For the Graphic Design Project I decided to focus on the environmental issue of Honey Bee Conservancy because it is an issue that is near and dear to me. I have many friends who are Bee Keepers, and I think that their roll in the environment is as critical as it is fascinating.
When deciding on a color scheme for this project I chose to use a warm pallet of “honey colors.” Aside from the obvious reasons for picking these colors, I also chose them because of how well the colors lent themselves to the hexagon pattern. It reminded me a little bit of a retro-geometric 70s pattern, and for that reason, I also selected a primary font that seems to pair naturally with that retro theme.
When deciding on a technique to display the photos, I chose to continue with the geometric hexagon pattern and incorporate the photographs as large hexagons into the implied structure of the Hive. I did this because of the bold nature of the hexagon shape. I felt that trying to arrange a traditional square or rectangle photograph would clash too strongly with the established honey comb pattern, and result in a messy and confusing layout.
Considering that the event the poster is advertising is a kid friendly and family event, I wanted to display “kid friendly” photos to create an inviting and un-intimidating atmosphere. To do this I reached out to a friend of mine from the East Coast who has lots of experience with Bee Conservancy Education and is also a Bee Keeper herself. In order to follow all copyright protocols and to obtain written permission to use the photographs, I reached out to her via Facebook Messenger, described the reasons and mediums in which her photos would be used, and got her written permission to use her photographs.
When deciding on the placement and layout of the poster, I elected to use varying sizes of elements displayed as hexagon shapes, as well as create some minor “over lapping” effects. I did this to break up any glaring uniformity that might occur from utilizing such a bold geometric pattern. I also used subtly different shades of yellow for the hexagons to reinforce this idea as well and to contribute to the warm pallet of honey colors.
The 2 blue hexagons with honey bees in them are actually photographs of a spray paint & epoxy art work that I created myself about a year ago. The original artwork is on a wood canvas and is approximately 9in x 9in. After completing the original art work, I worked with Split Arrow printing to create professional 8×10 prints using cold press watercolor paper. I then partnered with the Honeybee Conservancy in New York, a non-profit organization, and donated half the proceeds of the honeybee print sales to their organization. I titled the prints “The Disappearing Bee” to draw attention to the environmental crisis, and I continue to partner with them to this day.
Photo Credit: The “Bee Keeper” Photo on the left and the “Children’s Classroom” Photo on the right were both taken by Renée Kristine Ricciardi and used with her written permission.
See her FB Post Here: https://www.facebook.com/renee.k.ricciardi/media_set?set=a.1789145968624&type=3
A Cause to Create 
Valerie, this is a really cool poster! You have a great eye for color and placement! The concept of having the beehive geometric hexagon pattern as your overall design pattern works really well for your message, it just makes it very easy for your audience to know what this poster is all about. The photos as well, resonate with your audience and it makes it very inviting and actually super fun. I would come to this event! I think when it comes to the way you described your design process; it is clear that you provided a very insightful, thoughtful explanation of your research process and your knowledge of the technical elements of photoshop are clearly there. The two things I would suggest for possible improvement of your message are the following: 1) The invitation “Home is Where the Hive Is” and the subsequent text along with the geometric pattern make is text and color heavy. Perhaps you’d like to either use a filter to fade out the patterns, so they are not as rich in color, and that way your text takes center place. This is will create an easy pathway for the reader to get the information they need right up front and not be distracted by the design. 2) I would also suggest either bullet points or a zigzag formatting (with about half an inch space indentation) for the items in your description, “sample local honey, learn about beekeeping, etcetera” as to differentiate or emphasize different activities that are part of the event, and make them a little less static). Overall, great work!
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The way that your design incorporates the hexagon pattern really adds a dimension to your design and ties the design and the content together in a cohesive manner. Additionally, your color palette are beautiful shades that do, as you mentioned, provide a retro vibe. The combination of shapes, colors, and typeface selections maintains this vibe throughout the design.
As the rubric indicates blog professionalism and style accounts for a portion of the overall assignment grade, I feel inclined to mention that there are a handful of grammatical errors that could easily be addressed prior to final submission of the blog post. For example, an occupation such as beekeeper would not be capitalized as it is not a proper noun; it is also one word, rather than two. Topics in education or areas of interest (beekeeping, conservation, etc.) are not capitalized unless they are part of a proper noun such as the Washington Honey Bee Conservation Association.
You provide great rationale for the shapes, colors, and typography that you utilized in the design, but there is no indication that you incorporated any of the specific techniques that we have learned thus far in the Photoshop tutorials or the lessons. The rubric indicates design principles, with attention to the successful execution of the design concepts learned thus far, account for 15% of the overall project grade. Are there instances where you utilize color balance, leveling, layering, etc.? While I do like the design as presented, I wonder if there should be more attention given, either in the design or in the blog post, to the principles from the tutorials and course material.
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Valerie,
Great topic and professional appearance of the advertisement. Features of your ad that I really enjoy are the hexagonal theme which obviously ties right in with the theme of bees and the 70’s style text. I agree with you when you said that if you were to use a traditional rectangle or square photograph it would throw the whole ad off, I would not even know where to strategically place a traditionally shaped photo in this ad. So, kudos for choosing to stick with the hexagonal theme all around.
Although your pictures are fantastic and relate to the topic, I feel that the photo with the girl scout implies it is sponsored by Girl Scouts or has some kind of affiliation. If this is the case maybe you could notate that in the script below. It may even be beneficial to have troops there for community support (I am a Girl Scout mom, probably why this caught my eye). Another suggestion would be to post the time and place of the event. This is a great learning experience for families and a neat way for communities to come together to support a cause. Would you hold this event at a local park or some kind of community observatory?
Overall this flyer is wonderful. Thank you for your detailed explanation of the creation of this graphic design.
Jess
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After having the past few days to reflect on my design project and carefully review the peer feedback provided, I’ve been able to focus in on a few areas that I can improve on. One aspect that was brought to my attention was the way the event’s activities are laid out on the poster. It seems that implementing a “bullet point” style in the list would help make the text more legible and much easier for the viewer to clearly understand. Jess also made a great suggestion in regards to the photo with the children. I hadn’t realized that the blue vest was actually a trademarked Girl Scout uniform, and could be distracting or confusing to people attending the event considering that it’s not sponsored or affiliated with the Girl Scouts (Thanks Jess!)
I also think I’ll try experimenting with the heaviness and boldness of the event title. I believe, based on my experiences with Photoshop in the past, that if I “flatten” the text and rasterize it into an object, instead of actual text, it’ll expand my options for applying various filters or effects. There are so many options and different ways to customize each thing that the endless possibility of effects can be as overwhelming as it is exciting! 🙂
I look forward to fine tuning my graphic design project and applying the great suggestions and feedback provided by my classmates.
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