Embark on a personal journey with a young filmmaker grappling with questions about our planet’s future in this captivating documentary. Faced with the environmental challenges of our time, Ashley Stokes seeks solace and solutions in the transformative power of nature. She travels the state of Florida, discovering the delicate balance between human advancement and environmental stewardship. Through beautiful wild spaces and intimate encounters, she explores the natural world and its direct ties to our human experience.
Good Natured
WEDU PBS’ original eco-anxiety documentary from filmmaker Ashley Stokes, Good Natured, premiered in February 2025. I created the logos, branding, graphics assets, and promotions for the film. I also worked on the event design for the premiere at Tampa Theatre. I also worked on elements with the team hired to create the graphics and animations within the film.
Design brief & mood board
About 6 months before the release of the film, I started working with the filmmaker and the Executive Producer of WEDU PBS on designing the logo and aesthetic elements. They provided me with more of a brief than I usually get for WEDU projects; often, working with other “creatives” means they already have at least somewhat of an idea of what they’re looking for, so it cuts down on some of the ‘heavy lifting’ for me. Here are the mood board and notes they sent me.
Logo trials
Since they had already basically decided on the typeface (Botany), I just had to format and finalize the logo lockups. It only took about 3 rounds back and forth to perfect it, and I made sure it worked in a variety of sizes and orientations.
Color palette
Ashley was able to color correct some of the footage from the film so that I could really decide the colors with an informed eye. I then digitally created ‘watercolor paint swipes’ in the different colors I’d chosen, to test out tone and contrast with the other colors and make sure they fit cohesively.
I also took some screengrabs from the rough cut to play around with lower thirds designs in my color palette.
Style guide and logo variants
Since I was far from the only one to be using the branding, I put together a cheat sheet of examples of color combos and lockup possibilities for within the film as well as promotions and other assets.
Print advertising
Film poster
Every film needs an official film poster; I made this one for display outside theatres before the many screenings of Good Natured, as well as posters framed at the WEDU PBS TV station and in the filmmaker’s studio/office.
External publication ads
WEDU placed several ads I designed in local print and digital publications, like these two ads that ran in the Tampa Bay Times, in both Sunday and Wednesday editions.
WEDU Premiere Magazine ads
I also designed the cover and interior feature page for the February 2025 issue of WEDU PBS Premiere Magazine to advertise both the broadcast premiere date and the preceding premiere screening event, to WEDU’s print readership of almost 50,000 members. Pictured here are that cover and internal page.
Girl Scout badge(!)
Quite possibly the cutest print collateral project I’ve ever done: a Florida chapter of the Girl Scouts hosted a screening of the documentary for their scouts… and I got to design a badge (patch) for their vests. How cute is this?!
(Full disclosure: I was most definitely a dorky little Girl Scout from the wee Daisy scouts through sometime in junior high, so I hold a special place in my heart for the organization!)
Digital design assets
Social media, email, and web design
I created the mockup and graphics for the wedu.org landing page, including some alternate graphics for updating as premiere dates passed, etc. I also created all manner of different social media ads and graphics, for things like the Eventbrite registration webpages, Facebook events, blog headers, and email blasts. I even illustrated the iconic Tampa Theatre sign and marquee for the Premiere Magazine feature page.
Streaming ads
Starting in 2022, WEDU PBS started running ads on Roku’s screensaver and homepage spotlights. This was naturally a great opportunity for Good Natured promotions, which ran for several months on Roku TVs and devices, and WEDU saw a substantial increase in direct PBS app downloads in its broadcast area from these ads.
Event design
As they do with many of their original films, WEDU PBS hosted a premiere film screening event at Tampa Theatre. I created signage, slides, and even a photo backdrop with branding so the filmmaker, crew, VIPs, and attendees could get a selfie. WEDU PBS hired a photographer for the event, so guests could download high-quality shots too.
