Art and Design Commons^™

All Clear: A Workbook For Sexually Active Accutane Users Who Can Become Pregnant, Taylor Petersen

Honors Projects

Accutane is a pill-based derivative of Vitamin A used to treat cystic acne. The process to start and continue the medication each month is tedious and full of potential for error. This is especially true for female patients who are able to become pregnant as they have the additional step of monitoring and updating their birth control through an online portal. Patients are treated like numbers and there is little to no customization within Accutane treatment from patient to patient. To make this worse, reliable information about the drug is scarce and many turn to social media platforms or other …

Sending Gratitude, Amanda Kukunis

Honors Projects

Mindfulness practices involving gratitude have been shown to improve mental and physical health. Making short lists of people, things, and experiences that one is grateful for is a helpful habit for decreasing anxiety. Sending Gratitudeis an expansion of these lists guided by the research question:

In what ways does reflecting on past experiences where I was grateful that someone decreased my past anxiety help reduce current anxieties?

How can these experiences be shared with others in a way that will encourage them to practice gratitude?

The final installation imitated a greeting card wall and encouraged viewers to take a …

The Benefits Of Using Inclusive Literature In Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade Classrooms, Guidelines For Selecting Inclusive Texts, And Resources To Help Teachers, Librarians, And Community Members Use Inclusive Children’S Books, Erin Lynch

Honors Projects

This project outlines the great importance of inclusive children’s literature and the benefits of implementing high-quality, inclusive picture books within elementary school classrooms. Additionally, the project provides suggested guidelines for selecting inclusive literature as well as copious examples of high-quality picture books within a variety of subject matter categories. In addition to a thorough paper, this project contains a large online resource referred to as the “Virtual Library” that utilizes technology and graphic design to simulate a real library full of inclusive literature.

Paid Advertising: Understanding How Ad Format And Visuals Impact Ad Link Clicks And Conversions, Samantha Ensinger

Honors Projects

Limited research exists that effectively describes what format of ads (photos, videos, graphics, or GIFs), receive the most link clicks, the most adds-to-cart, and the most conversions. There is even less research available that describes the extent to which the visual structure of advertisements, such as chosen colors, imagery, text, and duration impacts ad performance. This study sets out to address and help close this research gap by creating and testing multiple advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.

Small Town To The World Wide Web: Designing A Website For A Local Business, Madison Cozzens

Honors Projects

The Raspberry and The Rose is a small business in Medina, OH, and had a multitude of visual communication issues that needed to be solved. But what's an online presence without a website? "Small Town to the World Wide Web: Designing a Website for a Local Business" focuses on fulfilling a local business's need for a strong online presence. It dives into how a user's experience on the website can impact brand loyalty, foot traffic, and overall perception of a business. The ultimate goal of this project is to provide insight into how a non-e-commerce website can impact a business.

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 …

Plant Wise, Sophia Llamas

Honors Projects

Conceptually, Plant Wise is the key to bridging the gap between preconceived ideas about vegan and vegetarianism and successfully integrating plant-based foods into your everyday life. Physically, Plant Wise is a self-educational, interactive booklet chock-full of activities intended for users to complete at their own pace. Inside this 56-page booklet, there are recipes, doodling spaces, weekly check sheets, activities to do with friends and family, challenges, and so much more. Plant Wise utilizes these activities and journaling opportunities throughout as a self-reflective vehicle to give users an experience to reflect on, which aids in the retention of what’s been learned …

[Un]Seen, Al Benbow

Honors Projects

[un]seen is a community-centered project and installation that consists of a collection of portraits and statements from underrepresented members of the LGBTQ+ community. Each subject submits their own action item that depends on their identity and response to the question, “what do you wish people understood about the experience of being [your identity]?”

This project was initially born out of research into the commodification of LGBTQ+ identities, and the realization that corporations tend to market to members of the LGBTQ+ community who they believe have the most spending power: white, cisgender, able-bodied, upper class, gay men, and therefore most often …

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 …

Quarantining And Dining, Madeline Flagg

Honors Projects

Quarantining and Dining captures and reflects the many ways in which comfort is provided through food. The project content was collected through food culture research, interviews, and observation and then mediated through Instagram. The Instagram feed has a designed aesthetic architecture and branding system that makes it distinct and identifiable. The Instagram account name can be found @Quarantininganddining. Although the project is rooted in Midwestern food culture, the perspectives provided are from across the United States, as well as from numerous occupations in order to express a diverse range of perspectives. The Instagram account encourages interaction and an exchange of …

Creating Visuals For A Start-Up Company, Andrea Goetting

Honors Projects

As part of the capstone in the Visual Communication Technology major, this project is intended to help a community member with a visual/graphic need as well as help me to understand the process of being a professional in the field. The main objective was to determine the basic visual needs of a start-up company and how to successfully produce those materials.

Critical Discourse: Thinking About Power, Privilege, And Voice, Stephanie Werth

Honors Projects

We Can Do Better is aimed at creating a space for a dialogue to occur, designed to facilitate conversation around the relationship of resources and identity. As a college student, engaging with difficult or unfamiliar topics is easier when participating in low-pressure, casual settings. Students will have to take chances and make choices, and may change their view of how opportunity affects everyone so they can make informed decisions. We Can Do Better intends for students to expand their knowledge of privileged identities in their community, understand constructed social systems through a dialogue of anecdotal evidence, gain empathy for those …

False Advertising: A Look At Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Morgan Gale

Honors Projects

A crisis pregnancy center (CPC) is an anti-abortion organization that “counsels” pregnant individuals while pretending to be pro-choice, often giving out false or misleading medical information and discouraging sex outside of marriage. These centers are usually affiliated with evangelical Christian groups and outnumber actual abortion clinics: it is estimated by pro-life groups that over 2,500 CPCs currently operate across the United States.

This project aims to make the anti-abortion bias of CPCs more visible to BGSU students by presenting research in a format that is easy to read. The project also investigates the practices of Her Choice (The BG Pregnancy …

Golden In Glass, Emily Price

Honors Projects

The hymn chosen for this glass piece is “Jerusalem the Golden” which was written by Bernard of Cluny in the 12^th century and set to music by John Neale in the 19^th century. The original tune given to the hymn is known as “Ewing” and was written by Alexander Ewing. Although this hymn is not used in all hymnals and is not as widely known as hymns like “Amazing Grace,” it is a lovely, hopeful one that paints a picture of the wonders of heaven.

Hymn singing is an important part of the Christian church service and has …

Seeing Through Graphic Design, Sarah Doughty

Honors Projects

Artist Statement:

Seeing Through Graphic Design is a branded curriculum for graphic design. This workbook will be disseminated through the Ohio State 4-H Extension office on a statewide level, adapted for a Summer 2018 publication date. 4-H is an experiential learning organization for youth development in ages 8 to 18. This project explores how graphic design can help a 4-H member discover and develop knowledge about themselves and how they perceive their environment, by decoding the world of visual communication. Additionally, the activities teach concepts of graphic design and the design thinking process, such as intention and unique perspectives that …

Music & Media: A Senior Recital & Honors Project, Kayla Luteran

Honors Projects

Music & Media: A Senior Recital & Honors Project is a cross-media marketing strategy. The main purpose of this project was to develop visually appealing, informative graphic elements and branding to effectively promote a musical performance. This is interdisciplinary in nature and includes written and oral communication.

While many music students post about their senior recital on social media or place flyers, they do not develop a thorough methodology for generating buzz about their event. Although musical preparation is of utmost importance for a performance, I believe that time should be spent on all aspects of planning the recital. With …

Pick Up A Habit, Emily Frazier

Honors Projects

Pick Up a Habit is a physically interactive experience that demonstrates the relationship between the strength of habits, their perceived priority levels, and the availability of mental space through a series of tote bags differing in weight, available space, and appearance. Through examining the bags and comparing them to others, a better understanding is gained of the effects that habitual actions have on their thought processes, and a person can more effectively evaluate and adjust their own habits.

Habits are behaviors or actions that have become automated due to repetition. People often desire to form habits to make parts of …

Retirement Reboot: A Website Redesign, Christina Gillen

Honors Projects

A website could be created with the latest technology, but after a few years it will still need to be updated. This is what happened to Swanton Health Care and Retirement Center’s website. This project is designed to remedy the problem by creating an entirely new website with updated content, images, and interactive features to bring Swanton Health Care’s online presence back to life.

Seeking Solace: Regret, Grief, Anxiety, Rebecca Schroeder

Honors Projects

Seeking Solace: Regret, Grief, Anxiety is a triptych video and artifact piece inspired by the abstract analysis of my dreams. It recognizes worries held within my subconscious and brings them to life through graphic design, photography, and video. The process of creating provides a new perspective of looking at both art and occupational therapy as methods of solving emotional distress.

I have recorded over 80 of my dreams in the past year. In these dreams, regret, grief, and anxiety are common themes. These themes are represented in three triptychs that cycle through past, present, and future problems. The cycling of …

Using Maya And Mathematica To Create Mathematical Art, Allison Carr

Honors Projects

The project consists of six pieces of art that were created in Maya using mathematical objects created in Mathematica. Accompanying the art are artist statements for each piece, the mathematics behind each object used, and the Mathematica codes used to generate the objects.