Senior Project Spring 2020 Melissa Paul
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Table of Contents About Me
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Problem Statement
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Project Scope & Timeline
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Implementation
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Deliverables
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Reflection
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About Me
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I am graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Communication and a concentration in Design Reproduction Technology. Through this concentration I’ve learned about designing in multiple mediums. I choose this project to gain more experience in working with a brand, creating content, and project management. After graduation, I hope to work in graphic design or marketing.
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Problem Statement
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Project
My project is a new magazine subscription service providing lifestyle content through multiple mediums to reach a new target market. This project will create a new service by combining print and technology to deliver entertainment for younger generations. This will be an integrated service with consistent branding across all mediums, and relevant content. Lifestyle content for the magazine and TV will be created through target market research.
Success Criteria
I will measure the success of my project on final product evaluations, financial sheets, and timeliness of completion. I will send my product out to people to receive feedback and ask if this is something they would subscribe to. I also will judge the success of my project by comparing it to my budget sheets. If a new product/service is to succeed, it should abide by the budget and be feasible. Also, staying on schedule and having a completed product by the end of 10 weeks is a crucial aspect of measuring the success. Without having the project completed fully, it will not be a successful product.
Project Deliverables
My project deliverables include: a print/digital version of the magazine with content, mock-ups for a Smart TV application, and a marketing plan, budget sheet, and branding guidelines.
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Project Scope & Timeline
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Project Unknowns
When starting my magazine, I didn’t know who would be creating content. I contacted photographers and people to interview early in the process to ensure I had enough time to put everything together and design my magazine. I was also unsure how I would build my marketing strategy. I spent a lot of time doing more background research on targeting younger generations. I was unsure how I would testing my mockups of the TV application to make sure it is user friendly. I spent time learning Adobe XD and viewed my mockups on my TV to make sure it was user friendly.
Project Constraints
My limitations include software and skill. For the TV application, I was only be able to create mockups for the final product. Everything was completed digitally as well, I cannot print a physical magazine.
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MagazineGTVAPPWBS
Background
Magazine
Deliverable
TV App Deliverable
Branding
Marketing
magazine
physical
content
consistent 100ktfeel
goals for
Research
subscription
demographics
copy
content
articlesphotos
current market
competitors
target
market
research subscription
TVApps
Digital
platformfor delivery
Ads Layout design
videos
games
Layout
design
Digital
mockups of
eachscreen user
experience
across platforms
attracts
target
market
color
palette
advertising
reaching
target
market
strategy
for marketing
typefaces
mission vision
statements
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Project Implementation
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Over a ten week period, I created a magazine and Smart TV subscription delivering lifestyle content. Each week, I had tasks to complete to make progress and complete my project on time.
Project Planning and Background Research
The first step was background research and project planning. The background research was crucial because it allowed me to learn more about my target market, develop relevant content, learn about designing for TV, and develop a marketing plan.
Brand Development
The next step was brand development. The development of my brand helped me in designing the magazine. The brand development of my magazine guided me through the other tasks I had to complete, and gave me a clear picture of what my magazine was going to look like. In this stage, I created a social media kit and branding guide. I looked at other magazines for inspiration and first chose a color scheme of bold, bright colors. I decided on the name “Moop� for my magazine. I decided on a made up word for my brand so there people wouldn’t have associations or any connotations associated with it.
Magazine & TV App Content Creation
In this stage, I began to develop content for my magazine and reach out to people in San Luis Obispo to see if they would be interested
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in being featured in my magazine. Since my magazine features artists and hobbyists, I reached out to a lot of people in SLO. I was able to feature artists, photographers, and locals, along with some projects that I have been working on.
Layout & Design
The most fun part of the project was designing the magazine and Smart TV application. Here, I got to try a lot of different layouts while making every page cohesive. A challenge was translating the look and feel of the magazine into a platform for the TV. Based on my research, I had many specifications to follow, including easy to read type, dark backgrounds, and legibility from 10 feet away.
Marketing Plan
For my marketing plan, I identified goals that I want to achieve with specific measurables to determine my success criteria. I created a marketing booklet identifying how I would utilize social media to advertise my brand. This part of the process involved more research into how new brands advertise themselves and what goals they should be aiming for. In addition to creating a marketing plan, I also created a social media kit to help with branding and set guidelines for posting on social media. I mainly focused on Instagram, because this is the platform that my target market predominantly uses.
Final Content Creation
For this step, I finished gathering content for my magazine and smart tv application. Because I was behind on my other steps, I finished this part of the process in the final week of the quarter. This involved
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get final quotes from the people I featured in my magazine and other aspect I realized I needed as I was finishing my magazine.
Finalize Deliverables
In this stage, I put the finishing touches on my magazine, tv application, marketing plan, and social media kit. A challenge I had was making the tv application and magazine cohesive in design. Designing for tv and print are different, but overall I kept the same branding and color scheme so it would feel cohesive.
Budget Sheet Omission
In my project planning stages, I declared that I would create budget and financial sheets for my company. Working more on my project, I realized this deliverable was out of my scope and I would not be able to confidently create a financial outlook on my company without considerable research and speaking to a financial advisor. Instead, I added a social media kit to my project to support my marketing plan. By focusing more on my branding, design of the magazine and smart tv app, and marketing, I was able to achieve my initial goals of utilizing my design skills to develop a brand and company.
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Project Deliverables
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My project deliverables include: • Digital magazine
• Smart tv application mock up • Social Media kit • Marketing plan
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Magazine Scan the QR code for the full magazine:
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FILM PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURES | STRAWBERRIES | FUN RECIPES & COCKTAILS | LOCAL ARTISTS
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LUIS OBISPO ft. photography, art a
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JUNE 2020
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moop TV
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Social Media Kit
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Marketing Plan
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Project Reflection
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What Went Well
Having the Gantt and WBS charts really helped for planning out my timeline and completing my tasks. I copied everything into my personal planner so I knew when I had to complete things by and so I had a clear idea with the progress of my project. Consulting other people about my project really helped me in brainstorming and coming up with more ideas for my project. I enjoyed talking to the people I featured in my projects, as well as seeking advice from other people in Senior Project. Working on my project a little bit everyday really helped me complete things on time. Every day I would devote time to brainstorm-
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ing, working on my deliverables, or doing more research into my project. Being in the mindset to create and devoting a lot of time to make something helped me in my time management skills. The most difficult parts were the design aspects. I feel like without a hard deadline, I can keep designing forever, and never have a finished product because I keep refining it and changing parts. I completed these challenges by setting hard deadlines for myself. I tried to hold myself accountable for creating something on a deadline. It was very hard in some cases, and I went beyond my own deadline which caused some delay in other parts of my project. I got behind on my progress because I spent a lot of time deciding on the little things, like the branding and the name. I thought these parts would be easy, but I had so many options and the possibilities seemed endless. This caused me to constantly change my mind and decide on something new. I think in the future I could spend less time making sure everything is perfect the first time I do it (creatively speaking) and make drafting rounds for myself to go back with fresh eyes and make changes.
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What could go better?
Finishing my tasks on time was definitely a challenge for me. I took longer to complete most steps of my project than I planned for. Finding up to date and relevant research, and backing up my decisions based on research. Seeking more help and advice for my project was also a challenge. I spent a lot of time contacting people to gather content for my magazine that I didn’t put enough effort into finding a mentor.
What would you do differently next time?
I would create an even more detailed project timeline with more deadlines to hold myself accountable. I would also spend more time on research and checking back on my research to ensure my decisions match up with the data I found. Also, researching my questions, even through the design stage, to make sure my project and design are comprehensive and make sense for my target audience and the platforms I am designing for. Reaching out to more people holds me more accountable for my deadlines and gives me valuable feedback for my designs and project as a whole. Seeking feedback and constructive criticism for my work is an important aspect of designing.
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