Poster Campaign

Theodore Payne Foundation

Overview

Theodore Payne Foundation inspires and educates Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plant landscapes. I researched the case for native gardening and designed a poster campaign to help normalize native landscapes and engage a larger, more diverse audience.

This is a school project completed for the Introduction to Graphic Design course at ArtCenter Extension (ACX). Poster designs and campaign concept are original work; research sources are cited throughout and listed at the end of this case study.

Course

Introduction to Graphic Design, ArtCenter Extension (ACX)

Timeline

January – April 2024

Scope

Research & Insights
Concept Development
Poster Design
Campaign Direction

The Mission

Theodore Payne Foundation inspires and educates Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plant landscapes. Their primary goals are to normalize native plant landscapes, and to engage and educate a larger and more diverse audience.

Brainstorming

Hand-drawn word map exploring key concepts for the Theodore Payne Foundation campaign

In order to begin the design process, I started with a word-map, including doodles (of course), to better make connections on what key words I wanted to focus on.

I landed on happiness, beautification, sustainability and education. These will drive how I build everything, from the audiences to the thumbnails.

Beautifying the environment improves mental health and provides local communities with visual enrichment.

Educating people on how to sustainably live in and enrich our environment will benefit society as a whole. This all comes together into a strong driver for design.

Audiences

Gardening Enthusiasts

Interested in landscaping for personal reasons. This mainly includes homeowners, especially those who have more flexible schedules. Financial savings might be a primary driver for this group.

Student Activists

Students with a special interest in sustainability, whether they are studying a related topic or are simply passionate about improving the environment. Potential volunteers.

Nursery Shoppers

Individuals who primarily shop the plant nursery, but may not have interest in more. Might participate if native plants are effectively marketed and merchandised in the nursery.

The Research

California native plants need no fertilizers, soil amendments, or pesticides, which harm soil, fresh water, and ocean health – and the case for planting them is backed by hard numbers.

Research supporting native plant water savings

70%

Of household water is used for landscaping; native gardens save a considerable amount of it.

Research on California native plant water use

1/7

The water use of most non-native plants that California natives require on average.

Research on native plants and insect biodiversity

90%

Of leaf-eating insect species can only eat native plants, the foundation of the food web. (Tallamy, 2009)

"Urban and suburban native plant gardens will be the make or break difference for the support of biodiversity."

— Tallamy, 2009

Not all plants are equally "green." A native oak feeds up to 5,000 species of beneficial insects, whereas a non-native maple feeds relatively few – while also using much more water. Planting native near fruit and vegetable gardens increases yield by about 20%, since native plants support native pollinators of different shapes and sizes for more thorough pollination.

The current species extinction rate vastly exceeds the normal background rate. Creating habitat in our communities – parkways, medians, public spaces, and private gardens – is one of the ways we can help. (Barnosky et al., 2011)

The Design Process

The campaign moved from broad exploration to a focused final direction across four rounds of iteration.

100 Thumbnails

The goal was to show a variety of California native plants while focusing in more regionally, showcasing the large variety of California's natural landscapes and subtly reminding the general public of the state's ecological diversity.

A sheet of 100 hand-drawn thumbnail sketches exploring California native plant poster concepts

Poster Roughs

I selected 6 of the 100 thumbnails to develop out into rough drafts with more detail, allowing myself to better make a decision on what concepts are strongest.

Poster rough: Plant LA's Future, a grid of native plant illustrations

The goal is to show a variety of California native plants while focusing in more regionally. This could also be hung decoratively.

Poster rough: Grow Native, a map of California filled with native plant illustrations

The goal is to show the large variety of California's natural landscapes and more subtly remind the general public of the importance of native plants.

Poster rough: Biodiversity Starts Here, a map illustration

Rather than focusing on regions, this is to showcase the TPF and promote interest in them. This would include more cartoony doodles.

Poster rough: Delivery, a butterfly delivering native seeds

Silly little butterfly delivering native seeds! This type of lighthearted campaign might induce more positive feelings and a sense of hope.

Poster rough: Go Native, lettering surrounded by dirt texture

This would be a simple campaign message of "GO NATIVE." I'm envisioning it as flowers bursting from dirt, but may also explore drawing flower icons on type.

Poster rough: It Doesn't Have to Be Grass, a four-quadrant lawn alternative layout

Visually showing alternative options to grass that look beautiful will motivate people to upgrade their grass lawns to something more sustainable.

Semi-Tights

Digital mockups of the chosen rough designs. At this stage, the "Go Native" format proved confusing to read, which shaped the direction of the final posters.

Semi-tight poster mockup: It Doesn't Have to Be Grass, photo grid layout

Semi-tight poster mockup exploring the lawn-alternative campaign direction

The Final Posters

Four directions carried forward from the semi-tights, each exploring a different way to make the case for native planting.

Exploration 1

I played off of the third semi-tight and wanted to do a series of posters rather than one poster showing different types of lawn alternatives.

Exploration 1 poster variation showing a lawn alternative, version 2

Exploration 1 poster variation showing a lawn alternative, version 3

Exploration 1 poster variation showing a lawn alternative, version 4

Exploration 2

This design is an informational poster that I could envision being in a museum or in a garden to educate interested parties in how planting native can make a difference. I think this design would also translate well into a webpage.

Exploration 3

This is a general campaign poster that is focused on the simple message: "plant native." I think it is a lot more visually appealing than Exploration 1 and appeals to a more modern audience.

Mockup of the Exploration 3 poster in context

Exploration 4

This is another general campaign poster, but it's photography forward and has a bit more information about the Theodore Payne Foundation's mission upon closer inspection.

Mockup of the Exploration 4 poster in context

About

Hi, I'm Faina.

My analytical left brain loves the foundation of data in a spreadsheet. My delusional right brain wants to throw a grand masquerade ball with wax sealed invitations delivered via carrier pigeon. They battle it out and settle on a plan that can feasibly come together, but delivers that extra sparkle.

Spending over 7 years in marketing has led me master the somewhat chaotic tango between my right and left brain, and my relentless drive for that something more means I don't stop at industry standard.

At heart, I'm an excitable artsy kid who makes spreadsheets for everything, dreams big and loves learning. You'll find me in sunny SoCal, sipping one of three beverages at my desk with a cat on my lap. If you want to chat careers, life or exchange coffee shop recommendations, don't be shy. Say hello at fainadanielian@gmail.com.

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