Visual Project: Endangered Species of Delaware
The audience I had in mind for this project was students and faculty members of University of Delaware. Mostly because I noticed that on campus there are a ton of boards and walls dedicated to advertisements and events. Two that pop to mind are the ones in Memorial Hall and the wall in the Morris library café.
Plenty of students and faculty members have glanced at them from what I’ve saw. Some stop by to read them properly, take numbers, or even make note of events. I thought if I want to get people to notice my printout, it has to be in a very visible place where I know people would actually take the time to look at it. Which is what lead me to aim for this particular audience, because I know that while they may not absorb it right away, there is still a chance they would at least see it frequently enough.
This is also why I chose the printout for this particular project. With Piktochart I was able to add color and pictures so it’s this nice digital collage. Most of the time when I look at these advertisement boards, it’s just a sea of white with splotches of color here and there. I wanted it to at least stick out a little more so that people could look at the board and just spot it right away.
Most of my information came from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environment Control website. They have this long list of endangered species in Delaware and have them categorized on their species. It’s actually fairly long and there are a ton of birds and insects that are on their way out.
What I found challenging was the fact that there are a dozen of endangered species found in Delaware. Ranging from birds to bugs to the point there was no way I could cram all of them into one printout. So I had to decide what to cut out and what to add, what would really catch peoples attention and what I could do without.
It was actually pretty hard. I wanted to try to add them all in, but I had to be aware that somethings would probably cause people to turn away. The endangered insects for example, while there are plenty going extinct I was worried that it might gross people out. Looking at a bug up close isn’t necessarily pleasant unless you’re fond of bugs in some way. Not to mention if I added every species insects would dominate the page which I feel would also detract from the other endangered species.
In the end I had decided that I would pick one from each category outside of bugs and mollusks. Choosing the ones that seemed visibly pleasing to the eyes. It actually made it pretty fun, a lot of the photos were beautiful and it was interesting to see the variety of animals too. Looking through the photos were actually the best part too cause I had a great time going through the bat photos before deciding on the one you see on the printout.
Overall it was enjoyable to make too which is rewarding on its own. The creatures were cute, they don’t feel off putting, and I’m hoping that it would grab someone’s attention as well.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7120/7408990420_3355c1d903_b.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7120/7408990420_3355c1d903_b.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Broad-winged_Hawk.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Bog_turtle_sunning.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Barking_Tree_Frog.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Enneacanthus_chaetodon_01.jpg
