Art and Design Commons^™

Graphic Desire, Michelle Belgrod

Masters Theses

Before I knew about design, I knew about desire. A desire for the new, the beautiful, the promising. A desire that lives on a surplus of surfaces. On packaging, social media, on websites. A desire that makes the job of a graphic designer an object of desire itself. A practice that prioritizes aesthetics over meaning. Expectations over reality.

In Graphic Desire, I complicate the ways that desire affects both designers and consumers. Caught up in our own need for creative fulfillment, we often overlook our impact as the arbiters of desire. Under capitalism, we create work that over-promises a …

Invisible Systems, Mina Kim

Masters Theses

We are immersed in an efficiency-and-profit-obsessed world where products are advancing for the sake of updates without meaningful outcomes. The products’ seemingly simple and seamless interfaces bear the marks of deception and promote the world’s obsessions as a norm. My work defines the visual language and methods that hide complex truth within invisible systems. I aim to strike through invisibility for greater transparency and visibility.

I employ techniques that dis-organize the guidelines and components of invisible systems, reframing expectations and opening up new ways of understanding our surroundings. I intend whimsical reconfigurations to act as a mirror, providing a moment …

Dhf Conference Marketing And Branding, Anna Christine Haller

Graphic Communication

The focus for my GRC 462 Senior project is to dive into my role as Director of Marketing for the annual Women In Business conference. As the Director of Marketing for the event my goal is to develop visual branding and an event identity, develop a digital marketing strategy, create marketing collateral, and present promotional marketing to increase event sign ups. My role also includes managing a marketing creative team as well as marketing strategy team. I will also discuss how the branding and marketing initiatives reflect the Women In Business community values and add to the conference experience.

The High Tide Inn Rebrand, Caroline Turnbull

Graphic Communication

For my Senior Project, I found a small Inn in Maine that was just purchased by a new owner. The previous owner of The High Tide Inn was very old and had owned the Inn for a long time, running on word of mouth and the quaint charm of the location. Their website was not a priority and had not been updated in decades. It was not mobile friendly, up to date, or easy to navigate. The logo reflects a charming sign on the property, but does not translate well digitally. In addition to this, there is no vector file …

Mettle, Chelsey Augustine

Master's Theses

While many see Graphic Design as a separation from art, for me, it has always been a happy blend between my fine art and technological skills. In both areas, I think about what I want the audience to think of feel when the pieces in question. Form, color, anatomy, and concept are all part of my creative process, regardless of whether I am creating digitally with a Wacom or building a wax form in the foundry.

During my graduate studies, I started to get into a flow of building narratives to hone in on conceptual branding ideas. Being able to …

Meraki Cosmetics Branding And Packaging, Irene C. Lin

Graphic Communication

The use of technology and illustrations in packaging has been on the rise but is not widely used in the cosmetics industry. There is an opportunity to apply technology and illustrations to cosmetics to attract customers and build a strong brand. Meraki Cosmetics is a fictitious cosmetics company that explores illustration and near-field communication (NFC) to stand out and bring packaging design to the next level.

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.

Visionaire Branding Company, Toni Joy Forsythe

Graphic Communication

It has been a goal of mine to one day launch my own branding and marketing agency, therefore this opportunity has allowed me to ideate what the agency would look like in terms of branding and business. I developed Visionaire Branding Company, a branding and marketing agency located in Central California. Creativity has always been at the forefront of my ambitions and Visionaire is a reflection of my passion for taking businesses to the next level and doing it with a vision.

Rebranding The Cal Poly Writers' Collective, Micah Wilkins

Graphic Communication

For my senior project, I rebranded the Writers’ Collective, Cal Poly’s creative writing club. This process included collecting feedback from the club members and creating both physical and virtual deliverables. I designed a new logo, then created a brand based around it. Using these, I then designed merchandise featuring the logo, such as stickers, and also designed a new template for the club newsletter. To ensure the rebrand is effective, I created a guide on best file practices and uploaded this, as well as all the designs I had created, to the club’s Google Drive, so that future officers can …

Functionally Intense Training (F.I.T.) Multimedia Rebranding Package, Kaitlin Manger

Honors Projects

Branding and social media outreach to customers is essential to small businesses that are looking to grow their business and attract new members. This paper covers the development and production of a multimedia rebranding package that was produced for the high-intensity, CrossFit-like gym in Wapakoneta, Ohio, owned and operated by Steve Knapke, Functionally Intense Training. This gym has been open since 2013 but has no consistent social media content or branding content for the business. This project includes the deliverables of 10 videos, 20 photos, 5 graphic design templates, a new logo, and new branding guidelines. Along with the final …

Luminature: 3d Printed Light And Packaging Concept, Mallory Browne

Graphic Communication

This project will be an exploration into product design and the opportunities presented with 3D printing. I will be explaining how learning how to design in 3D compliments 2D illustrations. I will touch on the many new forms of more sustainable 3D printing that are emerging and how this is a great opportunity for those who love design as well as environmentally conscious consumers.

The personal objective of my project is to gain experience making branding and packaging while learning about 3D printing and 3D design. I hope to inform and inspire my audience with the use of this relatively …

Toast Pastry Studio: Bakery Brand And Pastry Packaging Concept, Christina Ann Tan Ventura

Graphic Communication

TOAST PASTRY STUDIO is a fictitious bakery branding concept made to host an innovative pastry packaging system. The aim of the conceptualized package is to offer additional functionality to bakery consumers by implementing a perforated knife unit directly into the box. The overall idea of the project stems from a long-term appreciation toward bakery culture/aesthetic as well as clever packaging design.

Artisan Tea Project Re-Brand, Alyssa J. Tong

Graphic Communication

Artisan Tea Project, a local cold brew tea pop-up in San Luis Obispo, aims to communicate the brand’s quality, simplicity, and creativity. The company is in need of design collateral that can best market the nuances of their product to target audiences, especially through digital means. The end result of the project is a fully re-branded company with a cohesive brand image that supports the company’s products, mission, and vision.

Branding On A Budget: Marketing In The Nonprofit Sector, Nicholas Biere

Honors Projects

“Branding on a Budget: Marketing in the Nonprofit Sector” This service learning project combines academic research with experiential service learning. The purpose of this project was to create a strong brand for BeInstrumental, a nonprofit music education organization from Toledo, Ohio through the creation of a graphic branding plan. Principles of visual communication technology, graphic design, marketing strategies, branding, and graphic design are all implemented in this project.

Establishing & Applying Brand Guidelines For The Wood County Humane Society, Paige Isovitsch

Honors Projects

The purpose of this combined VCT Synthesis and Honors Project was to create consistent branding for the Wood County Humane Society (WCHS). The objectives were to create brand guidelines for the non-profit, and then implement the guidelines to create new marketing materials. This project is interdisciplinary in nature and includes visual design, marketing, and communications.

Many non-profits struggle with revolving staff, and some, such as WCHS, do not have a staff member with expertise in marketing and design. In the case of WCHS, this resulted in inconsistent branding that appeared unprofessional and confusing to the community. With this project, I …

Cultural Investigation On Typography In Branding In The United States And In Brazil., Carolina C Ganon

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This cultural thesis is set to investigate the use of typography in branding, and how the same is influenced by cultural aspects, specifically in the United States and Brazil. The contrasting experience I have had as a student of graphic design in these two countries led me to discover the influence culture has in dictating the typography design use in branding. Typography, branding and cultural influences have been significantly researched in the past, but historically as three separate subjects, without focusing on the importance of their association and how they influence one another cross-culturally. Since the impact of graphic design …

Zoetic Fitness, Brooke S. Fremeau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Graphic design is a problem-solving field. A client or company tasks a designer with a problem, and to solve that problem the designer uses 2D fundamentals and technology. As a designer, one must carefully listen to the client to understand their needs before making design decisions. While graphic designers are responsible for creating stunning visuals for both print and digital media, one of the most important aspects of graphic design is branding. Broadly speaking, branding is the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product or service in a consumers mind. Through branding, the designer aims …

The Project Shop, Lindsey Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Project Shop is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) brand designed to promote a value-creating activity that impacts the lives and personal development for those who participate. The strategic culmination of research, marketing, and graphic design generated during the creation of this brand is intended to attract a target demographic of 18-24 year olds. This target market is identified as a transient population often typified by being civic-minded and pragmatically idealist.

The Project Shop caters to the needs of its target market by concentrating on habits and particular styles of living. This demographic often seeks DIY projects that are customizable due to …

Designing An E-Commerce Website For Summit Outdoor Supply (S.O.S.), Eliott Kentaro Mason

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to design an appealing and easy to use e-commerce website for a startup company called Summit Outdoor Supply (S.O.S.) in order for them to expand their customer base and continue to grow. This new website will provide customers with a convenient online store to order S.O.S.’s unique survival gear products at the click of a button.

This study investigated the requirements to design a successful e-commerce website along with increasing visibility of the company through search engine optimization techniques. A usability testing questionnaire was sent out to students, faculty, and personal friends through e-mail …

Brand Identity For New Artists In The Music Industry, Drea Achacoso

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the aspects of brand identity and apply it to new artists in the music industry. The research from this study was applied to Hills & Strongholds, an aspiring alternative rock band. Designs were created for the band’s brand identity on multiple platforms that attempted to portray the band’s musical vision. A survey was conducted to determine which logo and album artwork designs were able to effectively transport the bands genre and vision based on the audience’s perception. The results of this study can be used to develop Hills & Strongholds into a …

The Impact Of Branding And Marketing Strategies On Events With Sole, Jennifer Vucinich

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to research current marketing, branding, and social media strategies and apply those to Events with Sole, a nonprofit organization that establishes running and multisport races in Northern California. This study explored the impact of these strategies on nonprofit organizations and the importance of sustaining a brand identity. More specifically, this research defined effective logo design for nonprofits, and based on collected data, provided suggestions for potential improvements to be made to the current Events with Sole branding. This research also provided suggestions for improvements to be made to social media strategy and marketing tactics, …

Flexible Branding: An Explorative Case Study On The Effectiveness Of An Adaptable Visual Identity, Adam Scott Houghton

Graphic Communication

No abstract provided.