After considering what I’d enjoy creating for my senior capstone, I want to incorporate aspects of the projects completed in my communications classes with what I’ve learned in my graphic design classes.

Ideally, my capstone project substantially adds to my portfolio. With each pitch I’ve come up with, I would document my design process to be able to make a case study.

Journal App Design

My immediate thought for a capstone project was to create an app on Figma. I thought that one app idea worth developing could be a journaling app. It could involve functions like journaling prompts and habit tracking.

The inspiration behind this pitch is a project made in Visual Design (Com 202). Using Figma, I had made a chore-dividing app that functioned as an interactive prototype.

To make this a capstone project, I would challenge myself to work with a design system, go through some form of user testing, and produce a more sophisticated prototype. I’d like to have a UX design project in my portfolio.

Through the app, I would also have to develop the brand’s visual identity, similar to what I did with the advocacy campaign I created in Advanced Design (Com 453).

The scope of the project would entail creating a prototype of the app, as well as a corresponding case study. I would use Figma for making the app, and InDesign for the case study.

Advocacy Campaign Website

A similar project to prototyping an app would be prototyping a website. Figma also allows for the creation of web page prototypes. I could then use code or WordPress to create a website.

Last semester in Advanced Design, I had created an advocacy campaign that was centered around college students gaining control over digital distractions. For this capstone project, I could design the website for this same campaign.

The visual identity design and simpler brand extensions were the initial scope of the project when I first developed this campaign. When creating that case study, I had just come up with a list of solutions that a potential website could offer:

  • Mindfulness techniques
  • Study and learning tools
  • Community support (with tech-free challenges)
  • “Study mode”: a distraction-free screen

For the capstone project, I would expand significantly on this campaign to actually design the website and write the content. Information learned in Ethics in Communication (Com 201) would be helpful here, like the relationship between technology and society.

Again, I would use Figma to initially design the website and InDesign for a corresponding case study. I would also use either Squarespace/Wordpress/Wix, like Aaron Tully’s Navy Day Regatta website, or hand coding, like Arianna Markatos’ Lenamark Vids website.

City Exploration App

My last pitch is to create a UX project entirely unlike what I’ve done before. I had the idea of designing a city exploration app tailored for people trying to explore a new area. There can be pinpoints on a map for popular spots, parks, and historical landmarks in their neighborhood. It could be designed as a community “scavenger hunt.”

I like this idea because it would cause me to explore my own neighborhood and figure out which features would be helpful. I could also look to improve the existing features on similar apps.

As with my other two pitches, I’d like to use Figma for this project. I’d look to inspiration like Michael Perino’s LiftLog, or projects I’ve seen online like Julia Slobodianiuk’s Running App.