PHB and RRFB Safety Education Campaign Design

  • ORGANIZATION: The Valerin Group
  • ROLE: Marketing and Communications Specialist
  • TIME FRAME: Early 2021

Project Brief

As part of the rollout of two new traffic control devices, Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) and Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHB), a multi-channel, multi-touchpoint marketing campaign was assembled targeting internal and external stakeholders. I designed graphics specific to non-public-facing stakeholders, including the FDOT staff, consultants, and media, highlighting the two new safety devices being rolled out throughout the nine-county region.

Strategy

Rolling out new traffic control devices, not commonly seen in Central Florida, requires clear storytelling and visuals that are easy to understand, reducing the time required for successful adoption by drivers and motorists. Additionally, those who need to be educated on these devices go far beyond the general public. Each major stakeholder had different education requirements, and therefore different pieces of collateral were developed, including roadway engineers and transportation project managers, the folks building the new signals; law enforcement, those who will ensure the new signals are obeyed; and media and journalists who partner with our team on educating the general public. With these varying groups, it becomes crucial the educational execution is flawless for each, particularly when it comes to the visual communication of the new traffic signals.

Graphic Design and Collateral Development

Initial Design

Adobe Illustrator was initially used to create vector illustrations utilized throughout the campaign’s design. Additionally, vector signage files were sourced directly from state and federal design guideline documents and libraries, ensuring accuracy. For each new traffic control device, PHB and RRFB, each sequential phase of signals for pedestrians and motorists was illustrated before creating final deliverables.

Design of the PHB phases in the vector illustration program Adobe Illustrator.
Design of the PHB phases in the vector illustration program Adobe Illustrator.

Presentation Creation

Utilizing the illustrations created in Adobe Illustrator, I animated the phases of these traffic control devices within PowerPoint. In addition to animating the signals, the motion of a character, comprised of 10 different moving elements, was brought to life to demonstrate the experience of pedestrians, motorists, and other forms of mobility across a series of slides.

Each short presentation, PHB and RRFB, was developed with three use cases in mind, resulting in six presentations. Each presentation had a different level of detail and tone:

  • A law enforcement training tool for the nine-county District 5 operating area;
  • A standalone education tool to be incorporated into public meeting presentations;
  • A basic template for future internal presentations across the state within the Florida Department of Transportation.

Infographic Design

An infographic was developed to quickly and concisely educate the Department’s Public Information Office staff and local journalists. The document had four goals highlighting PHBs and RRFBs:

  • Explain what each device is;
  • Highlight the difference between each device;
  • Provide a location for project-specific information to be included;
  • Highlight the phases of each more simply than in the previously developed PowerPoint.

Project Outcome

This project demonstrates my design capabilities within Adobe Illustrator, the foresight to see and plan for use cases beyond the immediate task, and my creativity within the PowerPoint program, a software most find limiting.

The experience in developing these designs, in addition to the community outreach work performed on existing PHB signals within the district, enabled me being able to secure more work with the Orange Blossom Trail (US 441) from south of Holden Avenue to 34th Street Pedestrian Improvement Project while in its design phase in Orange County.

Project Credits

  • All design, copy layout, illustration, and animations by me, Eric Trull
  • Project Manager: ASHA Planning Consultancy
  • Legal language and Florida Statutes: Landis Evans + Partners, in partnership with the University of North Florida’s Institute of Police Technology and Management
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PHB vs RRFB Infographic illustrating the difference between the two traffic control devices.
The second page of the PHB vs RRFB Infographic highlighting the signal phases for motorists and pedestrians.

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