Introduction
When was the last time you did something for the first time? Dare to Be First is a campaign designed to inspire girls and women to be trailblazers by highlighting historical female figures from the past and how they rose above to defy all odds and do something for the first time. The campaign involves an analysis of the history of feminism in the United States and the identification of women in history who were considered to be “Firsts,” which is a term used to signify women who were the first to achieve a particular accomplishment or goal that only men had previously done. One major goal of Dare to Be First is to inform people that feminism is a movement fueled by a desire for gender equality. This article demonstrates how a campaign such as this one starts from a small idea and eventually becomes an entire movement and how graphic design and social media can be used as tools for success.
Waves of Feminism in the United States
Women's History at Texas A&M |
Why this Campaign, and Why Now?
Design, Development, and Methods
The right aesthetic for this campaign was chosen by figuring out who the target audience was and how the aesthetic of the campaign would be used to target this specific group. It was important to consider the targeted audience for the campaign: girls, women, and leaders of movements that align with Dare to Be First’s beliefs. The color palette (Figure 1) was chosen because of its use of bright colors such as yellow, orange, and pink to represent a bright future and femininity. The navy blue was chosen as a reminder of seriousness. The fonts chosen on the official logo (Figure 2) follow the same meanings as the colors. The script font chosen for “first” was designed to represent free-spiritedness and freedom, and the thin, simplistic and clean font chosen for “DARE TO BE” represents a clean, stable, firm, and modern approach. The logo was initially created as a sketch on pen and paper and then transferred to Adobe Illustrator to vectorize it and clean it up. All of the graphics in the DTBF campaign were made in Adobe Illustrator. |
THE SCRIPT FONT CHOSEN FOR “FIRST” WAS DESIGNED TO REPRESENT FREE-SPIRITEDNESS AND FREEDOM, AND THE THIN, SIMPLISTIC AND CLEAN FONT CHOSEN FOR “DARE TO BE” REPRESENTS A CLEAN, STABLE, FIRM, AND MODERN APPROACH.
Deliverables
The Dare to Be First campaign had two main deliverables. The first was an environmental installation that was on display at the Memorial Student Center on November 7 and 8, 2017 (Figure 3A & 3B). The second is a short promotional video that highlights four modern women embracing their unique abilities and compares them with women in history who paved the way for them to be able to practice these talents today. Other secondary deliverables included stickers, posters, interactive note cards, and social media graphics.
Figure 3A. Front side of installation at a left angle.
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Figure 3B. Front side of installation at a right angle.
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Environmental Installation
The inspiration for the environmental graphic originated from Lee Taekeyom, a professor at Appalachian State University. Lee partnered with Texas A&M professors of the Visualization Vertical Studio course, Sherman Finch and Anatol Bologan, to have students in their class complete projects inspired by his idea of creating a live 3D typography piece designed for display in public areas around Texas A&M University’s campus. Each group in the class had the option to create a piece with any theme, aesthetic, and purpose, as long as it met the criteria of being large scale, displayed in a public setting and used typography to convey its message. At this point in time, Dare to Be First already had developed a concept based on highlighting the accomplishments of women in history. Since the environmental installation would be unique to A&M’s campus, the idea arose to put a timeline of Aggie women’s history on one side of the installation and a powerful typographic image on the other, combining an art piece with an educational one. Thus, the idea for the Dare to Be First environmental installation was born.
Building the installation was a lengthy process and required three people and four nights of labor to complete. The building process for the installation took place over several days between October 30 to November 3, 2017. The base for the installation was a ten-paneled canvas room divider purchased online that was just under seven feet tall and 14 feet wide. Each panel of the installation was carefully printed onto semi-matte paper and cut with an X-ACTO knife to fit the panels. Then, spray adhesive glue was carefully applied to the panels and paper, and they were cemented into place with the help of three sets of hands. This process was continued for all 20 panels (front and back of ten panels) and left to dry for about three days.
On November 7, 2017, the Dare to Be First Environmental Installation was installed in the 12th Man hallway on the first floor of the Memorial Student Center on Texas A&M University’s campus (Figure 3A & 3B). It remained there until the evening of November 8, 2017. While the installation was up, my campaign partners, Alex Hueste and Eman Al-Zubeidi, and I stood by the exhibit to answer questions and have discussions with people who were interested. The location of this exhibit was in an extremely high traffic area on Texas A&M’s campus which led to a great deal of interest and many visitors stopping by. Additionally, the Dare to Be First Environmental Installation was also on display during the Texas A&M Department of Visualization’s semi-annual show in the Langford Architecture Building C on December 7, 2017, along with a documentary video that chronicled the entire journey from start to finish.
Four uniquely talented women were chosen to represent the Dare to Be First campaign as spokeswomen: a biomedical engineering PhD candidate, a hip-hop dancer, a violinist, and a powerlifter. These four women were interviewed and filmed performing their talents. The four women “Firsts” from history that were chosen to compare them with were Marie Curie, Perla Primus, Emmanuelle Boisvert, and Karyn Marshall. Marie Curie was the first woman to earn a Nobel Prize in 1903 for her work in chemistry, and she was compared with the PhD candidate. This pair represented the scenes in the video, “Dare to Be Bright.” Perla Primus was the first African American modern dancer to gain popularity in 1943 for her talents, and she was compared with the hip-hop dancer. This pair represented “Dare to Be Bold.” Emmanuelle Boisvert was the first female concertmaster of a major symphony orchestra in the United States in 1988, and she was compared with the violinist. This pair represented “Dare to Be Heard.” Lastly, Karyn Marshall was the first woman to lift over 300 lbs. in 1987, and she was compared with the powerlifter. This pair represented “Dare to Be Strong.” We felt that it was important to make the connection between the women from history and the women in today’s world because without the “Firsts,” all four of the spokeswomen may not have had the opportunity to embrace their unique talents today.
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THE ENVIRONMENTAL INSTALLATION |
In addition to the main deliverables, there were several supporting elements to the Dare to Be First campaign. The most notable designs are the ones on the @beafirst.campaign Instagram account that were posted to gain a following and generate interest in the campaign (Figures 6A, 6B & 6C, and Figures 7A, 7B, 7C & 7D).
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Conclusion |
I would like to thank my campaign partners, Alex Hueste and Eman Al-Zubeidi, for their dedication to our cause and our friendship. Alex is responsible for the creation of the majority of the design elements, including the logo design, environmental installation design, and graphic elements from the promotional video. Eman is to credit for the majority of the film production and editing in the promotional video. However, we all worked tirelessly and cohesively as a team to give the Dare to Be First campaign life.
Caroline Piazza '18Caroline Piazza is a graduating senior visualization major from Plano, Texas. Caroline participated in the 2017–2018 class of the Undergraduate Research Scholars where she completed her thesis, which culminated in this article, under the direction and guidance of Professor Anatol Bologan. After graduation, Caroline hopes to to begin working toward her goal of becoming a corporate art or creative director.
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References
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