The intended audience for my illustration are young adults on social media. Because the image is designed to be an infographic on an Instagram or Facebook story, an audience actively engaged in social media is ideal. An audience who has personal control over their own eating habits is also necessary, and during young adulthood is when people begin making their own decisions regarding their nutrition. I am trying to show that something as simple as an apple really does have a number of benefits that go unnoticed. I am trying to communicate that eating healthy is all about going back to the basics of nutrition, and part of the childhood phrase "An apple a day (keeps the doctor away)" is still applicable in adulthood.
Using the simplicity of the image, I am trying to communicate the ease of healthy eating to the audience by making nutrition simple to understand and remember. The colors on the image, while being bright and attention grabbing, are colors associated with fresh food to create a cohesive image. The arrow in the image tells the audience where to look, guiding them on a path through the image as to avoid the viewer getting lost or overwhelmed with the image. The cartoons paired with the text also keep the audience engaged in the image, looking at both to fully understand the concept of the illustration.
To create this project I first started with an empty canvas on Canva the size of an instagram story. I added the images first (of the apple, the stomach, the coffee, the head, and the apple in the head) and inserted the complimentary text boxes next to each image to describe the graphic. I then added and edited the arrows to connect the images/text boxes. I then added the text at the top of the graphic, choosing different fonts and colors for different parts of "An apple a day...". After everything was added, I picked a color pallet consistent with the colors of an apple and applied it throughout the illustration. Finally, I added and colored a shape to create the border on the top and bottom, and colored the back of the graphic from its original white.
I learned that I often tend to over complicate things in my head, and I tend to bite off more than I can chew when it comes to ideas I have in my head for projects. In my initial image, which I ended up disregarding completely, I tried to add too much information about too many topics and ended up overwhelming myself and the image with words. I learned that I need to think about my projects realistically before I start putting things on a page, and stick to one concept that I can hone in on.
I will take what I have learned with me on my next project if I need to use Canva or Illustrator to create an image. I will continue to pick color palettes and simple images/phrases to convey my ideas. I will also make sure to pick one topic and focus all of my energy on explaining it in full, instead of trying to fit numerous ideas into one cohesive project.