Graphic Design Commons^™

Ethnographemes, Vaishnavi Mahendran

Masters Theses

Spoken and written languages are living processes. As with our own natural systems, they are born, evolve in stages, yet also face the eventuality of death. Current research indicates that there are 7,111 spoken languages in the world. UNESCO lists a total of 577 languages as critically endangered.

This thesis examines the role of graphic design and its potential contribution to the preservation of endangered languages and writing systems of indigenous communities. My interest lies in exploring possibilities of the script serving as a vessel to share and celebrate deeper stories of each of these communities’ heritage.

Through my practice, …

Something To See Here, Weixi Zeng

Masters Theses

“Nothing to see here” is a suspicious phrase.

Whenever we hear it, we pause and become alerted. Something is most likely indeed happening, and worth noting — mishaps ranging from either an embarrassing coffee spill, unfair abuses of privacy, or insidious early signs of a pandemic.

Historically, states and national entities have always valued the power of information to allow them to see more, and see better — all the while obstructing the path to clarity for ordinary citizens. Systems and infrastructure have become expressions of authority, rife with distortion and deception. Familiar systems are commandeered to surveil us, yet …

Fallen Objects: Collaborating With Artificial Intelligence In The Field Of Graphic Design, Harrison S. Gerard

University Honors Theses

In this paper, I discuss the creation, execution and reception of my digital art series Fallen Objects, in which I collaborate with a neural net to create pseudo-found objects. I explore how artists might collaborate with Artificial Intelligence obliquely, not by having the AI generate the images themselves, but instead generate input for the artists to make the images. While many artists are focused on training neural nets to replicate their own art inputs, I instead focus on working with an AI trained on external, easily-accessible data and creating images from the prompts it delivers. In this way, the AI …

Designing A Future: Silicon Valley-Born Brit Biddle '19 Melds Tech And Art Of Mayflower Hill, Mareisa Weil

Colby Magazine

"This education has taught me how to look at a problem and really think about it. And i've been able to balance that out with art." -Brit Biddle '19

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.

Gaia Bioplastics: A Design Exploration Of Bioplastics Through A Brand Campaign, Kelsey Long

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The world is drowning in petroleum-based plastics. Plastics and their byproducts have created an environmental crisis by polluting our oceans and negatively affecting human health and diverse ecosystems around the world. Alternative bioplastics sourced from plants, especially hemp, seaweed, and lignin (organic polymers in wood and bark), offer promising solutions. Still, bioplastics currently make up only one percent of the global plastics market. My undergraduate scholarship in Graphic Design aims to build a consumer awareness campaign of bioplastics and promote their viability through branding, logos, and advertising designs. Based on research into hemp, seaweed, and lignin-sourced bioplastics, I have developed …

Art Of Darkness, Sarah Roper

Honors Theses

This paper describes the process, production, and explanation of Art of Darkness, an artistic expression of the struggle with anxiety. All of the work is inspired by literature and art from the English Romantic and Victorian eras, and focuses on quotes about the mind, emotions, and other thought processes. As each piece highlights a different aspect of anxiety, it also portrays the struggles of anxiety through color palette, printing process, and symbolism. These printed pieces consist of letter-press printed materials, with ink-wiped backgrounds and hand-stitched details. Also included are large-scale prints with silkscreened foregrounds, a selection of bookmarks, a …

‘How Has Art Refocused Consumers’ Attention Within A Visual World Through The Exploration Of Package Design?’, Frances Hackney

Honors Theses

The art of design has refocused the attention of consumers as they have entered into a visually demanding world. While this concept is complex and perplexing, stemming from endless influencing factors, the elements of design can be broken down into areas of focus to dissect the visual world of marketing. A simple way to communicate the influence of design on the consumers is to unveil the answers through the study of art.

In this thesis, the study will turn to the world of art to learn more about consumerism. The goal is to understand how visual images and the ongoing …

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 …

Ladies, Jocelyn Edmondson

Toyon: Multilingual Literary Magazine

none

Dotophotozine Issue 9, 2020, Students Of The Csusb Art Department, Thomas Mcgovern

Dotphotozine

No abstract provided.

Hyperreal Communication, Idil Tayhan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

”In societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles.” -Guy Debord

Particularly in the contemporary era, image duplication and manipulation techniques have been advancing rapidly. These advancements are forming a new discourse around communication that is drastically different from its predecessors. For this reason, in the contemporary era, communication has become questionable in its truthfulness and sincerity. As a designer, I am concerned with the extreme commercialization and commodification of communication. My work looks to the situationist movement of the 60's, which sought to disrupt every cultural front in order …

I Hear You Now, I See You Then, Quinn Hunter

Art + Design Masters Theses

In the research driven project I Hear You Now, I See You Then, I refer to the contemporary and historical erasure of the labor of African American women using research gathered from the southern plantation economy to create an art installation. The objects in this installation are primarily made with artificial hair integrations and utilizing labor intensive methods that are similar to those used to install the hair on the Black body. The objects I make reference the luxury items in the domestic spaces of historic plantation sites that have been re-branded to be used in the wedding /tourism industry. …

Sleep Paralysis: An Artist's Best Nightmare, Alexandra Wills

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sleep paralysis is a condition in which the REM sleep in an individual fails to disengage after they awaken. This leads to full body paralysis, during which vivid and often terrifying hallucinations occur. I myself suffer from sleep paralysis. That being said, I have always been intrigued by the concept of exploring serious topics through the use of comedy. In essence, that is what my project is about. I wanted to make light of sleep paralysis. By doing so, I hoped to deescalate the terror in the mind of the sufferer. Comedy is possibly the most effective method I have …

Consumer Response To Green Brands Vs. Traditional Brands On Digital Platforms: An Analysis Through A Series Of Case Studies, Madison Busick

Honors Scholar Theses

In the age of environmental crisis, consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their decisions. Accordingly, many companies seek to provide more eco-friendly and sustainable products while building their brand around these values. Consumers also are increasingly using and engaging on social media and other digital platforms. But just how well do these "green" brands do in the digital space? This study aims to compare differences between brands that embody environmentalist values and traditional brands with a variety of case studies across several consumer goods segments including clothing, cosmetics, and technology. The data is collected from a variety …

Reclaiming Images Of Black Women: An Investigation Of Black Womanhood In Visual Communication, Taylor Simone Thomas

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This thesis investigates how Black womanhood has been visually represented in hopes to either recognize Black women as full, nuanced, and legitimate participants of society or to reinforce monolithic representations built from the constructs of social, political, and economic oppression. It also gives an analysis of Black feminism and how Black feminist thought can be applied to the creative process in hopes of challenging visual misrepresentations of Black womanhood. The aim of this thesis is to show that artists and visual communicators do have a responsibility to be conscious of the messages conveyed in their work. In addition, they must …

Interaction Design For Retention., Susan H. Pallmann

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

UI/UX design, or interaction design, is still relatively new as a discipline and has not been well-studied. Interaction design is typically geared towards facilitating ease of use of technology for the person using it, also called the user. However, interaction design and digital media in general have great potential to impact emotion, action, and retention of information. This creative thesis develops several design principles that govern a resulting conceptual website and the design process behind it. The website brings the user interactively through a narrative and aims to make an otherwise unremarkable story more memorable. Although empirical data was not …

An Exploration Of Procedural Methods For Motion Design, David Hamilton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research aims to apply procedural techniques, similar to those employed in node-based modeling or compositing software packages, to the motion design workflow in Adobe After Effects. The purpose is to increase efficiency in the motion design process between pre-production and production stages. Systems Theory is referenced as a basis for breaking down problems in terms of inputs and outputs. All of this takes place within the context of a larger motion design project.

The Story Of Here: A Graphic Guide To Holy Cross And College Hill, Sarah Luria, Jesse Carson, Mia Cronin, Daniel D'Ambrosio, Sara Donohue, Kerry Flaherty, Hannah Ford, Jenna Giardina, Andrew Lydon, Cameron Magalotti, Brett Mccarron, Matthew Shea, Nora Sheehan, William Solomon, Marco Spataro, Connor Sullivan, Thomas Thiel, Paihan Wu

Holy Cross Bookshelf

This illustrated guide captures the history of the section of Worcester where the College of the Holy Cross is located. Historical sources and imaginative interpretations based on historical research are combined to create a unique "then and now" approach and experience of "double vision" to tell the story of College Hill.

This guide was a project of Montserrat Seminar 111N, taught by Prof. Sarah Luria in Spring 2020.

*The Story of Here:* *Correction for Plate 5*, *Pakachoag/ Language*

“Nipnet” denotes the area of the Nipmuc, rather than the people themselves. Nipmuc (or even nipamaug (to denote people) is the best …

The Magic Circle: An Essential Experience Through Virtual Theatre, Brandon Roye

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the similarities of video game design elements within the world of theatrical scenic design. Using my 2019 scenic design of Marc Camoletti’s bedroom farce Boeing Boeing as the backdrop, I discuss the core concepts of game design. I then describe the scenic process of the production and the journey from concept all the way through to a virtual reality recreation of the design. The study of game design in theatre has the potential to open a wide new world of opportunities in the scenic design industry. This paper examines how the theatre can benefit from game design …

Designing A School: Creating A Map For Pace University, Tanner Maple

Honors College Theses

The map of a university is an essential tool for students, not only for navigation but also to promote the campus. When the map is outdated, students don’t find it functional and it can not complete its purpose. With the map of Pace University’s downtown campus, a new design was needed to go with the renovations that are taking place. When redesigning the map, features that are seen amongst the most common maps should be considered in the design. One feature that most maps now have is some sort of interactivity. To include this, maps have an online version that …

Q&A With Wyatt West (Bfa Graphic Design), Wyatt West

Q & A Interviews with Art Students

No abstract provided.

Final Project: Claire Brewer, Claire Brewer

COVID-19 Graphic Design: Data Visualization and Information Design

This poster was the final project in the spring 2020 semester of Graphic Design I (VAD 411), taught by Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. Following the transition to all-remote learning on March 23, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the class drew from data, health information, news coverage, personal reflections and other sources to create this work.

Final Project: Megan Farnan, Megan Farnan

COVID-19 Graphic Design: Data Visualization and Information Design

This poster was the final project in the spring 2020 semester of Graphic Design I (VAD 411), taught by Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. Following the transition to all-remote learning on March 23, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the class drew from data, health information, news coverage, personal reflections and other sources to create this work.

Final Project: Emily Cordonnier, Emily Cordonnier

COVID-19 Graphic Design: Data Visualization and Information Design

Inspired by the Russian Constructivism movement over 100 years ago, this piece pays homage to the parallels that exist in 2020 and that we are still grappling with in our society. The Russian Revolution of the 1920s brought a philosophy and design movement that was aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban spaces that favored art, design, and architecture for practical and social purposes. The movement’s design was based on construction from products of society or what was in the studio, home, or office. The modern-day feeling of unrest and contempt for not having enough resources to survive living …

Final Project: Lucy Rauker, Lucy Rauker

COVID-19 Graphic Design: Data Visualization and Information Design

This poster was the final project in the spring 2020 semester of Graphic Design I (VAD 411), taught by Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. Following the transition to all-remote learning on March 23, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the class drew from data, health information, news coverage, personal reflections and other sources to create this work.

Final Project: Grace Burke, Grace Burke

COVID-19 Graphic Design: Data Visualization and Information Design

This poster was the final project in the spring 2020 semester of Graphic Design I (VAD 411), taught by Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. Following the transition to all-remote learning on March 23, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the class drew from data, health information, news coverage, personal reflections and other sources to create this work.

Final Project: Remy Mcallister, Remy Mcallister

COVID-19 Graphic Design: Data Visualization and Information Design

This poster was the final project in the spring 2020 semester of Graphic Design I (VAD 411), taught by Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. Following the transition to all-remote learning on March 23, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the class drew from data, health information, news coverage, personal reflections and other sources to create this work.

Final Project: Megan Lewis, Megan Lewis

COVID-19 Graphic Design: Data Visualization and Information Design

This poster was the final project in the spring 2020 semester of Graphic Design I (VAD 411), taught by Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. Following the transition to all-remote learning on March 23, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the class drew from data, health information, news coverage, personal reflections and other sources to create this work.

Final Project: Kathryn Niekamp, Kathryn Niekamp

COVID-19 Graphic Design: Data Visualization and Information Design

This poster was the final project in the spring 2020 semester of Graphic Design I (VAD 411), taught by Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. Following the transition to all-remote learning on March 23, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the class drew from data, health information, news coverage, personal reflections and other sources to create this work.