makes boaters protective. Type style.
Concept B: Sand, Not Grass 12
Uses a simple color key, sandy bottom is fine and green meadow is off limits, that boaters can read from the deck. Scene style.
Concept C: Underwater Lawn 12
Calls eelgrass the bay's underwater lawn, then asks boaters, politely, not to park on the grass. Grid style.
Spanish adaptation of Nursery Below 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 5.08 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 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Flyer, letter | 11 | 13.5 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Social story, vertical | 13 | 13.0 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Retractable banner | 10 | 10.0 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Display ad, 160 by 600 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Social post, square | 13 | 13.2 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Display ad, 300 by 250 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Postcard, 6 by 4 inches | 13 | 13.2 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Event cover | 12 | 12.0 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Billboard | 12 | 12.0 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Email header | 11 | 11.0 | 5.08 to 1 |
| Display ad, 728 by 90 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.08 to 1 |