Bill Michie

Why We Work Safely
As a marketer in the construction industry, safety communication is at the heart of my work. In an effort to eliminate accidents and injuries on our jobsites, we have changed the way we work and reinforce safety as a core value through communication. I am able to support these efforts by standardizing on-site safety signage, developing graphics promoting safe work practices and communicating our safety commitment to clients.

My topic for this semester is focused on construction safety communications, specifically, developing content to remind colleagues Why We Work Safely. The goal of my collage (and forthcoming work) is to connect emotionally with employees and remind them about what, and who, they have to lose by taking risks and working unsafe. My theory is this emotional connection to safety will result in employees adopting safe practices in their daily routines.

Design Approach
I started the design process by researching why my colleagues work safely. The majority shared family stories and hobbies they enjoy. As one would expect, people got excited when they talk about things they love. This supported the need for authentic and relevant imagery to reinforce the message that we work safely so we can go home to our families, enjoy our hobbies, and live long fulfilling lives.

Just like Peter Mendelsund, I first brainstormed and sketched out various layouts that would help facilitate these feelings. This step was crucial to the design process – once I chose a layout I liked, I could get right to work in Photoshop.

Based on my research I knew the focus of my collage needed to be family.  To be effective, it also needed to communicate and connect with a diverse audience. After a few sketches, I determined a grid system would allow me to use a wide variety of compelling and authentic images.  I also wanted to use construction images to tie these emotions to their work. Finally, I wanted to include a hero family as the main subject.

Image Capture and Collection
As noted, authentic imagery was important for this collage. Overall, collecting images was fairly simple, but documenting permissions proved cumbersome. Through my employer, Lease Crutcher Lewis, I had access to a library of construction and family photos.

After reviewing a few creative common image providers, I chose to source the hobby images from Wiki Commons. The selection was more limited than other resources, but I was pleased with its easy access to document permissions. The revision process aided my image selection and forced me to reconsider their value and placement.  Ultimately, I am happy with my choice of images. Not only will my colleagues see their projects, they will see their friends and family as well.

Design Execution
After gathering my images, I built this collage in Photoshop. This PDF details all the steps completed used to create this collage. It has been a while since I spent this much time in the program, so the tutorials from week 2 served as a nice refresher. Especially useful were those focused on blending and adjustment layers. Below is my completed draft collage.

Revision Process
After reviewing my draft collage, I found some areas for improvement which were supported by the helpful and unbiased feedback from my classmates. I also sought feedback from my marketing team. To summarize the feedback, the collage was a bit busy and lacked the connection to construction I desired. I determined a lot of this could be remedied by reevaluating the approach to my grid.

In an effort to attain unity, I spent time reviewing the Gestalt Theories and started sketching again. As shown above, I used proximity, continuation, and similarity to help with the interpretation of my collage. Using the Rule of Thirds and Golden Mean supported the placement of my Hero Family.

Improving the quality of my Hero Family image also took a fair amount of time and required me to futher explore the tutorials from week 2.  One revision I wasn’t expecting was having to change WordPress theme to one which supports high quality images. Finally, I revised my copy to improve both it’s readability and call-to-action. This PDF details all the steps completed during my revision process.

I am looking forward to sharing this completed collage with my marketing team and colleagues. Hopefully employees will proudly display the collage on their monitors and share why they work safely.

Image Credits:

• GOLF BALL PHOTO- By Lotus Head from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa (sxc.hu), via Wikimedia Commons
• HIKING PHOTO – By Brian & Jaclyn Drum (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons
• FISHING PHOTO – By melaniae.trapani, via Wikimedia Commons
• PHOTOGRAPHER PHOTO – By April Killingsworth from Los Angeles, United States (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons
• Sydney Opera House photo was taken by Bill Michie (me).
• All other photos were courtesy of Lease Crutcher Lewis.