Graduate Seminar uses Innovative Design and Experiential Learning Process in the Development of New Marketing Materials

Homecoming weekend is a time to reflect upon what a campus and a school means to its alumni, current and future students. Using experiential learning and a research-based design processes, Kent State University’s School of Visual Communication Design (VCD) students will use Homecoming weekend to reflect on its graduate programs for the purpose of creating marketing materials to highlight its unique characteristics. Fifteen graduate and senior undergraduate students will be charged with designing flexible and customizable marketing materials to showcase the VCD Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs. The results of this seminar weekend will address every aspect of the design process – from research, to concept, to production.

VCD Kent State alumni and adjunct faculty members Jason Bacher and Brian Buirge designed the weekend seminar in collaboration with Professor Sanda Katila, VCD Graduate Coordinator. The seminar was developed after primary interviews and a comparative analysis of materials used by competing institutions were conducted. The pair’s design firm, Work, employed creative problem solving techniques to incorporate the school’s vision, mission and ideals in their approach to process and design, while remaining within budget.

Unique to the VCD graduate program is its emphasis on research-based design, exemplified by the thesis requirement in the MFA curriculum. Market research is often used to identify audience perceptions of programs and to determine what information should be communicated for greatest impact, but a key audience input – that of the current student – is often ignored. This experiential graduate seminar will provide an opportunity to incorporate the students’ voice in the design process. The creation of program materials will be a culmination of the school’s ideals in practice. Initial research identified five areas of key messaging that students in the seminar will address in the materials: community, collaboration, leadership, personalization and experience.

Buirge said a challenge of the weekend seminar is the tight time constraints. “We’re asking students to visually communicate the five key ideas with limited resources and without relying on text,” he said. “We want the students to experiment with images, photography and a conceptual development of design work.”

Bacher and Buirge’s team will document the experience to create print and video components explaining the innovative aspects of this design process.

VCD Alumnus Mikey Burton to Speak on Kent Campus Thursday

School of Visual Communication (VCD) Alumnus Mikey Burton, a Designy Illustrator, will speak on Sept. 27, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the FirstEnergy Auditorium (340 Franklin Hall, Kent State University) in a visit organized by the AIGA Kent chapter. Students and professionals from the community are welcome to attend the presentation, which is free.

Burton, Master of Arts graduate, has be been recognized with awards from Communication Arts, Graphis, HOW, Print and ADC Young Guns.

Burton is an Ohio native that currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Photo credit: Joe Wathen

For more information check out the event Facebook page or the VCD graduate student blog.

VCD Grad Continues Senior Project After Graduation

By: Emily Horne

Renee Volchko, a December 2011 B.F.A. graduate from Kent State University’s  School of Visual Communication Design (VCD) is continuing her senior project, even after graduation. Volchko’s 2-D concentration with a minor in Web design and programming has gone to good use as she continues to tweak her project for use by the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring organization.

Volchko’s final project consists of three “ad spots” or roughly 30-second videos. In order to create these videos, she interviewed many different kids. From her 25-30 minutes of footage from each kid, she narrowed it down to about 30 seconds for each video.

She says she chose to work with Big Brothers Big Sisters because family has always been important to her, as she has a sister eight years her junior. “I think that everyone deserves to have a sibling relationship,” she said. She also said she believes there is something special about having someone like that in your life.

One of Volchko’s biggest challenges with completing this project was adhering to a strict schedule. Between utilizing a green screen, rendering, animating, filming, setting up lights, and making sure each of the small technicalities were in place, it was a challenge to balance that with executing an overall message to her chosen audience.

“It was such an accomplishment, not only for me to get it done, but to get it done with success,” she said. She began thinking about this project in May 2011 and began executing it in October. She says there was “a lot of thinking and planning” before she began tackling the actual project.

After contacting the Big Brothers Big Sisters headquarters in Philadelphia to show the executives her project, she got in contact with the art director. The organization is now in the process of integrating its logo and an existing slogan into the project so it can be viewed by the public. Volchko said she hopes Big Brothers Big Sisters will use the spots as viral videos or ads on its Youtube channel and website.

“Completing this project gave me a little bit more confidence in my abilities,” Volchko said. She went on to say that receiving responses and praise from people who have viewed her work is a great reward.

A self-proclaimed driven and inspired designer, Volchko said she finds inspiration very easily and very quickly. “Graphic design has been my way to communicate with people,” she said “art is a language everybody speaks.” Volchko said that she has her heart set on “making something happen someday.”

Volchko recently coded and launched a new personal website to showcase her work. View it at www.hellorenee.com.

VCD Alumnus Jeramie Selders says “That degree will take you anywhere.”

By: Emily Horne

Jeramie Selders, a 2005 Visual Communication Design graduate, now works at Trek Bicycle as the Director of Retail Design and Environmental Design.

Trek Bicycle, located in Waterloo, Wisconsin, about 25 miles East of Madison, started in 1976. A family owned company, there are about 2,000 employees globally. Selders has worked with the company for five years.

Trek Bicycle provides customers with any and all of their bicycle needs and provides subcategories within the merchandise based on the specific type of riding a customer engages in from road to town to mountain riding. Selders said he helps the customer “experience the brand within an environment.”

The company puts much of its focus on advocacy revolving around riding such as trails and sustainable paths and wants to support the growth of the bicycle.

The company’s creative studio, where Selders works, houses approximately 50 designers and is divided into teams: interactive and Web, visual, product graphics, and Selders’ team, retail and environmental. His team handles the design and execution end of branded retail stores, corporate interior design, special installations, environmental design, events, trade shows, and high profile product launches.

One of the things Selders admires most about his experience at Kent is the discipline aspect of the education he received. He thinks that what students learn in the VCD program is incredibly transferable and prominent in the design field.

“A note to undergraduates now,” Selders said, “[this degree] is such a great base for everything that you do in your life. It just makes you so much more marketable and you can apply what you’ve learned to anything down the road.” He continued to say, “that degree will take you anywhere.”

For more information on Trek Bicycle, visit the Web site at http://www.trekbikes.com.

Kent Graduate & Comedian Uses Home Town Roots to Get Laughs

By Meghan Caprez

Mike Polk Jr. has been making fun of Cleveland, Ohio for years. His comedy, especially about Cleveland, has gained him millions of viewers on Youtube.

Polk, 34, graduated from Kent State University in 2001 with a degree in communications and a minor in writing. He spends his days writing ads for a web company in Cleveland, but at night, he shares his talent for making people laugh.

Polk does not put all of his comedy on his Youtube page, but even he is surprised by the response some of his videos have received.

“Some things take off that I am proud of creatively, and that is a good feeling, but some dumb videos that I do find popularity and that makes me question mankind,” Polk said. “It’s a mixed bag.”

Some of Polk’s more popular videos include music. His “One Semester of Spanish – Love Song” had more than seven million views online, and he was featured on a Spanish television show called Telemundo singing the song to celebrity socialite Kim Kardashian. This video earned him the nickname “Spanish Mike.”

Another popular video was titled “‘Ooh Girl’ – An Honest R&B Song,” which racked up more than nine million views.

Perhaps Polk’s most famous videos throughout the greater Cleveland area are his hastily made Cleveland tourism videos and his Cleveland Browns fan rant. The hastily made Cleveland tourism videos are a two-part spoof of Cleveland’s economy and structure. Neither of the videos were over a minute long, but they created a buzz in the community. In response to the videos, the Cleveland tourism bureau released a series of commercials to showcase the city in a better light.

Polk created “A Browns Fan’s Reaction To Today’s Game Against Houston” in 2011 as a response to the November 6 game against the Houston Texans. The video features Polk in front of an empty Cleveland Browns Stadium at night, yelling at the building about his frustrations as a fan. The top comment on the video states, “This was the best performance by someone in a Browns jersey all year.” The original video currently has more than a million views, but other Youtubers copied the video for more views.

Polk has not always been as eloquent as he is now, though. He gives credit to his classes and activities at Kent for helping him to get over his stage fright.

“I still have the video from my first speech that I gave in Communications 101 and it’s utterly painful to watch,” Polk said. “I am ridiculously nervous while presenting whatever drivel I was spouting off. So it helped me overcome that fear, I suppose.”

Polk said he learned many life lessons when he was at Kent, but he can’t remember a single thing any individual class taught him. Each skill, though, helped him to get where he is today.

“You learn about people and about self reliance,” Polk said. “You learn different perspectives. That’s the important stuff. Since I have graduated, I have used the life lessons that I learned at Kent every day of my life, but I’m yet to be asked by anyone what the Seven Ideas That Shook The Universe are.”

Polk said that he has no intention of quitting his job to become a full-time comedian, even after all of his online success. He said that his future is not clear to him.

“I’m 34,” Polk said. “Is that too old to come back to Kent and live in Tri-Towers?”

CCI is now on Pinterest!

By: Emily Horne

Pinterest, a virtual bulletin board, seems to be the new “it” Web site and social media outlet that many people are talking about. While it has not entirely reached the business and organization audience, Kent’s College of Communication and Information (CCI) is now on Pinterest. Like some other universities, CCI has been researching the best ways to utilize Pinterest. There seem to be mixed opinions on whether universities need to be on Pinterest yet or not but why shouldn’t Kent’s College of Communication and Information be one of the first?

What other universities are doing:

1. Contests
2. Showcasing its Personality
3. The Student Experience
4. Study Abroad Destinations
5. Dorm Room Decorations
6. Artwork Created by Students
7. Achievements from Alumni

What can students gain from CCI’s Pinterest profile?

1. CCI Student, Alum and Faculty Successes: Many people with connections to CCI go on to do great things during or after their time with the college. On this board, followers can see what these people are doing.
2. School of _________: There is a board for each of CCI’s four schools that showcase information about the school and stories that relate. Pay attention to these boards if you are a prospective student, a current student, or a former student!
3. Facilities: This board showcases the great facilities each of CCI’s programs are housed in. From the recently renovated facilities in Franklin Hall to the Resource Room in the Art building, CCI’s programs offer their students the best.
4. Study Away: CCI offers a variety of study away programs. Here, we are pinning information about various programs.
5. Why CCI Kent Blog: Here we are reposting blogs posted here on our Why CCI Kent blog to reach more students.
6. For Future Students: Students interested in CCI, whether current college students in other majors or current high school students, can look to this board for basic information.

Send us your work:

We would love to begin showcasing student work (artwork, photography, research, Web site design, etc.) on Pinterest. If you are interested in seeing your work on our page, please send an E-mail to ccikent@kent.edu with your work, a caption, and a link (if applicable) to attach to the pin.

Follow CCI Kent State:

Follow us on Pinterest to keep up on the latest information.  http://pinterest.com/ccikentstate/ Also, please help us to promote our Pinterest account. Share it on Facebook, Twitter and repin our pins that interest you!

VCD Graduate Specializes in Clothing and Décor for Children

By Emily Horne

Alex Rodgers

Alex Rodgers, a December 2009 graduate from Kent State University’s Visual Communication Design program, is now a successful business owner, specializing in printing trendy and affordable clothing and décor for children. His company, Lil’ Burritos, is a Northeast Ohio based design boutique that both sells items online and in a few specialty shops in the Cleveland and Columbus areas.

While Rodgers may not have always aspired to start his own business, he did always want the opportunity to work for himself. He began Lil’ Burritos in October of 2010 with his girlfriend Stephanie Rericha, also a Kent State graduate. At the time, Rodgers was working part-time at the American Greetings World Headquarters in Cleveland but unsure if it would result in a full-time position so he decided to start his own “passion project.” Now he works full-time with both companies.

The business stemmed from Rodgers’ passion “for creating cute, whimsical illustrations” and Rericha’s knowledge of kid culture. Though it started as a hobby, the business has turned into so much more and Rodgers says he couldn’t be happier with the result.

The name of the company was inspired by a term of the same name used to describe newborn babies as they were swaddled. Late in the planning stages, however, he had what he calls a “eureka moment” and decided to wrap the onesies in foil, like burritos. He says both he and Rericha have “an unhealthy love of Mexican food” and continued to say that the name fits on multiple levels.

The company began with onesies but has grown to include prints, tote bags, and night-lights, in addition to some adult shirts in their line of Big Burritos and dog shirts in their Doggie Burritos line. Most of the products fit into one of three categories: Regional Pride, Lil’ Animals, and their Swell Series. With Rodgers and Rericha both being from the Stow/Kent area, they admit to having an attachment to Northeast Ohio. Rodgers says the regional items seem to be most popular and are sold to many customers outside of the state.

Lil’ Burritos has grown into something Rodgers and Rericha never anticipated but they are still just a two person team. They love watching it grow and are simply along for the ride.

Look for Lil’ Burritos at the Kent Heritage Festival and Kent’s Art In The Park festivals this summer. For more information on Lil’ Burritos or how to purchase products, visit the Web site at www.LilBurritos.com.

PRSSA Kent’s “How to Handle Difficult Personalities”

By Anne Dudley

PRSSA Kent hosted Ben Brugler and Brandi Neloms at their Nov. 16 meeting on “How to Handle Different Personalities” in Franklin Hall.

Ben Brugler is the vice president at Akhia, a full-service public relations and marketing communications agency and an alumnus of Kent State’s public relations program. Brandi Neloms is also an alumna, and a marketing and sales support manager at Digital Color International.

The pair discussed their experience with handling an array of personality traits as coworkers, account service managers, team members and supervisors.

Some key takeaways:

1. “You can never over-communicate” – Ben B. Always make sure you are on the same page as your coworkers and clients. Ask for clarification and understanding in a sincere and respectful way.

2.  Deal with conflict immediately – Disagreements will happen with coworkers, especially when people are passionate about their work and/or their stance. When work is over, be sure to leave the conflict at door.

“When you walk out of the door, make sure you’re on the same page. As coworkers you will be spending so much time together. You will have to learn to work together. Don’t leave things left unsaid.” – Ben B. In the end, you and your coworkers must be on the same team and be able to support and defend each other.

3.  Follow the Golden Rule – As easy as kindergarten. Treat others how you want to be treated.

4.  Be honest, authentic and consistent – Choose your words carefully based on your objectives in conversations. It is not always necessary to tell a colleague everything on your mind regarding a project. Also, consider the consistency of your actions. If you are known to always tell someone where you stand, be sure to always do that. Be deliberate in your approach. Do not be unpredictable or wavering in how you deal with situations or conflicts as it could mislead people.

5.  “There is no little thing” when it comes to building relationships – Ben B. Remember the little things about your colleagues and clients. Birthdays. Favorite restaurants or movies. Hobbies. Find meaningful ways to connect with people, even if they seem small.

Show an interest in people – Brandi N. Maybe you’re the youngest one in the office or one of the only males or females. Make genuine attempts to get to know your coworkers. An understanding of their perspective and background may help you get along. 

6.  Manage expectations – Try to understand the pressures your clients may be under. How does your work fit into their business objectives, their plan and even their day-to-day life? What is their industry like? What kind of expertise or experience do they have?

7.  Say “I’m sorry” and “thank you”- Ben recalled Amber Naslund’s presentation at the YouToo Social Media Conference in April 2011. Working with clients requires a practitioner to build relationships and a mutual understanding of objectives and intentions. Always try to be understanding of what client goals, deadlines, supervisors, etc.

8.  “Be a sponge” – Brandi N.  Absorb everything you can for the first six months. Brandi’s analogy not only illustrates how to be respectful in a new position, but also why it is so greatly important to learn as much as you can. Consider the appropriateness of your words and actions as a new hire and the expertise and experience your colleagues may have that you do not. 

Anne Dudley is a second-year master’s student of public relations and graduate assistant in the Dean’s Office of the College of Communication and Information.

Alumna Finds Success Down Under

By Nicole Gennarelli

Brianne in front of the Sydney Opera House

After spending time in Sydney, Australia last summer, Brianne Kimmel decided to make the city her home by accepting an advertising position after graduation.

Kimmel, ’11, graduated with a degree in advertising and marketing minor from Kent State University. Kimmel got the job in Sydney through networking on LinkedIn. She is a member of the Sydney Social Media Club and started contributing content with hopes of building a network in Australia.

“I began chatting with my current boss, Phil before I even graduated from Kent State,” she said. “Phil started Apparent a few years ago after spending 20 years in the industry. I actually had a few job offers in Sydney, some were hard to pass up, but Apparent was just a great fit. I love their model, strategies and clients. Upon arriving in Sydney, I met Phil for coffee and he had an account executive role that needed filled quickly. I flew to New Zealand within a few days to transfer my holiday visa to a work visa, and I’ve been working at Apparent ever since.”

Kimmel is currently working on a project with New South Wales Health. Australia is very passionate about fighting obesity and encouraging healthy eating along with lifestyles.

“We now have a carbon tax to fight pollution, and Sydney is one of the cleanest cities in the world,” she said. “Starting in February 2012, we will be posting kilojoules (calories) on menus in all of our franchise restaurants, cafes and local eateries.”

Kimmel said it’s been quite easy to settle into the Sydney lifestyle and find her way around because she’s spent time there before.

“Starting my first “big girl job” in the city has been challenging at times, as with any country, there are many cultural differences,” she said. “Not to mention I had to brush up on my British English spellings and metric conversions. Sydney is such a safe and progressive city, not to mention we are surrounded by beautiful beaches, I couldn’t image starting my career anywhere else.”

Kent State has really prepared her for a career in agency advertising. Kent State has such a well-rounded advertising program, and gives you an opportunity to learn about each aspect of an advertising agency, said Kimmel.

“I’ve met others in advertising through networking events and interviews, and many have commented on how well I’ve been prepared for the industry,” she said. “It’s such a relief to walk into interviews or professional settings and be able to contribute content and “hold your own” in any setting.”

Nicole is a senior public relations major and a marketing assistant for the College of Communication and Information.

Networking in Six Easy Steps

By Jayne Fenton

Often students will ignore emails urging them to attend an event for the college. Sure, it’s easy to not attend an event if you won’t receive credit or a grade for it. But are you considering the draw backs to not attending a FREE event? As often as students discuss the cost of tuition, and room and board, one would think students would jump all over the opportunity to learn something for free.

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from the Center of Student Involvement and the Alumni Association regarding a free event titled “Networking in a Flash.” The email boasted an opportunity to help prepare panicking seniors in regards to lack of networking skills. I was intrigued by the thought of networking with actual Kent State alumni. The email explained in order to attend the networking opportunity you must attend an orientation night, where you will receive FREE business cards. I thought to myself “Even if the event is a bust, at least I get some business cards out of it.” I signed up for orientation and filled out the form for my business cards. Networking in a Flash here I come!

Orientation night came around, and I arrived 45 minutes early to the Williamson Alumni Center. I had a chance to speak with the organizer of the event, Carrie Circosta, Assistant Director of Student and Recent Graduates Programs. Circosta explained to me that the event received such a high amount of interest they had to turn away students who wanted to participate. I asked Circosta what the goal of the orientation was this evening. She mentioned the following items:

• Help change the student’s attitude about networking
• Alumni care for the university, good opportunity for them to give back
• Teach students how to set goals with social networking

I was anxious to begin. We were provided a folder full of useful documents regarding networking. In a document adapted from Grand Valley State, networking summed up in six obtainable goals.

1. Define your networking goals.
2. Devise your compelling message.
3. Identify who you are.
4. Identify your personal networking style.
5. Keep a record of your networking activities.
6. Follow up graciously.

I found this to be the most helpful in explaining networking. The orientation on networking assured me I could network professionally, even with social media, such as LinkedIn.

 I urge every senior to go out of their comfort zone and approach someone who you look up to. Anyone can lead to your chance at landing a job.

Jayne is a senior interpersonal communication major and marketing assistant for the College of Communication and Information this fall.