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 …

A Guide For The Everyday Woman Surfer: How Surf Culture's Patriarchy Marginalizes Ocean Lovers, Alexis S. Di Stefano

Women's, Gender and Queer Studies

Humans are naturally drawn to the water by wind and tide. It is a place of solace that we have a desire to know deeply, yet we have kept one another from experiencing it through biases that perpetuate inequality. White-supremacist hegemony has historically kept communities of color from coastlines, women from lineups, and queer communities from participating in surf culture. As more people from all social groups return to the water through surfing in the 20th century, surf culture needs to adapt to become more inclusive. This paper outlines surf culture's historical transition into whiteness and how female beauty standards …

Immerse, Interact, Impact: A Comparative Analysis On Selected Experiential Marketing Activations At Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival 2022, Phoebe R. Saul

Experience Industry Management

The commercial marketplace is becoming increasingly experiential. Experiential marketing activations, particularly those done at music festivals, are emerging as a highly valuable marketing tool to impact brand recognition and loyalty through the creation of unique branded experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiential marketing design practices utilized at selected branded activations within Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival 2022. A comparative analysis was conducted on three selected experiential marketing activations at Outside Lands: The House by Heineken, the Music Den by Toyota, and the Ocean Love Tour by Gray Whale Gin. The findings concluded that the …

The Ins And Outs Of Undergraduate Research And Leadership: A Student's Perspective, Regina F. Hockert

Kinesiology and Public Health

This manuscript is a reflective write-up of Regina Hockert’s experience in completing KINE 462, Honors Kinesiology Senior Project, during the 2022 Fall Quarter. It describes their experience as an undergraduate research leader, including specific milestones and artifacts related to a broader replication study and the daily activities of Dr. Jafrā Thomas’ lab. This essay was designed to be a written reflection around their senior project presentation and the insights shared through that medium about the senior project experience. It is created to showcase lessons learned in relationship with the tasks and responsibilities required of working in-depth on student-led research. …

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 …

A Screenplay For Bystander Intervention For Sexual Harassment Scenarios For College Students, Shanti Herzog

Journalism

This project was developed to describe the drafting of a screenplay for an interactive, virtual reality sexual harassment training module for students of the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The research began with the examination of the prevalent and persisting issue of sexual harassment within college campus communities, and how to present college students with the tools to intervene as bystanders, thus encouraging them to intervene when encountering sexual harassment scenarios. The resulting screenplay was written to provide college students at Cal Poly with strategies to identify and take action when encountering sexual harassment, especially in small group gatherings …

The Subaltern Magazine, Rebecca Fox, Riese Nichols

Social Sciences

The Subaltern intends to reach Cal Poly students who do not feel as if their voices are heard and allow them the platform to share their stories. Our focus is on unheard stories from our campus - whether this involves race, class, gender identity, mental health, ethnicity, culture, or any unique part of one’s identity or experience. We hope that these stories will begin to shed light on what we usually consider “taboo” topics and allow students to feel as if they aren’t alone.

Being a very homogeneous campus, it is important for us to realize that privileged voices are …

Analyzing Perceptions Of Music From A Songwriting Perspective, Jackson Stephen Reynosa

Communication Studies

This study seeks to understand listeners’ perceptions of music from a generational and songwriting approach. A total of 123 participants aged 18 and older took part in an open-ended survey design that measured their subjective music preferences. Four different sections tested participants’ music taste, music tied to generations, an original song made by the researcher, and songwriting in a holistic sense. It was found that participants exercised individualism and authenticity in their responses throughout. By using the Uses and Gratifications Theory, it is explainable that people listened and sought out music for their own unique reasons. By applying Mood Management …

Event Planning As A Means Of Applying Transferable Skills: The Planning Of The 2019 Communication Studies Banquet, Kylie E. Clark

Communication Studies

Though an annual event, The Communication Studies Banquet has had low attendance in the past and was seen as formal and expensive. This year’s event was revamped in order to make the banquet more fun, accessible, and affordable. The planning and enhancement of this event required several transferable skills which can be applied not only to event planning, but also to many other careers. These skills include organization, communication, negotiation, creativity, financial management, and resourcefulness. This paper examines the utility of transferable skills, including how they are acquired and why they are valuable, and explains how these skills were applied …

Art Brut & Bricolage: Manifesting Alternate Imaginaries Of The Waste Cataclysm, Dominic Alan Chequer

Communication Studies

Living within a consumer society that boasts increased sustainable consumption as the panacea to large-scale environmental degradation, the social avoidance of waste becomes an interesting psychological battleground in developing an environmentally sustainable future. In light of this situation, I used my participation in the design of a music festival to create a social critique by design. Using artistic techniques of bricolage and aesthetic upcycling, under the visage of art brut. The paper blends theory and practice, ideas with tangible outputs.

Modernizing A Podcast Media Organization Via Social And New Media Rebranding Methods, Randi A. Hair

Journalism

The following study and subsequent public relations campaign is intended to explore the difficulties, opportunities, caveats and all facets of transitioning a traditional travel media organization to new media. It unearths the pitfalls/barriers that naturally occur and aggregate over time when an organization or journalist (specifically “Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer” in this scenario) has not adapted nor altered their practices for changing common practices in the media industries. In this campaign, journalist Thomas Wilmer is seeking to increase his podcast audience and digital presence.

The research conducted for this study is two-fold. Firstly, the research demonstrates best practices …

Sexy Robots: A Perpetuation Of Patriarchy, Ashlyn Des Roches

Communication Studies

This feminist critique looks into the way that gender, specifically females, are portrayed in some of Hollywood's top films involving Artificial Intelligence: Blade Runner, Her, and Ex Machina. These movies work as a perpetuation of patriarchal ideologies while maintaining the objectification and hypersexuality of women as normalized behaviors. Additionally, while some forms of empowerment are conveyed, the features illustrate women merely on a spectrum of extreme behavior; due to Heuristics and Cultivation Theory, these misrepresentations can be associated with women outside the surrealist realm of the depicted artificially intelligent worlds.

Music And Language Development: Traits Of Nursery Rhymes And Their Impact On Children's Language Development, Ashley Lauren Gonzalez

Music

From birth--possibly even before birth--the amount and array of external stimuli profoundly affect a child’s cognitive and linguistic development. In addition to verbal communication from parent to child, singing proves to be an integral aid to a child’s development of speech and language, allegedly due to repetitions of words and rhythms. Nursery rhymes are, from infancy, among the most commonly presented forms of musical stimulus for children. The repetitive nature of the nursery rhymes undoubtedly supports language and speech development, but various characteristics of nursery rhymes, specifically pitch interval, meter, phrase length, contour, and harmony, also contribute substantially to the …

A Fish Out Of (Open) Water: A Close Textual­-Intertextual Analysis Of The Monterey Bay Aquarium, Danielle Berton

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Big Short, Elizabeth Armon

Communication Studies

The Big Short (McKay, 2015), adapted from the non-fiction novel The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (2010), follows three separate but parallel stories leading up to the United States housing crisis of 2008. On a macro-level, the film brilliantly depicted the creation, and the ultimate burst, of the credit and housing market bubble. However, on a micro-level the audience is given an opportunity to realize and empathize with the internal struggle that many of the main characters faced as they grappled with the fact that their financial gain from shorting the market came with the caveat …

Social Justice Education: Using Communication Activism Pedagogy To Help University Cultural Centers Increase Campus Diversity & Inclusivity, Sophia T. Vu

Journalism

This study examined how student affairs professionals, especially those in cultural centers, could increase campus diversity and inclusivity. More specifically, it sought to find a theoretical basis for social justice education programs that could increase campus climate. It was performed as a single site case study at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Three Cal Poly student affairs professionals were interviewed for qualitative data which were then compared and analyzed with the literature surrounding campus diversity and inclusivity. The study concludes that student affairs professionals can increase campus diversity and inclusivity by developing social justice education programs that not …

The Dove® Campaign For Real Beauty: What’S Next For Inclusivity?, Kelly Indermill

Journalism

This study analyzes the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, examining the brand’s overall implementation of the campaign, as well as its successes and failures. More than ten years after the launch of Dove’s first campaign, the advertising world has greatly evolved. In an ever-changing media world, Dove took the first step towards an attempt at an all-inclusive advertising campaign. This study examines the degree to which Dove’s innovative campaign set the bar for future advertisements. It demonstrates the importance of corporate social responsibility, brand management, inclusivity and the two-way symmetrical communication model.

Breaking Into The Business: A Guide To Creating A Dynamic Resume Reel And Securing A Job In Today’S Television News Industry, Christina Favuzzi

Journalism

Broadcast journalists are experiencing turbulence in their field of expertise due to increasing digitalization and decreased funding. It is becoming commonplace for reporters to work as one-man-bands, or “multimedia journalists,” shooting and editing their own video in addition to writing and reporting. For people looking to begin a career in the highly competitive broadcast news industry, there is a great deal of information to understand and consider prior to beginning the job search. Creating a dynamic resume reel is central to landing a job as an on-air reporter. However, with the development of digital-first and multimedia journalism, there are certain …

"I Wasn't Born A Boy – I Was Born A Baby": Best Practices Versus Accepted Practices In News Coverage Of The Transgender Community, Anna Hornell

Journalism

As transgender people and issues have gained prominence in American media over the past few years, more and more journalists find themselves covering a small and marginalized community that they may not have any previous experience with. Using standards set by LGBT media watchdog GLAAD, this study aimed to examine how the prevalence of problematic journalistic practices in covering the transgender community has (or has not) changed in recent years. A content analysis of 1,019 U.S. newspaper articles from 2009 and 2014 revealed some significant changes: almost all GLAAD-identified problematic practices that were studied appeared less commonly in 2014, although …

Lady Gaga: Performer, Persona, And Political Advocate, Cassidy Burns

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

"The Falling Man" As Viewed In The Lens Of The "Public Sphere", Laura Reinacher

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Blogging In The Fashion Industry: A Descriptive Study Of The Use Of The Two-Step Flow Communications Theory By Professional And Citizen Bloggers To Become Opinion Leaders, Mia Alexandra Mendola

Journalism

This study analyzes the differences between professional and citizen bloggers in the fashion industry, and their use of the two-step flow communications theory and certain tactics to become opinion leaders in the industry. With the rise of blogging as a popular medium for consumption of fashion news, thousands of bloggers have begun blogs hoping to become part of the fashion industry. With this rise comes bloggers with different levels of expertise and experience. With this comes a blurring of lines between a professional blogger with credible knowledge of the fashion industry, and a citizen blogger with no formal training or …

Humble Me: Increasing Awareness Of Ethnocentrism And Of The Need For Ethnorelativism Through A Spoken Word Performance Event, Corinne H. Sherman

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of The Communications Studies Major: Is There A Female Stereotype?, Kyle Petersen, Karina Almaguer

Communication Studies

This paper investigates whether there is or is not a correlation between feminine perceptions of Communications and the relevance of the major. One Hundred Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students were asked to complete a survey that included basic student demographics as well as if they have taken courses within the major or know anyone within it, their perceived relevance of the major, and whether they believed it to be for males or females. The test between the two variables was shown as approaching statistical significance. After analyzing these results, using feminine perceptions as the independent variable and the relevance …

Brave: A Feminist Perspective On The Disney Princess Movie, Danielle Morrison

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

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 …

Queen B: A Modern Feminist Critique Of Beyoncé, Catherine Demi Ray

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.