Digital Commons Network^™

Silent Invaders: Stopping The Spread Of The Spotted Lanternfly, Sloane Z. Hall

Masters Theses

The Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive insect originating from China, has rapidly spread across the United States, harming agriculture, forestry, and surrounding ecosystems. It’s destructive feeding behavior severely impacts grapevines, fruit trees, and hardwoods, which directly affects wine production, farm communities, and local environments. The aim of this research was to investigate the biological, ecological, and economic stakes of the infestation, as well as the methods currently used to monitor and control its spread. Specifically, it examines how communication frameworks, design practices, and extension approaches influence producers’ adoption of recommended Integrated Pest Management (IPM) protocols. Through the research, a literature review, …

Selling The Impossible: A Critical Study Of Nostalgia, Persuasion And Ethical Implications, Francois Elmaleh

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the psychological, cultural and iconic influence of mid-20th-century comic book advertising and its enduring influence on modern marketing. With a concentration on adolescent readership, it examines how advertisements in comics shaped consumerist behavior through aspirational discourse, gendered address and emotional manipulation. Through literature reviews, visual analyses and case studies—such as the Charles Atlas bodybuilding campaign, Sea Monkeys and X-ray glasses—this research investigates the rhetorical strategies and ethical ramifications of advertising to children.

The objectives are fivefold: (1) to inventory and analyze dominant advertising strategies employed in comic book ads, (2) to explore how they reinforced cultural and …

Mercurial, Bhavana Neti

Theses

Mercurial is a groundbreaking visual journey through typography that charts the fluid and often volatile passage, from the depths of sadness, eventually finding the light in the end, inspired by the song title Louder than Bombs by BTS, a Korean boyband. Over a carefully observed period, this book captures the subtle and dramatic transformations of emotion through a unique lens. "Mercurial" represents a unique and multi-layered approach to understanding and visualizing emotions. Initially, the exploration of shapes as a representational tool proved inadequate for capturing this complexity. This led to a pivotal shift towards typography, where the inherent qualities of …

Gesture And Trace, Luisa M. Heindl

Masters Theses

I approach type as both gesture and trace: something made and something read, impulse and afterimage, formed through action, reception, and reuse.

My work focuses on the smallest components of written narratives: the shapes that form and encase letters, and the typography that enhances the emotional and cultural resonance of text. I explore how type and language encode meaning through various lenses, whether through the ideological ‘freight’ of reviving or using historical styles, the emotional charge of certain forms, the possibilities of variable font technology, or the curated (and sometimes instrumentalized) narratives embedded in nostalgic-feeling visual trends.

Typographic expression embodies …

Beyond Barcodes, Ritul Chaudhary

Theses

Beyond Barcodes is a conceptual zine that investigates the narratives encoded within barcodes and reinterprets receipts as tools to examine the emotional layers of consumer behavior. Often dismissed as transactional byproducts, receipts in this project are reframed as carriers of memory, identity and self-worth—reflecting personal values shaped by frugality, guilt, and inherited beliefs about money. The zine unfolds through a series of illustrated vignettes, each centered around a category of spending: groceries, essentials, dining, vanity, and experiences. This arc traces a journey from survival to indulgence, ending on a bittersweet note—critiquing how consumer culture quietly shapes how we spend, what …

Human Nature: Exploring The Role Of Design In Skincare Branding, Gus Smith

Honors College Theses

Human Nature is a clean skincare brand aimed at first-time skincare users in their mid-20's that uses a four-step system to provide a simplified approach to high-quality skincareI aim for Human Nature to be an approachable, relatable, trustworthy product for buyers in this demographic, and branding is tantamount to this goal. The research stage of this project focused on other skincare brands and advertising, mapping out where my brand would fit and how it would respond to other brands. As this is a graphic design project, This project includes a cohesive visual identity that communicates the brand, including packaging, web …

Type Unbound: An Exploration Of Typography, Ar, And Its Creative Power, Honey Ashvinkumar Gardharia

Theses

‘Type Unbound’ is a typographic poster series and campaign designed to celebrate typography, exploring its dynamic possibilities through Augmented Reality (AR) simulation. This project bridges traditional and digital design by allowing users to scan posters and experience typography that defies its static nature, coming alive with animations. Each poster focuses on a distinct theme and these themes showcase the multifaceted powers of typography, highlighting its ability to communicate, inspire, and transform. The animated interactions go beyond aesthetic appeal, serving as a means to understand what type can do—how it shapes rhythm, creates form, adds dimension, and alters perspectives. By combining …

Bhasha: An Interactive Experience Learning Indian Languages, Charmy Patel

Theses

BHASHA is an interactive online platform that focuses on the linguistic diversity of India, specifically targeting languages from the Nagari (Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali) and Dravidian (Tamil) families. The name "BHASHA," meaning "language" in many Indian dialects, reflects the platform's inclusive approach to language learning. BHASHA addresses the challenge of learning complex scripts by offering an engaging experience that showcases the unique beauty and distinctiveness of Indian language typography, characters, type anatomy, and writing systems. By combining technology, design, and linguistics, the platform provides a user-centric solution for individuals and typographers interested in learning Indian languages by making these complex scripts …

Unbound: An Analog Tapestry Of Reading Experiences, Ipek Koprululu

Theses

This project explores the transformative potential of typography in visual communication, focusing on how typographic treatments can shape and expand the perception of text. Centered on Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, the research investigates how different typographic approaches – employing both analog and digital methods – can alter emotional impact, narrative significance, and universal accessibility. Through a systematic approach encompassing research, design decisions, and presentation, the study reveals how typography can transcend the literal meaning of words, enriching them with diverse emotional and visual interpretations. The project utilizes various formats, including posters, an accordion-style book, a stop-motion video, and interactive …

Sarah Boris, Emily Gaugler

Communication Design: Design Pioneers

Boris Sarah Boris has been in the art and design industry for over fifteen years, but some might say she is just getting started. Boris worked for design industries and art organizations such as the Barbican, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), and Phaidon Publishing, but in 2015 she took a more independent approach and opened her own design studio in London, Sarah Boris Design. Since opening her studio Boris has pursued personal explorations, collaborations, and commissions. Her work is clean, bright, and impactful, and she is gaining admiration from students and design critics. She has a gift for creating …

Message Journal, Issue 5: Covid-19 Special Issue Capturing Visual Insights, Thoughts And Reflections On 2020/21 And Beyond…, Sadia Abdisalam, James Alexander, Tom Ayling, Jessica Barness, Diana Bîrhală, Maria Borțoi, Bernard J. Canniffe, Patti Capaldi, Tânia A. Cardoso, Megan Culliford, Stephanie Cunningham, Meg Davies, Subir Dey, Matthew Frame, Aaron Ganci, Peter Gibbons, Sofia Gvozdeva, Elizabeth Herrmann, Chae Ho Lee, Alma Hoffmann, Hedzlynn Kamaruzzaman, Merle Karp, Holly K. Kaufman-Hill, John Kilburn, Joshua Korenblat, Warren Lehrer, Erica V.P. Lewis, Christine Lhowe, Xinyi Li, Kelly Salchow Macarthur, Shelly Mayers, Steven Mccarthy, Bianca Milea, Sara Nesteruk, Cat Normoyle, Jessica Teague, Paul Nini, Emily Osborne, Sima Elizabeth Shefrin, Kyuha Shim, Angelica Sibrian, Gianni Sinni, Irene Sgarro, David Smart, Matt Soar, Junie Tang, Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Ane Thon Knutsen, Isobel Thomas, Darryl Westley, Lisa Winstanley, Danne Woo, Dave Wood, Helena Gregory, Colin Raeburn, Jackie Malcolm

Message Graphic Communication Design Research

No abstract provided.

Using Characters To Narrow Culture Gaps, Xiangyu Han

Theses

There are a lot of different cultures around the world. It is hard for people with various cultural backgrounds to understand each other. Language is the most direct expression of cultural barriers. With the different structures of languages, communication becomes unsmooth. People can get to know each other better if we narrow down the gaps. The research here discusses the possibility of building a connection between language characters through the graphic. This work will use Chinese and English as an experimental. Images and pictures are the most visual information for people to read. And languages are the most direct information …

Reflip Type: Developing Visual Strategies For Teaching Typography To Collegiate Students With Dyslexia, Brittany D. Strozzo

Masters Theses

In educational facilities today, the approaches to teaching typography to college students with dyslexia are limited. This thesis provides a research-based pedagogy for teaching typography to students in a way that accommodates the visual, processing, and auditory differences present in students with dyslexia. Through the analysis of the learning disability itself, existing material for graphic designers with dyslexia, and current accessibility standards for those with dyslexia, this thesis offers a practical solution to provide a more balanced learning experience for all students, especially those with dyslexia. The aim of this study was to examine the current graphic design standards and …

Counter Formation, Fabian Fohrer

Masters Theses

Counter-formation establishes a foundation to envision a more accurate shape and field of inter-relations across disciplines and contexts that are not only receptive but appropriative and elaborative.

By approaching the space of the counter-form, my ambition is to generate a responsive structure and an archive of fragments to build upon - a blank canvas with a variable format to recast vision and action.

Counter-formation places emphasis on the transformative, liminal space that allows one to encounter contexts from within, between, and around to organize or break them in a different fashion.

Machine Girl, Yutong Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Machine girl is a character that mimics biology, labor, and humanity.

She relates to machine sympathy and machine learning; She is updating and processing of big data. During the interaction between me and the machine, I found you --- Machine girl.

Machine girl is a brilliant girl. She is an excellent translator and communicator, which is determined by her ability for machine learning. The cyber living space gives her a fundamental learning gift with a mathematical algorithm. She uses this gift to mimic everything from the human brain. She is not reasonable but sensitive. There are many different versions of …

A Study On The Visual And Verbal Languages Of Typography, Ellyn E. Duncan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

It takes a person 0.05 seconds to form a first impression of something new. While first impressions are quick and surface level, they are generally important in the lasting impression developed by the individual. I believe graphic designers have the ability to manipulate the first impression of their work by using the different languages of typography to command the attention of an audience and direct a planned impression. Through the testing and research of this thesis study, I aim to provide examples of how people share common responses and interpretations of visual elements and show that the visual and verbal …

Body Of Work, Oliva De Salve Villedieu

Masters Theses

This yellow book filled with short stories, indexes, and a bright body of work, is a little bit rebellious, a little bit scandalous, but mostly self-indulgent. It is an invitation to release, unhinge, and get, consensually, tied up. Here graphic design is not a thinking tool, but rather an attitude—a desire to engage and skew. It is a place where affection translates into practice and lifts an eyebrow to modernism. The work is one of contrast; it contradicts and plays. By excavating simple systems for complex reasons, it deconstructs the fundamental primaries of graphic design and recontextualizes them by holding …

Cosmosis, Angela Torchio

Masters Theses

Cosmographies deal with the order of nature. They are general descriptions of the universe, and this thesis is a cosmography, dealing with visual content, constraints, and the complexity of symbolism.

Visual experience is dynamic, interrelated, and inherently tied to a value hierarchy. On a micro level, design is my way of understanding the world, while on a macro level, it is a tool to generate new perceptual structures for engaging with, not merely seeing, design.

The work is based on the idea that multiple symbolisms are inherent to all things, and these symbolisms will shift based on context. Cosmographies are …

Interface Philosophy, June Yoon

Masters Theses

During a Grad Studio II crit in the spring of 2018, I presented my project Measurements of Space and Time (page 132) and right after I finished, someone said, “This is like interface philosophy.” I didn’t even know what that meant, but it just felt right. At that very moment, I knew Interface Philosophy would be the title of my thesis.

Interface Philosophy was built as much as it was written and designed. Its function is to define “interface philosophy.” To describe interface as a meeting point for communication; philosophy as a cognitive reasoning of structural patterns. What I have …

Standards, Rules, Setting, Robert Mcconnell

Masters Theses

Greetings. Welcome to Standards, Rules, Setting. This short preamble serves as a user guide to the material that follows. It is, essentially, a set of standards that govern the organization and progression of the various items in this publication.

Everything in this book has been conceived and constructed in line with the Graphic Design Thesis Book Protocol. As my body of work deals with the communication of messages and the manipulation of their governing conventions and norms, this publication — as well — has been organized along similar principles.

There are five types of components in this thesis book: sections, …

The Day Is Just Another Surface, Brooks M. Heintzelman

Theses and Dissertations

Within a practice founded on both typographic form and language, I have continued to push myself to make work that is more sensitive to place, more contextual, more (hopefully) generous toward a public audience. These pieces might serve as useful instruments of institutional critique, resources for comprehension, or moments in which to interrogate preconceived modes of seeing. I deploy original texts in public spaces in order that they might force viewers to decide how to personally resolve the content they encounter. Is it language or object? Literal or figurative? Graphic design or art? The further I develop this body of …

Tacit Synthesis: Typography As Research, Jilian Coorey, Aoife Mooney

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The designer of today is solving complex problems. Among other skills, the literacy of other disciplines, the ability to be nimble in practice, engage in participatory design, and the capacity to interpret and synthesize research is imperative. For this study, we were intent on fostering a research-driven classroom, specifically in relation to typography. To expand student horizons, we’ve implemented the International Society of Typographic Designers briefs, providing a platform of research, innovation and conceptual thinking. Students typographically interpret a text, curating and authoring content. In implementing an inquiry-based learning methodology, research dictates form, rather than relying on typographic trends. Limiting …

Tiny Diasporas, Angela Lorenzo

Masters Theses

I see myself as a literary curator — I collect and sequence texts and images, both digital and analog, to reveal, connect, and construct narratives, resulting in shifting meanings and significances. Inhabiting this curatorial ethos, I investigate hidden subtexts, locating personal and collective relations to the margins and files marked “miscellany.” Working in books and installations, I engage with the inherited meanings of visual languages (form, typography, color, material, format) to open up well-worn narratives and craft new interpretations.

Tiny Diasporas is a primer to a design practice that borrows the form of an abecedarius, an alphabetical wordlist for learning …

This Is Public Work, Nick Adam

Masters Theses

This thesis positions graphic design as an integral form of public works.

T his is public work regards the causal relationship between graphic design and its publics as an opportunity to explore the formal maneuvers to enhance an artifact's visual codes. The idea is an experiential one: rich and meaningful form can lead to rich and meaningful experiences.

The designed artifacts of our world function across informational (effect) and emotional (affect) modes. The complexity of these operations take on an infrastructural role — what we see day-to-day shapes our experiences and understanding. The opportunity of a designer to practice in …

Constellations, Maria Rull Bescós

Masters Theses

In this book you will find a collection of projects that both reflect and simultaneously reinvent my personal way of seeing the world, which I consider to be a space that is complex, diverse, and in continuous transformation.

Graphic design is the lens through which I examine and understand this complexity, and it is also the medium through which I translate this huge realm into navigable systems of ideas, tales, forms, and experiences.

I have been inspired to produce my own systems in response to those I discover through actively observing my environment (territory), reflecting upon my personal background (origin), …

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

College of Arts & Sciences Senior 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 …

C H R O N O S P A C E Living In The Moment: Metaphorical Motion Design, Guan-Huei Wu

Theses

Live in the present. People often put too much emphasis on their past mistakes or planning for what their future may hold. We are living in the present and should focus on “The Now.” The present is the key to our future. Everything that happened in the past has shaped where people are now in the present.

People try to erase all the bad experiences and save only the good ones. However, everything that has happened, both positive and negative, provides some intrinsic value to people. The past is unchangeable. The future is untouchable. The present is what you can …

Typography And The Evolution Of Hebrew Alphabetic Script: Writing Method Of The Sofer, Shayna Tova Blum

Faculty and Staff Publications

Typography is the study of language letterforms, phonographic alphabetic characters that, when combined with additional characters, form words and/or sentences to express an idea and communicate a message to an audience. The history of typographic design dates back to early civilization and the invention of alphabetic writing systems, formulated and processed through the literary skills of the Hebrew Scribe Ezra whose knowledge and practice offered a significant contribution within a predominantly oral society. By examining the history of Hebrew typography through the discourse of biblical writing systems and alphabetic design, the article addresses the development of Hebrew scripts evolving from …

Visual Communication & Typography: Study In The History Of Hebrew Letterforms And The Work Of Israeli Designer, Yaakov Stark, Shayna Tova Blum

Faculty and Staff Publications

The article reviews the history of letterforms and typographic design by discussing inventions in scripts, tools, and technology which impact the evolution of visual language and writing systems. Principles and elements of typography are analyzed using the Hebrew alphabet as an example in letterform design by exploring the work of Israeli designer, Yaakov Stark, who as an Israeli immigrant from Eastern Europe projects centered on Hebrew typography and the hybridization of Ashkenazi and Mizrahi scripts. Through an archive of work produced while a student at the Bezalel Academy of Art, Jerusalem in 1906, Stark has influenced generations of Israeli designers, …

Hebrew Typography: A Modern Progression Of Language Forms, Shayna Tova Blum

Faculty and Staff Publications

Influenced by studies in traditional Ashkenazi and Sephardi scripts. The typeface had been designed for the printing of the Koren Tanakh, a first edition printed Jewish Bible processed through an all-Jewish collaboration for the first time in centuries. Koren’s project was inspired by the revival of Hebrew initiated by Haskalah writers in the 18th century. Haskalah writers utilized the language and scripts of written and printed literary texts. Influenced by philosophical and political ideologies of the European Enlightenment, the Haskalah explored Jewish identity through language by defining the secular context through traditional Jewish symbolism and narratives. The Zionist movement of …