Main Digital Flyer
This is the main flyer that would be used to attract students to join the program. It comes with main takeaways Honors students receive from joining and a working QR code (made by Dr. Arnab) that takes you to the University Honors Program webpage to learn more.
Client Criticism to Client Contentment
Google Form
I asked questions that Dr. Arnab and the rest of the Honors Program staff forwarded to other students in the program as an anonymous Google Form survey to explain what they liked about the program, if they were eager to join, how they would recommend it to a friend, and elements I should add to my flyer and social media promotions. I soon summarized them into the information you see in the final flyer, though, we are not at that stage yet.
Sketches
I made some initial sketches on IbisPaintX of the summarized information with accompanying illustrations. The top benefits my classmates said in the Google Form. I initially interpreted the top answers as just:
- Collaborate and Strengthen Trust between you and your professors - Accompanied by a cartoon of a Professor and Student reading together.
- Create Fun and Unique Projects outside of class - Accompanied by scrapbook pieces of Research Reports and Research Graphs (popular contract assignments by non-Art Honors Students)
- Stand out amongst your peers - Accompanied by a medal purposely framing a resume as the Honors Program is stated to be a unique trait students can explain for their future jobs.
FailEd Flyer #1
Unfortunately, my first draft did not make the cut with Dr. Arnab, so I talked to him and Professor Ian.
Dr. Arnab told me that the key benefits could be accompanied by a little more information of what the program is about. He explained to me some more information I could add and also emphasized other information students said in my Google Form.
He also wanted the aesthetic to feel more formal and sophisticated, since this is a college program for college students, so that included changing the font and illustrations a bit. He provided a few examples from other University Honors Programs such as this and this, so I have a better idea on how I should brand the Honors Program for California State University, East Bay.
Failed Flyer #2
Because Professor Ian is my Typography I professor, he also emphasized further how I can meet Dr. Arnab’s graphic expectations. That included how I can stick to a simple sans-serif font to not overwhelm readers, and size them from main key points as the large header to the emphasized informative text as the smallest in the flyer’s visual hierarchy. In addition, I simplified the “Collaboration Mentorship” illustration into silhouettes for a less child-ish feel, and changed the “Project” illustration into full papers instead of ripped papers. These were design skills I learned in his main class and my other art classes, and it really boosted my Honors project significantly!
This second attempt was better according to Dr. Arnab, but Professor Ian did bring up the idea of utilizing Adobe Gridlines since some of the text was out of place. This fix not only helped my flyer, but also acquainted me with Adobe Illustrator and its technical features a bit more. Dr. Arnab also provided me with a working QR code to the Honors Program website. (I also increased the line height for better legibility, and changed the flyer color from white to light yellow).
Final LinkedIn Screenshot Thumbnail
There was also the issue Professor Ian brought up of the “Why Join the University Honors Program (UHP)?” swipe slide looked uninteresting, so I added a picture of a silhouetted person wearing a graduation toga and holding their cap, making them almost form an arrow. I still included a regular arrow with the word “Swipe” for emphasis. I also resized the artboards so that it displayed well on the LinkedIn post’s thumbnail.