Sea Life Needs Wellness Too
For my visual, I immediately pictured how sea life has suffered from litter and pollution which are still somehow common issues.
I encounter plastic rings often at my job, because we keep soda cans in stock. I always take a little bit of time to cut them up completely, and recycle them.
The image I used, from ForceChange.com, is of a sea turtle named Peanut and she has become notorious for her permanently deformed and damaged body. Her story turned for the worst in the 1980s when she was still small enough to find herself stuck in a plastic six-pack holder that someone neglected to dispose of properly. Peanut was rescued and cut free in 1993 and since her shell had grown around the plastic ring, her body will never “snap” back into place — her shell is hard and she will never fully recover.
When sea life and animals like Peanut get stuck in plastic rings or similar pollution, the impact can last for their entire lifetime — no matter how short it is cut by the neglect of others.
My intended audience for this visual was mainly toward college students or young adults who are consuming soda, beer, any other beverage that may come in a six-pack. As I mentioned, at my job we sell soda in cans and before stocking them in the fridge, we take them out of the plastic rings in which they are sent to us. I always take the additional time it takes to cut them up completely to ensure that even if this plastic does end up somewhere it shouldn’t, it won’t cause the kind of harm that is displayed in the visual.
I decided a poster would be the most appropriate. The audience I wanted to reach would mostly be young adults — who seem to have busier schedules than most. I didn’t want to put an overwhelming amount of information. Just enough information, so that whoever happened to stop and stare at the saddening photo of Peanut could know what has happened and why. A shocking photo was necessary to grab the attention of anyone passing by and do so as quickly as possible. Young adults, like those in college, can enjoy a few beers every now and again and unfortunately plastic rings don’t always find their way to a recycling bin.
I preferred to use a black fade into the photo. It gives the entire visual a solemn tone and the white words contrast with it as well. I wanted to keep the design as simple as possible, to focus the audience’s attention on the issue — mainly the image. If the image is all the audience can take away from the poster/flier, that would be okay because I don’t think someone would see that image and this it was a positive concept.
The most challenging part about making this visual was to find useful information and statistics about plastic rings, specifically to include in the visual. I didn’t want to drown the image in words, but I didn’t want to leave it too open to interpretation, although it was intended to be straightforward. The most rewarding part, on the other hand, was that I took something that I feel passionate about already — sea life and its wellness — and had the chance to share the shocking reality that is occurring because of human negligence.
