Communication 401 Corporate Projects - Fall 2007

02/01/2008

Communication 401 Corporate Projects - Fall 2007

The major in Communications offers a combination of intercultural communications and interdisciplinary studies. The degree offers students a broad-based knowledge of current communications theory and extensive hands-on practical experience. This combination prepares students ideally for graduate study or for careers in international media, international marketing, corporate communications or other creative fields. The required lower and upper division courses are enhanced by a theoretical and a practical module of four courses each. In their final year, students bring their acquired theoretical knowledge to the completion of COM 491 Senior Seminar and their acquired practical skills to COM 401 Communications Projects Workshop.

Below are a selection of student projects recently presented at the completion of the Communication 401 course.

Tribal Longboards by Emily Smykal, Brian Delap and Chelsea Zaharczuk

Our project was to create the brand identity for Tribal Longboards, which involved the design of both a logo and artwork to be displayed on the company's boards. We used a range of design processes, including visual research and photo shoots, and ended up with a wide array of ideas for the brand. Our client gave us a large amount of leeway with the designs, but his main concern was that we should emphasize the hand-made originality of the boards. Our final project includes a logo as well two works of art, one for the company's 'beach' range of boards, and one for the 'urban' range. The logo, both simple and versatile, is made entirely from different elements of one font. The beach artwork, taken from a photo shoot we conducted in Bournemouth, captures the natural feel of the longboarding/surfing culture, while the urban artwork creates a balance between the modern city scape and the tribal aesthetic. The designs we created will allow those who own Tribal products to feel as though they are a part of a unique and authentic community.

Aik Saath Viral promotional film by Ayah Al Tabari and Yolanda Cervera

For this project we where asked by Aik Saath to Design an e-mail viral in the form of a video in order, to inform people about Aik Saath which is an organization that is involved with charity work. In Addition Aik Saath wants to gain a large audience and also encourage more young people to get involved in the project.

See Beyond the Hood by Anne de Boer, Katie Enos, and Hisham Wali

Anne de Boer, Katie Enos, and Hisham Wali were students of the Communications Senior Project class and were assigned to do an advertising campaign for the community service group NDC Fulham. NDC is a group that works to improve the North Fulham neighborhood. The project involved designing a layout and concept for a billboard campaign to improve the image of the teenager, otherwise known as the "hoodie". The students came up with a slogan of "See beyond the hood" and from there organized a photo shoot with local Fulham area volunteers wearing hoodies to demonstrate that the hoodie is just a piece of clothing. The volunteers included a local Fulham police officer, as well as a youth group member. NDC will be rolling out the campaign in mid January, with hopes that if it is succesfull in Fulham to take it to the greater London area and then nationwide.

Aik Saath charity badge design by Mary Horton and Caitlin Stein

These badges were designed for the charity Aik Saath. When we visited with Aik Saath we were so impressed with how they had built their organization primarily through word of mouth in the community. The badges were designed not only to aid this word of mouth and generate interest in the organization, but also to give the volunteers a sense of unity and a way to symbolize their involvement with Aik Saath. We quickly realized that the badges needed to reflect the multifaceted nature of the organization and the volunteers. We arrived at the idea of single words because they reflected the aspects and ideals of the organization, while allowing volunteers to wear a badge that is slightly more personal to them. When we started thinking about the design of the badge, we immediately gravitated to materials and colors that would in some way reflect nature. Aik Saath is a grassroots organization, and one operates on the most human level. After much trial and error we found that metallic colors and surfaces were not only visually pleasing but also symbolized for us a great deal about Aik Saath. Metals are taken from earth in a small pieces and have to be bonded together to make something stronger. Aik Saath is at the core an organization of individuals who have been bonded together by a common cause, and as a group have found incredible strength to help make their communities better.