After creating two mock up ideas, I decided it was time for me to select and refine my posters. I selected my first idea because I preferred the simplicity of the design and I had had trouble creating the text in the text and image poster for my adoption idea.
I began my final designs by developing my 'dead/unused heart' poster. I felt this was the weakest poster in the first set. I darkened the purple colour as the previous purple seemed to bright and did not reflect the sadness of the situation. I felt that purple worked for the posters overall as one of my colours as it was able to convey several meanings - a dark purple and a much happier pinky purple can be achieved to communicate my message.
The lines were also too thick so I reduced the weight of these. I feel that this reflects the delicateness of the heart. I drew a new heart shape all together this time as initially I was drawing it quickly just to see what it looked like. I decided to add some highlights to add a sort of 'shininess' that an organ would have. I also added liquid around the heart for a more realistic feel. The tubes are flopping over to emphasise it no longer being in use. The image itself is quite gruesome which I feel will deter people from choosing this option out of the posters.
I placed the heart at the bottom of the page as it seems to represent the sunken organ thrown on the ground.
Initial design
Improved design
I then began to consider how I could improve the 'live/used' heart illustration. I felt that I had gotten a bit carried away with the pen tool on illustrator so my first port of call was to reduce the detail and simplify the heart overall. I stuck to two shades of the purple for the drawing of the heart itself, a very light purple for the flowers, and a variety of shades of green for the plants. I feel that the new simplified version is far more effective and still conveys the meaning despite the loss of detail.
In my first design, I had used the pen tool to write the word thank you. I originally preferred this as it felt more personal, but as I began to explore fonts I changed my mind. I had originally used helvetica for my central poster, so for consistency I had tried using this for the word thank you, although I disliked how similar it looks to other existing logos and posters. I tried using arial bold which is very similar but it manages to look unique enough for my design. I experimented with the kerning of the letters. Initially I had a very tight kerning as I just prefer the style of this. However, larger spaces between the characters had a more open feel and seemed to reflect the thankfulness of the person. After getting some feedback from other students, it was suggested that I meet in the middle and have a slightly larger than usual kerning, using arial bold.
A central placing of the text and image seemed most appropriate as I want the viewer to focus on this.
Previous design
New improved versions with text variations
My final typeface choice with my other options
Finally, my text only poster didn't need as much development. I changed the font from helvetica to arial bold. I tightened the kerning as the message needs to get across quickly. I used the green colour from the plants on the alive heart as I can only use two colours. I did have the 'yes' and 'no' in uppercase but I felt that this seemed too dramatic. I want the question to appear as an every day question rather than a once in a lifetime opportunity as registering as a donor can be done any day.
I added details at the bottom of the page to clarify the meaning of the poster. This also gives viewers the information they need to register- which they will do after seeing the poster!
I feel that my new posters look for more professional as set, they seem to flow well. The change from green to black text I feel makes a substantial difference- but it does not take away the legibility. At first I thought that the larger the text the more noticeable, but the second design looks for more friendly and inviting and I still think people would read it.
Overall, I am quite pleased with the message and simplicity of my design. I did feel a bit rushed with the project and I found it difficult working with the few weak ideas that I had but I am still pleased with what I came up with. If I had had more time I would have tried to think of more ideas and taken more of these ideas to photoshop and illustrator.
Previous design
New improved design
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