There is much to be said about Washington state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program, so when creating my graphic design I had quite a few directions in which I could go. I felt it best to take the opportunity and create a ‘frequently asked questions’ flyer for this new program. Although education is being distributed across the state hopeful applicants routinely call in with similar eligibility questions. The audience that I am trying to reach is any Washingtonian who feels they may be eligible for the program, but still have general questions. I wanted to make the flyer inviting and provide contact information where individuals across the state could call the customer care center to seek answers for their questions.
While creating this graphic design, I was selective in the images that I choose because I wanted them to match the questions that were being answered. I felt that the cohesiveness between the imagery and literature provided an intellectual unity. I located all three images on Pixabay.com (links for each image will be noted at the end). Although the text is the focus of the flyer, I wanted graphic images that enabled individuals to quickly associate information. I chose the image portraying father and baby to imply that fathers too are eligible to receive paid leave to care for their newborn. I chose the second image to personify the portion of the law that enables individuals to be there for loved ones who are veterans returning from or deploying overseas. A quick glance at this flyer would associate these events with Paid Family and Medical leave and hopefully prompt the individual to contact the department for further inquiry. Pixabay proved to be a great site to gather my imagery because all their images are covered under a creative commons license. This license provides the public, including bloggers, the ability to legally modify images and forgo permission from the artist.
Now that I had images gathered to compliment the literature, I needed to soften them so they would not command attention of the flyer. I chose to place a gradient over the images so they would fade from the center to the edge horizontally. First, I created a group for the layers that contained images so the gradient would be balanced among them. I then selected the gradient tool, choose transparent to foreground, and applied the gradient from left to right so the images would be more faded where the text overlapped. Though the straight lines and color similarity among the text and images provide visual unity the fade ensures the images are secondary to the solid text. Even though individuals tend to focus more on images the hierarchy of the text draws the audience towards the literature on the flyer.
Overall, my aim was to create a visually balanced flyer that would educate the public on Washington state’s new paid leave program. I purposely left the questions vague for inclusivity so the public would seek out eligibility on an individual level. There are few exceptions as to who is not eligible to receive paid leave benefits. My hope is that this ad will spark curiosity and not only lead the public to educate themselves, but also spread the word on this wonderful program that is changing the way Washingtonians are able to care for themselves and their families.
https://pixabay.com/photos/baby-child-cute-dad-daddy-family-22194/
https://pixabay.com/photos/veterans-navy-deployment-home-1054323/
https://pixabay.com/photos/hospital-labor-delivery-mom-840135/
Washington state's Paid Family and Medical Leave 
Hi Jessica, your poster was highly informational and educational. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through it and learning about the Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program. There are so many benefits through our state that are not clear to families, and this one is definitely important to know! I think your creative process is on point, and the use of photos definitely accentuates the audiences that you are trying to reach out with your message. It also provides an emotional element that can stay in people’s minds and will become a hook when trying to remember where they learned this information. So, I think those elements really work well in your design. My only two suggestions would be first, for the call to action, which is your “contact us” information, I would suggest enlarging that information and place it in a place where people can easily see it. This is one of the most important points in your whole message, and you’ll want people to access that information. The second thing, I would suggest deleting the “Q” s and “A”s and make more white space in the poster. Since your poster is text-heavy, you’ll want to create more white space for the reader to easily navigate through it. Other than those two suggestions I believe you’ve done a great job providing information!
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Your selection for the project’s topic and design are valuable additions to the program’s marketing materials. A document highlighting the most common questions, or even the most ambiguous questions, serves as a clarifying communication tool that can positively impact and inform readers. In your blog you also mention that Washington is a national leader for implementing paid family leave; your design and associated blog posts could provide direction to other states or agencies considering implementing such a program. I appreciate your explanation on why you selected each image and how it relates to the overall purpose of the design and content.
My recommendation for your design is to adjust the written content so that the question and answer have different formatting (bold, italics, typeface, size, etc.) so that the questions and answers can be differentiated just by looking at the design. Additionally, an adjustment to consider would be to justify and text wrap your text so that it is square in shape and does not overlap the photos, but is instead square with them.
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 few grammatical errors that could easily be addressed prior to final submission of the design. I would recommend you proofread your design content and run spell check to catch misspellings.
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Hi Jessica,
Great project topic! I really enjoyed the design and composition of your flyer. Your choice of a cooler color pallet, like blues and purples, works on so many levels. The soft blue gradient has a very calming effect that comes across in a pleasant way to people who may be anxious or stressed regarding these FAQs. It also is a great color to select regarding a “medical” topic, it reminds me of the blue scrubs nurses wear and creates a positive and strong association between the two (even if it’s a subconscious association for some people). The photos you chose and the faded effect you applied to them work perfectly in your flyer. By fading the photos it creates a subtle background effect that lets you place text over them without it looking too cluttered, and the subjects in the photos portray a safe and reassuring feeling to viewers.
In terms of suggestions, I’m about 95% sure that in the title of the flyer, the “s” in state should be capitalized. I tried Googling it, and it came up both ways. However, I think the title might look better with a capital “s”.
Also, I would try playing around with the style of text a little bit. I love the color you chose for the text, but I think that it might benefit from making the “Q” and “A” bold? Or maybe just the questions bold, and the answers “regular”.
Overall, great design and use of color!
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My first critical suggestion is about the text in your design. I believe the title text could be in a different font. From what I can tell, the body text and the title text are the same. I think that using different texts sets the separate sections apart and creates a more visually appealing piece. I also believe the contact information should be bigger, and in a more thought-out location. It is small and placed in what looks like blank unused space. I suggest either in title font at the bottom, or vertically down the left side. The positioning of the text over the photographs (and sometimes under the photographs, such as the second “A” text words “spend” and deploy” ) is inconsistent to me and lacks the uniformity needed to make a cohesive design. My second critical suggestion is about the color palette. I believe that the background or the text would look good blue, but not both. It is not eye catching to me because everything is the same muted tone and there is no contrast. One area I believe this design is strong is it’s content. The Q&A text is relevant and informative. The images are visually appealing and match the subject matter.
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Self-Critique Comment
The most notable feedback I received from my classmates was the format of my text. Looking at my poster with a fresh perspective, I agree the text would look better in a different format; possibly smaller to avoid a cluttered appearance. I still appreciate the effect of the gradient and that is something I will be keeping. I may strengthen the effect of the gradient as well as soften the edges of the images so the lines will not be as blunt. Another notable suggestion was the location of my contact information. It is important that potential applicants have clear contact information so they can find out more about applying to the program. I may lessen the text throughout the poster and place more of an emphasis on the contact information, especially the website because it contains a lot of educational material. Overall, I believe it is a good start, but I am grateful for the feedback I have received from my classmates so I can improve my graphic image.
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