CSE 615 Design sharing

Interpretive Sign by Alexis Terrell

Goal: I want students to know that Baccalaureate Core classes help create a well-rounded education leading to an American undergraduate degree. adf

Audience: My audience is undergraduate international students (ages 18-22) in the INTO OSU Pathway program – most of whom have never heard of the Bacc Core and come from educational systems with a narrow focus on major classes.

Sub-message: Bacc core courses teach a wide variety of useful skills and perspectives.

I started off with the idea that my students never want to take any classes outside of their major. They don’t understand the American system and claim that these other classes (Bacc Core) are too hard and time-consuming. So I tried to flip the tables to show them I hear them but also show encourage them to give them a chance because they might actually enjoy them and learn something.

Stand Out I chose an image of a person in a graduation cap and gown because it’s a recognizable image that creates the feeling of success. And at graduation, one is celebrating not just one accomplishment but a series of smaller accomplishments, and I think that is an essential part of the Bacc Core curriculum – you’re learning a wide variety of skills, which result from a wide variety of challenges. The words “Stand Out” echo the image and also the fact that they will stand out when they return home with an American degree—it’s a huge deal! I chose a person looking away so the anonymity would attract the target audience more. I’m showing two versions to highlight how I later changed the alignment and color in this design.

I wanted the stack of books to help frame the point of the message that students have to study a wide variety of subjects, not just their majors – and we know that can be stressful. I stuck with the Q&A format simply because it’s easy to identify for students, and I feel it allowed me to take what’s a common question from students and give a meaningful answer. I made the books big and slightly off the page to help illustrate the enormity of what a college education really is. With a left justified text, the flow of the text is very natural around the books.

Ready for success?

I was playing with repetition and contrast this week and used the purple bars directly over the picture to help the text stand out. I came back to the idea of graduation with my image and the theme of success. I stuck with a Q & A format but added the OSU tag to make it feel more official. I thought it fit with the bars theme, too. I had trouble finding a right headline font, though, and would later try different fonts to create a stronger headline look.

Get ready for the Bacc Core! This design carries both some of the same imagery and message as previous designs. But I adjusted the font for the first time to match a collegiate theme. I also tried a more primary color scheme to echo a school setting.

This one might fit my audience because it’s young and bold and simple. We’re talking about the Bacc Core. It’s like I’m saying, “You need it. It’s serious. Just do it.” The body text is in all caps. The title is distressed. The color is the ultimate contrast of black and white. But it diverges from the more empowering, hopeful feeling I was originally going for.

Bacc Core

Tools for success I was playing with fonts in this one and took the success theme more literally … as in the Bacc Core gives you the tools for success. I like the look but realize that it doesn’t exactly fit my target audience (international students) who probably never heard the phrase “tools for success.” They also might think more along the lines of blue collar worker, which is not why they’re studying in the U.S.

I think the Bacc Core is a journey to a broader education. I know “well-rounded” doesn’t mean much to my students, but this image conjures a large part of what the bacc core courses teach – the world (i.e. cultural diversity, western culture, science, literature, etc.)! The font is in a hand-written style trying to personalize the experience while the globe does highlight the idea that students have travelled a long way to be here – so they should be open to the full American education experience.

For the final slide, I decided to go back to one of my first designs but work more on getting the color and the font right. The title is a distressed serif Typo College font and the subtitle (in yellow) is from the same font family. The body text is Open Sans, which is a wider font so it contrasts easily with the titles. I think the feeling of graduation is easily relatable and motivating to international students, so I kept the image—it’s simple and clear. I used a split complementary color scheme to create a high degree of contrast, yet harmony at the same time. The colors echo the primary colors of childhood but in a more modern, mature form.