Category: COM561

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. With this flyer I hope to enhance communication between Paid Family and Medical Leave and the communities in Washington state. I wanted to make the flyer inviting and provide contact information where individuals across the state could call the department to seek answers for their questions.

While creating this graphic design, I was selective in the images that I chose because I wanted them to match the questions that were being addressed. I felt 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). 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. The text is the focus of the flyer, but the images assist viewers by quickly associating 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 likely prompt the individual to contact the department for further inquiry.

After I gathered images 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 horizontally from the center of the flyer to the right-side edge. First, I created a group for the layers that contained images so the gradient would be balanced among them. I created the group by selecting the three layers that the images were on, right clicked, and then I selected group from layers. 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 they met the text. Though the straight lines and color similarity among the text and images provide visual unity, the fading images ensure the hierarchy of the text.

At the suggestion of my classmates I altered the text on the flyer to a less bulky font. I also edited the verbiage to allow for more space which created a visually appealing flyer. My classmates also suggested that the flyer may seem ‘washed out’ due to the images taking on the color of the gradient. My intent of the color scheme was to create a softness and cohesiveness among the flyer. I experimented in Photoshop and decided to add a bit of color back into the images. To do this I selected the group of layers that I made from the images, and then I set the blending mode for this group to pass through. I set the opacity to about 80%. I feel this setting gives the pictures depth, while not taking the focus away from the text. Another great assessment that I received from my classmates was the location of the contact information. Initially it was typed in a small font and tucked away in the upper right-hand corner. Although it is still in the same location, the contact information is now prominently displayed. I enlarged the font and centered the text to sit evenly with the title of the flyer.

Overall, my aim for this project 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.

Photo Credit:

https://pixabay.com/photos/hospital-labor-delivery-mom-840135/

https://pixabay.com/photos/baby-child-cute-dad-daddy-family-22194/

https://pixabay.com/photos/veterans-navy-deployment-home-1054323/

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/

Here are my completed tutorials.

“If I hadn’t been approved for paid time off my Grandmother wouldn’t have anyone to care for her following her surgery.”

WA employee

As a Paid Family and Medical Leave specialist I hear statements like this on a daily basis and it is a reminder of the impact the program has on the lives and well being of Washingtonians. I am proud to say I was a part of the implementation of one of the best-paid leave programs in the nation. We have had our downfalls, as every start-up does, but in this blog I intend to focus on our successes, our strengths, and what I have learned in the past few months leading up to the launch date of Washington state’s paid leave program.

The journey to paid leave began in 2007 when the first Paid Family and Medical Leave bill passed into the legislature. Unfortunately, there was no funding designated for the program until 8 years later when Governor Inslee received a federal grant to begin designing the program. Throughout 2018 rulemaking was underway, technology for the program was being set up, and the first employees of the customer care team were being trained. Many would say a groundbreaking day for the paid leave team was January 1, 2019, when we began collecting premiums from employers. We were getting money in, and the program was coming to fruition.

Although there are many Washington employers and employees that do not agree with the new ‘tax’ coming out of their paycheck, they will value it when an unforeseen event occurs in life and they need to utilize the paid leave that is available to them. Life’s events are most certainly not always planned. For example, I received a call the other day from an employer calling on behalf of her employee. She was contacting the department on behalf of her employee because he was in no condition to call in on his own as he was in the hospital with severe burns. After discussing eligibility requirements, the employer broke down and said, ‘I can’t believe this is even happening’. She then went on to share that her employee had been in a serious vehicular accident and had lost his young family in the wreck.

Although many people think that this program is welfare or only for the ill-prepared, it is here for everyone especially during life’s unexpected events.

If you are an employee working within the state of Washington seeking paid time off please visit paidleave.wa.gov to see if you qualify.