In Late October 2022, I was able to start my current internship with the Coast Guard Seventh District Office, where I work under the guidance of the Governmental Affairs Officer and the current Lt. Commander in charge of the Public Affairs office. I have been primarily designing graphics for the Public Affairs Office covering a small information campaign about Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing.

 

For this information campaign, I defined the audience and the type/amount of information that I felt was appropriate for dissemination; this would help me contour the posts I wanted to make in a way that would let me balance imagery with information. I then started my research by looking at general information about I.U.U. fishing and began narrowing my scope, shifting focus to specific topics that I felt would help me define what I.U.U. fishing is to those that are unfamiliar. I focused on topics such as Ghost Gear, Bycatch,  R.F.M.O.s, and N.O.A.A Fisheries I.E.A. app to give the public a frame of reference as to how much the topic of I.U.U fishing spans. 

​

Once I started crafting posts, I defined a style guide and color palette to follow that would keep posts consistent as well as vibrant. My aim was to capture a look and feel that would adhere to the look and feel the U.S.C.G. Seventh District exuded. When constructing the posts I had to take into consideration what imagery would be legible as well as attractive when presenting the information to the public. I felt that accentuating marine life and illustrating a few of the processes that occur during certain scenarios surrounding the topics covered would be the best way to convey the message that the Seventh District wanted to communicate.

​

The goal of this campaign is to inform the public about what I.U.U fishing is and the many facets it touches upon in the hopes that people will not participate in the act of illegally fishing, polluting the environment with fishing gear (Ghost Gear), and ultimately understand how bycatch affects environments and marine life. 

​