Reed Horticultural Society
In September 2015, I made preliminary plans to create a horticultural society on Reed College's campus. As a horticulturalist at Reed, there were many groups that I could join to act on my hobby within the community, but I noticed that they all had one major flaw: they didn't like to communicate or collaborate with each other. My primary goal in creating the Reed Horticultural Society (RHS) was to unite all green groups under one flag. The mission statement of RHS reflected my goals:
"We are a community group that intends to connect all students, faculty, staff, and local alumni who have (or wish to have) experience with plants. We believe in keeping the Reed community interested in the botanical organisms that live around us, while providing education, green, and profitable services to its members. We are dedicated to running year-round events and discussions that are open to all members of the Reed Community, past and present, near and far, to provide the best possible network for those who share interest in botany. To accomplish this, all island groups (Green Thumb Society, Community Garden, Garden House, Farm House, satellite gardeners, CSAs, etc.) are connected under one umbrella group (RHS). By doing so, knowledge and facilities are accessible to all members, which in-turn allows for the strengthening of an over-looked and fragmented community within the greater Reed College community."
As I singlehandedly created what would later be called a "corporation" by the Student Activities Office, I began attracting supporters through a suspenseful and well advertised campaign to gain an administrative backing. The evolution of RHS culminated in the idea that the group would provide financial, administrative, and organizational backing for any community member who wished to teach a class, run a field trip, or bring a speaker to campus.
Blueprint for a Six-Phase Implementation Plan
The final draft of RHS came in the form of a six-phase implementation plan, which was accessible through a 60-slide PowerPoint presentation. The purpose of the PowerPoint was not for presentation purposes, rather for blueprinting and archival ones. The massive PowerPoint outlines exactly how I planned to create and maintain such a large community group, in extensive detail. The plan was to answer all questions before they were asked.
Top Six Ad
The goal of this advertisement was to convince students to Top Six (voting for the allocation of student body funds) the Reed Horticultural Society. Using a clean, elegant, and professional style, the green of the plant contrasts with the white and black of the poster. The color scheme of the poster signifies institutional monotony, and the bursting seedling signifies the budding of a greener, plant-loving community at Reed College; a deviation from the norm.
The Logo
Intended to showcase the primary goal of RHS: unite all green groups in the community, the logo features the society's initials composed of a variety of silhouetted plants and flowers. Using an initial sketch, I commissioned Oscar Guerrero, a local graphic designer, to implement my vision.
Final logo by Oscar Guerrero
A New Ad Campaign
The first three phases of the RHS blueprint were easily achieved through the implementation of a management board. Silly statements and puns can help viewers remember advertisements. The comparison of a small mason jar terrarium to a rainforest is absurd, and the conversion of acreage is even more ridiculous. The arrangement and style of the advertisement aligns with the theme introduced with the first advertisement. This theme trend is a mark of the campaign style that all other RHS ads would follow.
Style Guide
In addition to following the white background/black LATO text, every advertisement featured the RHS logo in the top-right corner, superimposed over a few petals of a passionflower. In addition to being my specialized genus (Passiflora), the use of a passionflower plays off "passion," drawing connections to the college's passion and devotion towards creating a green environment.
Below the logo is a stylized designation that indicates to the viewer under which phase the advertised event falls.
Consistency and Professionalism
When it comes to professional work, one of my biggest pet peeves is a lack of consistency when it comes to style and other externally visible factors. To combat this I created a template for an email signature that would be used by all RHS board members when corresponding with the community and beyond. This gave RHS a sense of professionalism and seriousness that most Reed groups do not have.