Design study, Maritime
The Bay at Work
A self-initiated design study: Show residents the working harbor up close and build pride in the jobs and goods that move through it.
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
- Residents who enjoy the bay but rarely see the cargo, fishing, and shipyard work that happens on it.
- Objective
- Show residents the working harbor up close and build pride in the jobs and goods that move through it.
- When and where
- Saturdays in May | 10 am to 2 pm, Harbor Terminal Main Gate
Concept A: Behind the Fence 12
Opens the gate on a place most people only glimpse from the freeway, turning curiosity into civic pride. Type style.
Concept B: It Came by Ship 12
Connects everyday objects to the harbor, so cargo work feels personal instead of distant and industrial. Scene style.
Concept C: Big Machine Fans 12
Plays to the kid in everyone who stops to watch a crane, giving grownups a good excuse to get close. Grid style.
Spanish adaptation of Behind the Fence 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 5.04 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 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Flyer, letter | 11 | 13.5 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Social story, vertical | 13 | 13.0 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Retractable banner | 10 | 10.0 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Display ad, 160 by 600 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Social post, square | 13 | 13.2 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Display ad, 300 by 250 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Postcard, 6 by 4 inches | 13 | 13.2 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Event cover | 12 | 12.0 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Billboard | 12 | 12.0 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Email header | 11 | 11.0 | 5.04 to 1 |
| Display ad, 728 by 90 | 10 | 10.0 | 5.04 to 1 |