The Reef Project

Winner of the 2015 Best Seminar Project

PBDS 740 Seminar is the capstone course of the University of Baltimore’s Publications Design M.A. program. This course tests and stretches all knowledge and skills students have been learning up to this point.

Students create an imaginary non-profit organization that fills a need in the community (local or international) and then work in teams to analyze its audience, develop a plan for making it public via print and/or other media, and design and write working prototypes.

I conceived The Reef Project after I was lucky enough to see the gorgeous coral reefs of the Caribbean and the Maldives in person. I fell in love with the beauty of coral reefs and all the exotic marine life you can find there.

This inspired me to think of ways that anyone, whether they lived near a coral reef or not, could help save this precious natural resource.

As team leader of The Reef Project, I:

• Created audience profiles
• Determined the organization’s mission and wrote the vision statement
• Developed guidelines for measuring the success of initiatives
• Collaborated on the logo design with team member Becky Ohlhaver
• Created and designed the Coral Reef Activity Packet (PDF) and Answer Key 
• Created and designed the Coral Reef Campaign Starter Kit (PDF)
• Designed and developed The Reef Project’s website and wrote all the web content
• Wrote the Final Project Document (PDF)
• Presented the completed project, first to classmates and then to judges
• Oversaw and enforced schedules, process documentation and other managerial duties