Bye Bye PR Pubs!

By Claire White in Uncategorized

I can’t believe that Public Relations Publications is ending. This was honestly my favorite class that I have taken while attending the University of Oklahoma. This class has expanded my knowledge on InDesign and Photoshop and I know that will help me when I enter the workplace. These skills are valuable and necessary for a public relations major and I am so glad we spent time learning these concepts and how to perfect our products.

I enjoyed having our classroom in a lab where we could work and ask questions when needed. This helped me, as a public relations practitioner, understand when to use certain concepts and when to refrain from them. I thoroughly enjoyed having a small classroom as well. I think the bond that our classroom created was helpful in my success in the class because I was not afraid to ask their opinion on my product. I wish more classes were set up this way because getting feedback on your work only helps a student. The assignments given during the semester pushed me to become better acquainted with InDesign and Photoshop. I learned how to do things on the programs that I thought only professionals could do.

I think what we learned in Public Relations Publications was very valuable for a public relations practitioner and will be used throughout our careers. Blogging every week helped me understand the importance of using a blog and I think I will continue to use my site past this class. I will direct it towards weddings I love, wedding ideas and more, just to get my name out there before I even begin my career. This class was tough at some points, but overall I think the class was by far the best class at OU, and honestly maybe the most important one. I can’t wait to put my knowledge into action during my career and continuing on with the blog that we were able to create.

Originally posted at Claire White

What Makes Claire, Claire.

By Claire White in Uncategorized

In high school, I was a typical high school girl. I played volleyball for the school and on a club team, I played soccer, and I cheered on a competition team. I also competed for Miss Texas Teen after I was crowned Miss Teen Amarillo. Eventually, I realized that I was too short to play volleyball, too slow to play soccer, not limber enough to cheer, and definitely not dedicated enough to compete in pageants while in college. With college right around the corner, you can imagine how panicked I was considering all my passions were drawing to a close…

I decided to attend the University of Oklahoma to make my real dreams come true. Not volleyball, soccer, cheerleading or pageants, but my real dream. I have forever wanted to become a wedding planner. I decided to go into public relations and expand my knowledge of how to brand and convey yourself to a wide audience. Event planning isn’t as easy as it sounds. You have to be one of the most dedicated, design savvy people in the world to get a bride to hire you to plan the big extravaganza. I’ve never had problems with people, actually I have always been great with people. But public relations just seemed like a good fit.

I am probably the most spunky, outgoing and crazy girl you will ever meet. I have never met a stranger, I could make friends with a brick wall if I wanted to (but I don’t.) People make me smile. I enjoy being able to interact with happy people, sad people, fun people, boring people, and trying to make their day one thousand times better. By interacting with a variety of people, I get to hear views that I may not hear every day. This broadens my horizons and makes me realize that everyone has a voice, and it deserves to be heard. This is what drove me to want to become a wedding planner. This day is one, if not the most important day in someones life. Two hearts are combined into one, and I want to be a part of that. Everyone has different desires, dreams and expectations for their weddings and I get to be the lucky one to put those dreams into action.

I was able to intern for the lovely Parie Villyard at Parie Designs this past summer and was a part of the most amazing weddings I have ever seen in my life. parie tent

Photo courtesy of Parie Villyard. Photo taken by Davy Knapp.

piehl barn

Photo courtesy of Parie Villyard. Photo taken by Davy Knapp

Weddings have always been my passion. Making sure someone else’s day is flawless, drives me through school because I know that one day, I will be able to put a smile on someones face that I couldn’t have before.

 

 

Originally posted at Claire White

Brochure Assignment

By Claire White in Uncategorized

Scope:

Design a brochure that can be folded into three’s. The front of the brochure should catch someones eye, excite them and make them want to read all six parts of the brochure. Make sure to include a contact page with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram handles. Pictures should be added to give visual appeal and should have cutlines. The brochure will be handed out for a calendar year, make sure things aren’t “recent” news, but could be used for an entire year. Students will pick their organization to create a brochure for and use InDesign or Photoshop.

Grading:

Design (70 points): The design should be made with InDesign and/or Photoshop and should look like a professional brochure ready to print. This brochure should have excellent use of color, white space, layout and should be free of any typographical errors. Students are to show knowledge of all topic mentioned in class thus far.

Self Reflection (30 points): Explain your brochure and how it would be effective for the organization. Explain your concept of design and why you used colors that you used. How is this brochure helpful for the audience reading it? Explain your journey through the creation process. What have you learned? How was this project different than other projects? Make sure to explain what you have learned in past projects that you were able to apply to your brochure.

Difficulty Rating: I would give this project 3 stars because I think that it is hard to develop something that is used for an entire year. Brochures need information that matter for the entire year, not information that could be thrown out within two weeks. I think students with proper InDesign knowledge will be able to design a printable brochure but it will be a challenge. Knowing what piece of information or picture to use on what side is tough. I would allow two weeks for this assignment and should be given after proper instruction on InDesign and Photoshop have been given.

Originally posted at Claire White

Assignment 2- Direct Mailer

By Claire White in Assignment 2, Direct Mailers, JMC 3433

For this assignment, I geared my direct mailers to two different target audiences: Texas students who just graduated and have made advances to attend the University of Oklahoma and students that are considered National Merit Scholars.

For the direct mailer that I would plan to send to the Texas students, I made sure to talk about how this is their experience, that they would leave their footprint on this university. Sometimes schools forget that it is about that individual persons experience, that is why I put Begin YOUR Sooner Experience. I put the University of Oklahoma’s logo as the OU in your because I want them to start seeing that OU is in their experience. I made sure to use the photo at a football game because that is also what people think of when they think of the University of Oklahoma. It is an experience to attend one of the games, and an important experience at that.

DIRECT MAILER TEXAS

DIRECT MAILER TEXAS2

I also used the same textures on both sides and used the university logo to add repetition.

For my direct mailer aimed at National Merit Scholars, I chose the picture of the seats to show that each seat is different. I used what seat will you take to emphasize that there are many things you can do at the University of Oklahoma, not all chair is the same because neither is every student. I made sure to emphasize the OU in you because that is what I want them to think about. When they look at the word you, I want them to immediately think of the University of Oklahoma.  I made sure that the OU logo was faded behind the students address so that you can immediately know who it is coming from and it repeats the logo from the opposite side.

DIRECT MAILER MAJORSDIRECT MAILER MAJORS2

 

I learned a lot from the last assignment, that empty space is not wasted space, to make sure that your textures match, or at least don’t look like garbage, and to not be text heavy. I made sure to keep the texts the same so that way it all looks uniform. I also chose a text that I thought matched well with the University of Oklahoma text.

 

Originally posted at Claire White

Chapter 5: Overcoming Obstacles

By Claire White in Designing for Emotion, I, JMC 3433, Overcoming Obstacles, PR Publications

In Chapter 5 of Designing for Emotion written by Aarron Walter, he talked about overcoming obstacles. I love how he talks about how as designers, we have every tool to help our audience use their gut. We have all the tools for typography, contrast, color and more that lead our audience in the right direction. These tools not only help our reader use their gut, but it is easier for them to understand the information that we are throwing at them.

I never even thought about how appearance matters. Appearance is the difference between your audience trusting in your company, or not. I like how Walters uses a body guard in a pressed suit versus a guy in cutoff jean shorts and a ripped Grateful Dead shirt. This definitely put things into perception for me.

I disagree with what Dropbox did. I don’t think that bribery is ever the right thing to do. It is almost like trickery to me. I don’t support that especially since I know that as a user myself, I would not like to be bribed to stay on a site I don’t need to be staying on.

Originally posted at Claire White

Assignment One: Business Card and Letterhead

By Claire White in Assignment One, Business Card and Letterhead, JMC 3433

I can’t believe I have already finished the first official assignment in my Public Relations Publications class. And let me tell you, it was a lot harder than I was expecting. I have used Adobe Photoshop before when I was in high school and automatically thought that InDesign had to be easy too.. I was completely wrong. I hit a few bumps in the road like having a horrible logo, one that wasn’t high resolution, etc. But finally, I got a great logo from a friend and ended up making it work.

The business I ended up using is called Taste Dessert Bar. One of my dear friends owns it and is the head chef there. She thought that Amarillo, Texas needed somewhere to go after all the restaurants have closed to have dessert and drinks. So she decided to create Taste. She also has been having issues with her letterhead and business cards so I thought this was a perfect opportunity to show her some of my work, and if she wants to use it then I would have my first client. :)

During the design process I thought about who my target audience was going to be and of course, it is people who love nightlife and love desserts. Some of those people are probably not in the same age group. I had to think of what everyone would like. Something simple but elegant, and something that will resonate with a younger and older crowd.

In my head, I imagined having a martini glass faded onto the business card and letterhead because the business I did this for is a new dessert bar. Then I realized that her restaurant is more focused on desserts rather than the alcohol served. I started thinking about cupcakes and baking and automatically thought about cupcake wrappers. I don’t know why, but I did. That is what inspired me to do crinkled paper on the business card and letter head.

I also thought that since the logo is a fun color, the text that I put on it should be simple and in black. That way it is readable, and elegant.

taste dessert bar business card

 

taste dessert bar business card2

 

(click pictures to make bigger)

I also thought that the businesses slogan should be highlighted, Homemade, Unique, Delicious. I think that is a cute and memorable slogan so I thought it would be perfect on the back of the business card by itself, and at the bottom of the letterhead.

tastedessertletterheadBLOGREADY

 

(click image to make larger)

I made sure that my fonts were similar to those in the Logo so people would think it looked cohesive.

All in all, I really enjoyed this assignment. I think it broadened my horizons to what I am capable of as a graphic designer and made me realize that I can make my own business and letterheads one day! I hope to experience InDesign a little more and toy around with photoshop. I feel confident using the programs but I know there is a lot more that I could learn. I can’t wait to see what this class has in store for the next assignment.

 

Originally posted at Claire White

Designing for Emotion Chapter 3 Blog Post

By Claire White in Designing for Emotion, JMC 3433, PR Publications

In chapter 3 of “Designing for Emotion” by Aarron Walter, it was so interesting to hear about the personality of the Volkswagen Beetle. I never thought that the car had a personality, it just had something that made me feel connected to the car. Now I understand that it is in fact, the cars personality that makes me smile back. I would have never thought that an inanimate object such as a car or a website could have a personality that would keep a driver or visitor coming back.

While this chapter is about personality, it is not necessarily our own personality we are trying to convey in our design. I agree with the quote, “User experience designers interview their audience, then create personas…” because you always have to remember that you are designing a personality that your specific target audience is searching for, a personality that they will connect with. Sometimes, I feel like we can get off track and try to put our own personalities into a product which may turn your target audience off.

The only thing in this chapter that I question or even disagree with, is Carbonmade’s approach. They decided to do “party up front, and business in the back.” I think that this approach worlds for some, but the childish design may not reach everyone they are trying to target. I believe that that most people are looking for a more sophisticated site to work with since many designers will be more focused on a polished look for their target. I think that Housing Works’ design was much more appropriate.

Originally posted at Claire White

Chapter 2 Blog Post

By Claire White in Designing for Emotion, JMC 3433

I absolutely never knew that our brains scanned things for faces and patterns to keep us from harm and to alert us. I also think it is interesting that our brain just knows when milk is spoiled. Not because we had to learn how to spot spoiled milk, but because our brain knows that something isn’t right with the milk.

I agree that if everything is being screamed for attention on a page, not everything will be read or seen. I think that if you are designing a page, certain things can be enhanced for viewers but you have to make sure that those enhanced parts will lead the reader to the parts that are not enhanced.

I disagree that everyone is born with a certain firmware that guides us because everyone is different, everyones mind works in a different way and everyone is interested in different things. But, if you make sure you know who your target audience is, you will know how their minds work because they are all interested in some of the same things. You can never forget to remember your specific target audience is because that is who you are working for!

Originally posted at Claire White