Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Ux/Ui Hub: User Experience/User Interface Information Hub For Navigating College, Sydney Yae-Rhee Leia Kong

Graphic Communication

The User Experience, User Interface (UX/UI) industry has grown exponentially in the last couple of years. According to a PubMed Central journal article, Understanding UX Better, UX has attracted an increasing interest in recent years, extending the views on usability. This growth exists both in academic institutions and the technology industry, evidenced by increasing numbers of UX-related degrees at undergraduate and graduate levels and also by high job demand (Marques). With this new emergence, the Graphic Communication (GrC) major, specifically the concentration in UX/UI, has caught the attention of numerous prospective Cal Poly SLO students interested in front-end design and …

Take Flight Music Festival Branding, Maxwell Bo Chen, Jake Oxenham

Graphic Communication

We created a branding and design campaign for the Take Flight music festival on campus. The project covered many aspects of event creation and marketing such as name, logo, content creation, social media, printed media, vendor outreach, and administration outreach. All these pieces had to work together to create a strong and cohesive brand image for this event which would help ensure a successful turnout and event overall.

The Queer Dictionary, Mia Lew

Graphic Communication

With the government continually obstructing queer education in public schools, it becomes harder and harder for queer people to understand themselves than in turn, have the tools to explain what they are going through to others. This is a problem but in turn an opportunity. While there are queer literature and children’s books out there, they typically only encompass one story or one view on queerness. Thus, this project's main goal is to encompass queerness as a whole by using as many LGBTQ+ words as possible, people's stories under each word, historical graphics, highlights on the internationality of queerness, pronoun …

How-To Understand And Create Hip-Hop Art, Joshua Wolcott

Graphic Communication

Typography is an essential component of Graphic Communication. The purpose of this study was to bridge typography with hip-hop art. To bridge the two disciplines, hip-hop art was presented in the context that it is actually practiced by these artists. The use of a questionnaire and a drawing lesson was intended to bring the subject within its true context. Presenting the art form in its true context enabled participants involved in the study to understand the art form with the perspective that the discipline, like typography, involves the use of lettering. Participants that were interested in drawing were able to …

User Interface Design For Online Social Media, Jackie R. Hayes

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to identify implementation techniques of a successful user interface for an online social media application. Interviews were conducted with three employees from three separate social media applications to compare how designers approach user interface design differently. The working professionals were asked a series of user interface design questions about the social media application for which they work and help design. The interview responses were compared to the results of the Voice of the Customer (VOC) survey where 100 online social media (OSM) users were surveyed at random about their user interface design preferences within …

Aesthetically Designed Maps: Development And Perception, Catherine Wang

Graphic Communication

This research explored the creative element of subway map creation in light of its effectiveness. Printed subway maps, used often for metropolitan cities and areas, are limited in physical dimension and scale, carrying minimal information. The New York, San Francisco Bay Area, Tokyo, Paris, London and Moscow subway maps highlight similar design and abstraction that fulfill the basic necessary elements for subway patrons. Over the years since the first metro map for each city was created, maps have become more simplified by removing physical land features and reference points to make way for expanding and new subway lines, stations, and …

Going Mobile: A Guide To Mobile Website And Application User Preferences, Kevin M. Weeks

Graphic Communication

Mobile devices are rapidly gaining popularity. There is an increasing demand for individuals who can develop quality mobile websites and applications. In the world of mobile, the most important consideration is the end user. Who is the application or mobile website trying to target and what do they want? This study was designed to determine what users value and whether current developers are accurately reflecting these values. Determining this was accomplished through surveys of mobile users, interviews with mobile web developers, and analysis of successful websites and apps through case studies. The survey included questions to determine what qualities mobile …

Photo Manipulation In The Media, Stephanie Coffaney

Graphic Communication

In today’s society there are photos everywhere; they are in magazines, advertisements, newspapers, and books because photos make the text or the story stand out. Some may not know it, but most of these photos have been edited and retouched. This research paper attempted to determine the majority opinion of what types of photo editing was above the tolerable limit, as well as the public awareness of media manipulation. The different levels of photo editing included changing the contrast, removal of blemishes and dust, addition/removal of objects, and addition/removal of main subjects. The results revealed that most people are aware …

Trends In Logo Design Among Fortune 100 Companies, Juliane Bone

Graphic Communication

Using ten different criteria to rigorously inspect ten logo designs, this paper concludes that conceptuality is perhaps the most important component of a brand’s identity. Graphic Communication students, who are the future of the industry, offered up their conclusions of these logos and the success of the design. With the incorporation of articles and opinions of those in the field, trends in the latest logos are found.

Promoting A Benefit Concert With Digital Media, Aubrea Felch

Graphic Communication

The introduction of digital media in mass communication and advertising had a powerful impact on the event planning industry, specifically in the promotion of benefit concerts. Not only can digital media promote an event, but it can also help event coordinators establish an image for themselves, be used as a means of benefiting those who have donated to the cause, and enhance the event itself. All digital media can be put into several different classifications: digital audio, digital video, digital photography, Internet technology, and interactive Internet applications. This study asks the question: In what ways can an event planner use …

Discovering Shifts And Trends In Beverage Packaging, Rachel Hutchinson

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study is to better understand beverage packaging trends of today and what trends are necessary in order to profit in the industry today. It addresses aspects such as sustainability, marketing, labeling, and size and shape. In addition to determining trends on the rise, this study suggests methods in order to increase consumer appeal as well as lower production costs.

This study was based on specialized interviews with experts from different levels of the supply chain. Their insight was beneficial in understanding the current trends and the specific rationale for these shifts.

The results consist of addressing …

Color Correction For Underwater Photography, Vanessa Pateman

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to develop knowledge of the practice of underwater photography and determine how color correction leads to the success of an underwater photograph. Color is one of the photographer's greatest assets. When light travels through water instead of air, different techniques and equipment are necessary for correct color capture.

Human perception of color changes with depth underwater, which is due to the decrease in natural light. The scientific method, elite and specialized interviewing, and content analysis were used in this study to determine useful tools in color capture and reproduction in underwater photographs.

An experiment …

Simpler Packaging, Tomiko Oden

Graphic Communication

This project explains how product packaging is become more "green", and thus more simple. Packaging needs to go beyond just simplifying materials and graphics - it needs to create a simpler process in order to reduce wasted time, energy, and resources.

Infographics And Annual Reports For Nonprofit Organizations, John R. Hall

Graphic Communication

In recent years, the readership of annual reports has been steadily declining. Nonprofit organizations are investigating new solutions to refresh their reports and make them more appealing. The purpose of this study was to test whether or not infographics is a more effective way for nonprofit organizations to present their annual reports than traditional means.

The study investigated possible causes for the diminishing readership of annual reports and how to best address those causes. Shortening attention spans and people’s desire for briefer engagements points to the advantages of infographics. Over a hundred surveys were conducted where people were shown a …