Business Commons^™

Coffee Cactus, Mackenzie Haneman

Graphic Communication

Coffee is one of the most well known and enjoyed drinks in the world. So many people go out to coffee shops to get work done, catch up with friends, or just to simply enjoy a local cup of coffee. Yet, many people find it difficult to bring that experience into the comfort of their own homes or have found tools that bring a personal and unique experience. Espresso machines, coffee tools, and unique terminology can be very intimidating for someone who is just starting to learn about coffee or wants to grow their own at home experience. The problem …

Dunites Wine Company: Digital Redesign, Alexandra Messner

Graphic Communication

This project is a digital redesign for Dunites Wine Company, a small San Luis Obispo wine brand. By improving their website usability and consistency, Dunites Wine Co. can generate excitement and awareness about their brand. The end deliverables will include photography, refreshed branding, and an updated website.

Converting Horizontal Media For Vertical Platforms, Eric A. Hernandez

Graphic Communication

Today, most media is viewed on mobile phones and seen on a vertical screen. There are very few methods for converting horizontal media into vertical media for vertical platforms. This manual shows new ways to redesign horizontal content so that it looks better on vertical displays; I imagine watching things like the Super Bowl or the The Grammys on TikTok or Instagram with a new broadcast design that is more attractive.

Mother Lou Studio: Branding For A Handcrafted Jewelry Business, Amanda K. Hall

Graphic Communication

In the height of the pandemic I gained interest in jewelry-making. Needing a new hobby, I researched the many methods of making jewelry and soon began practicing the craft. Sand casting became a form of meditation, and I hope to gain more experience in silver smithing in the near future. For my senior project, I wanted to combine my personal, creative abilities with the skills I have learned through my Graphic Communication courses. This project showcases my design and business skills, while building a unique brand that will be a part of my future career.

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.

Talia Cooks 4 You: Brand And Product Development, Shannon L. Brierty

Graphic Communication

I created a Cookbook for Talia because I wanted to incorporate easy to follow recipes and helpful techniques to teach food science basics. She is a fourth-year Food Science major with a concentration in Culinology. Her love for cooking and baking led her to food science, which has changed the way she sees food and cooking for the better. She has a significant following so I wanted to create a brand for her that she can build off of in the future. My three deliverables for this project are a physical cookbook, marketing for her product, and a website to …

Effective Methods Of Marketing An On-Campus Resource To College Students, Samantha Gary

Graphic Communication

The problem this research it attempting to solve is how to market an on-campus resource to college students. Through conducting surveys, gathering research, reviewing case studies, and analyzing data, the author has found that the answer is to not to segment college students by major. It is more effective to figure out what a typical students’ needs are and address them by providing a solution to their problems. By strategically placing printed posters around campus that capitalized on student’s needs for study breaks and outlets to tap in to their ideas, the author found that more students respond to this …

Marketing And Advertising For Small Business In Local Economies, Nathan Ross

Graphic Communication

This paper analyzed traditional and current marketing and advertising strategies employed by small and local businesses. The research focused on understanding issues and struggles for small businesses in terms of marketing and advertising in order to develop and test a new strategy that was focused on a community event. The event was designed to assimilate successful aspects of current marketing plans into one that has low monetary risk, and little to no extra time investment for the business. A community was created by an art collective called Nomadic Artifacts which was the basis for a case study.

The “Arts & …

The Economics Of Successful Billboard Advertising, Alexa Thomas

Graphic Communication

This study explains the economics of billboard advertising, specifically pertaining to the internal and external elements that make them effective for both consumers and the brand. Billboards have been used as an advertising medium for more than a century, and are still used today. The question is, “What about billboards make them so effective?” Secondary research was examined to better understand the history of billboards, how they compare to other mediums, and the elements experts consider throughout the campaign process. After analyzing secondary articles and studies, primary research was conducted by interviewing a sample of consumers and experts to determine …

The Effects Of Social Media & Web Development On Product Promotion & The Effects Of Branding On Sales And Building A Startup, Scott Toshiro Burns, Galen Quan Tran

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to identify the key components needed to make a startup. This included created making a landing page and also driving traffic to the page through Facebook. On the landing page section, there was a test to see what would provide the best user experience using Squarespace. This entailed looking into different layouts and using analytics to determine how effective the landing page was in converting customers. In terms of Facebook research, went into looking into creating a method into driving leads into the prospect pipeline. A campaign was run to gather all the data …

A Reusable Wine Package That Also Serves As A Wine Rack, Mariah Cochiolo

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to design and create a prototype of a reusable wine package that would be used primarily to transport a bottle of wine home, but also serve as a piece to build a wine rack when it reaches the consumer’s home.

This study investigated the factors to take into consideration when designing a wine package and coming up with a plan to build a product that met all those needs. One hundred questionnaires were sent to people over the age of twenty one to find out what they thought of the prototype and idea. The …

A Study On Rebranding Strategies, Megan Bryant

Graphic Communication

This project is a study on rebranding strategies. Companies go through a rebrand to change their strategy and direction. Many companies succeed by going through these processes, while many others fail.

In addition to extensive research on past company rebrands, a questionnaire was conducted on a sample of 25 individuals of various ages about their experiences with brands and rebranding in order to compare their responses with actual company decisions.

Participants provided insight on their own personal behaviors, decisions, and perceptions about brands and purchasing products. The study concluded that, on average, quality was more important than price in almost …

Typographic Trends In American Sports Brands, Alan Jacobson

Graphic Communication

No abstract provided.

Package Design Vs. Customer Reviews: A Comparative Study On Influences In Fragrance Buying Decisions, Sarah Willis

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of customer reviews, compared to package design, on the fragrance buying decisions of women aged eighteen to twenty-five. The researcher conducted two surveys: the first asked thirty-five random women to choose between two equally priced, but differently designed, perfumes (Perfume X and Perfume Z). This first group’s preference was Perfume X, with 57.14% of participants choosing this product. The second survey asked a different group of thirty-five random women to choose between the same two perfumes, but with the addition of unequally favorable customer reviews. Group 2 participants preferred the …

The Sustainability Movement And Its Effects On The Trends Of Beauty Product Packaging, Sarah Danley

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study is to examine industry professionals’ standpoints along with consumer demands and expectations pertaining to sustainable packaging, materials currently used in beauty product packaging, and advances in emerging trends within this sector. Using the information derived from these examinations, this study will predict the industry’s future direction and identify how the industry leaders should change in order to adapt their business practices to remain competitive and profitable within the industry.

This study made use of several research methods to gain insight on the impacts that the sustainability movement has had on the beauty and health packaging …

Trends In Multisensory And Interactive Magazine Inserts, Jennifer Titcomb

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to identify trends in multisensory and interactive magazine inserts. The study looked at the different features to see what is used most frequently and identified any major trends with the technologies. These implementations would ensure the presence of printed magazines. Additional knowledge was gained by being more observant of the different ways audio/ video chips and variable data are being used within magazine advertising. Ideas of new applications were formed from gathering of this information.

The study was conducted using historical research, elite and specialized interviews and content analysis to identify trends. Tables were …

Re-Branding For The Ymca, Kelly Dumas

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to clearly define the steps involved with rebranding, specifically print media, for the Young Men’s Christian Association, and relate the execution of these steps to the overall success of the YMCA’s nation-wide rebranding effort. This study outlined the guidelines one must follow when designing any print collateral for the Y, in order to adhere to the new branding standards. After going over the guidelines for design, print pieces, designed for the purpose of this study and as part of the Y’s re-branding, were examined by Y employees. The employees of the Y in Shasta, …

Interactive Print - The Application Of Synergy To Restore And Enhance The Value Of Print, Amy Mcgiven, Jeanne Ngo

Graphic Communication

With the emergence and increasing role of technology in today’s society, many questions are raised about what is the future of print. This study set out to research the term “interactive print,” which, for the purposes of this study, includes Personalized Uniform Resource Locator (PURL), GossRSVP, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and other sources of technology that refer an end consumer to online sources via print.

This report was written in order to research the current trends and knowledge in the industry as it relates to interactive print technologies, as well as to foresee the role of interactive print in the …

Simpler Packaging, Tomiko Oden

Graphic Communication

This project explains how product packaging is become more "green", and thus more simple. Packaging needs to go beyond just simplifying materials and graphics - it needs to create a simpler process in order to reduce wasted time, energy, and resources.