I will be creating strong promotional materials for the Communications & Media Studies Department at Saint Joseph’s University. This Department has very few, and outdated, handouts to promote themselves. This material will cover core & optional courses offered in the COM department. Resources we have offered to our students (Gear Room, Adobe plans, etc.), career paths post-grad, introduction to full-time professors into the department, and anything else related. There will also be a video made consisting of testimonies from professors, students, and alumni about why one should enroll in this department. Additionally, there will be stickers and other small add-ons.

This project is specifically of interest to me because after being a part of the Communications department for the last four years, they have provided me with so much. I feel that it would be really special to create this for the department so they can use it for years to come after I graduate, to give back to them. It will be beneficial for the department to have these because this department is competitive with other universities’, but it isn’t marketed as such and this can get the word out there.

As for professional goals, I have many areas of interest that I would like to explore. This project covers all of them. It will exercise my writing and design skills as well as my video production and post-production skills. I think employers seeing this project will be impressed that I not only did all of this on my own, but considered how it connects to St. Joe’s as well.

My Project will be an informational booklet that includes a QR code to lead students to an informational video about the COM department at SJU.

The Booklet will introduce all of the full-time professors and their classes that they’ve developed. It will also highlight the core classes needed for the degree, as well as a brief outline of the other com courses that are offered to students. I also want to disclose all of the resources offered in the department such as the gear room, and student opportunities within the university to exercise your studies such as the creative collaborative, and student worker positions. This will also cover career paths that the department can prepare you for.

As for the video I will have Professors discussing why they believe SJU’s Com department is unique and beneficial for a successful career in COMs. I will have current students talk about their experience within the department, and I will have alumni talk about why this department set them up for success post-grad.

I would also like stickers for the core classes that will be given to students by the professors as a fun little side project that will go along with this.

VIDEO EXAMPLE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AexN7hOL9DA&t=88s

BOOKLET EXAMPLE: https://www.behance.net/gallery/153446621/Company-Profile-Brochure-Design-Template-Annual-report?tracking_source=search_projects%7Cbooklet

My primary audience would be prospective college students & students looking to switch their major, and my secondary audience is their parents. This will be of interest to prospective students because when they come to visit SJU they will be getting a lot of information thrown at them about the school, so by having a tangible this will allow them to revisit the information about the major. It will also give them detailed information about the COM department and what to expect from it during and after your time at SJU. As for parents, they will be able to understand what type of education their child will obtain from studying Communications at this university. This will hopefully encourage students to choose Communications as their major at SJU, or choose our program over another university, due to the distinct education we offer here. It matters because although this university is known for their Business majors, the Com department has so much to offer, and we need to get that out into an educational atmosphere.

I have a lot of experience when it comes to video editing. As a film minor I’ve made around 6 videos that I’ve edited all on my own using Adobe Premiere pro. I also have experience with camera and audio gear through Com class projects and film shoots as well.

When it comes to graphic design skills in my visual design class I have created an entire design book using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I’m also currently in the Advanced Design class, so I intend on sharpening my skills with Adobe software further. I also worked on a Brochure in B:Social, so I know how to plan out making promotional materials as well.

I think it highly reflects my education in the COM department, as well as throughout the university. I decided to do a video and a booklet aspect to the project because I wanted to highlight both my graphic and videos skills, which was my primary focus of projects I’ve done throughout the past 4 years studying COM. Like I mentioned earlier I’ve worked on brochures, design projects, and multiple videos. I think it’s important to highlight the aspect of the education we learned that concentrates on ethics, civil media, and inclusive design. I intend on doing this through including diverse backgrounds in my video to highlight all types of thought and experience of those within the COM department. I also will include closed captions in my video. As for my booklet I will again incorporate clean design to make it easily understandable for all. A lot of this way of thinking refers back to my Visual Design, Web Design, and Com Ethics classes. They really all stressed thinking of the whole person and using inclusive language, and design.

Research: What research do you think you will need to do in order to complete your project–interviews, surveys, historical research, user testing, learning new camera functions, etc.? What experience do you have doing that kind of research? Provide links to or embed evidence of that research.

I intend to consult every single professor within the communications department about what they think is essential to include in these materials. I will also consult as many students within the department as possible to get a wider understanding of the value of this department through a range of perspectives. I will also look into universities such as Syracuse & Temple, who have highly regarded Communications departments in the country and see how they promote their departments.

I also will be looking into logistical things such as aspect ratios for the booklet and page layouts. In addition to that I will watch many youtube tutorials on Adobe softwares to sharpen my knowledge and have the most efficient designs. I also will look into options for best cameras, lenses, and audio equipment to conduct the video interviews for the highest quality production.

My biggest obstacles I think will be time management. There are a lot of moving parts to this project that include extensive planning and post production work. I also have to figure out if I will be doing this in separate parts, or do the videos at the same time i’m working on the booklet. I think scheduling can also be a potential obstacle since I will be incorporating professors, students, and potentially alumni.

As for gear I will specifically be using 2 Tripods, A DSLR camera, a 50mm lens, zoom h5, and a shotgun mic. I may also have to use some lighting depending on the time of day and shooting location.

TUTORIALS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbEy7hdIJpc

INTERVIEW TOOLS: https://theblocksagency.com/high-quality-video-interviews/

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

Week 1: Planning & Scheduling. I will reach out to professors & students to discuss their thoughts and opinions about what type of information to include. I will also set dates to conduct interviews with those in the video. I will also create a design persona.

Week 2: Conduct Video Interviews and make a rough layout of information on the booklet.

Week 3: Shoot B-Roll for video and finalize booklet information.

Week 4: Begin editing video & designs for the booklet as well as compile images I may need to include.

** The rest of the weeks I will spend on finalizing & perfecting the final product**