Graphic Design Students Aid
Historic Landmark Preservation CommissionASHEBORO (November 24, 2009)
One of the creative strategies presented to the Commission by the RCC students was a comic book to educate children on the history of Randolph County.
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Four advertising agencies are competing for the business of a new client. The agencies research the company's background and philosophy, develop creative briefs outlining their concepts and strategies for a brand identity and logo for the client, then produce collateral pieces such as posters, brochures, and billboards. A budget is drawn up. Lastly, the agencies present their unique creative ideas to the client for consideration. This is a typical scenario in the business world. What is not typical in this situation is that the four agencies are not competing - they are all part of the same class of Advertising and Graphic Design students at Randolph Community College, working on a logo and brand identity for the Randolph County Historic Landmark Preservation Commission. The groups presented their ideas to the Commission at a special meeting on Monday.
After the four presentations, Commission Chairman Hal Johnson said, "Wow! Did we get our money's worth or what?" He commended the students and instructors for their work. "I understand we've got a problem…trying to pick one of these," said another Commission member. Johnson said the Commission would consider all the proposals and make a decision on what part of the proposals they might use at a subsequent meeting on Dec. 16.
The Commission approached Dr. Robert Shackleford, RCC president, about a year ago about the possibility of the students developing a new logo for the group, said Susan Shaw, Advertising and Graphic Design instructor. In order to fit the project into the course curriculum, the scope was expanded to a full branding campaign. "The project encompasses two classes, Graphic Design III and Design of Advertising," said Shaw. "The students have been working on this since the middle of the summer."
Twenty students were divided into four teams and each team became an agency with its own name and identity, said Cindy Thrall, adjunct instructor for Advertising and Graphic Design. Thrall teaches the business and marketing side of the curriculum. "They are set up like normal agencies with an account executive, a creative director, art director, etc. – the normal roles they would assume in the workplace."
The teams began with research, going into five districts of Randolph County to survey residents, including Archdale/Trinity, Asheboro, Randleman, Seagrove, and Ramseur/Franklinville. A total of 275 surveys were completed, according to student Ryan McGinnis of Charlotte, who acted as the survey analyst for the group. Questions covered topics such as how long the respondent has lived in Randolph County, familiarity with the Historic Landmark Preservation Commission, and what would spark an interest in historic landmarks.
"We found out a lot of people don't know a lot about the county's history," said student Kimberly Easterday. "Nor did they know about the Commission," said student Gigi Burkhalter, "and what they were interested in is having this be a part of the education in schools and cultural events."
McGinnis added, "A lot of people were also interested in having a county museum." In addition to the survey, the students read minutes of the previous Commission meetings and studied the demographics of Randolph County.
Thrall said after the research was done, the students narrowed down the audience to target audiences. Some groups chose parents, some younger people. "From there, they started looking at some creative strategies," she said.
Burkhalter, who is creative director of the "Made by Giant" agency, said, "Our team decided to propose a kickoff event, a 'History Hop' with storytellers, local live music, vendors, and tours of different landmarks, focusing on youth and families." Easterday, of Graphic Candy agency or G Candy for short, said their agency came up with the theme, "History is the present."
As far as competition between the teams, Shaw said, "They are not learning to be secretive. They are learning to collaborate. We do a lot of self-examination. They give input on each others ideas." Burkhalter agreed, "There was definitely collaboration going on team to team. You will see some similarities in our campaigns."
The students came away with a lot of "real world" lessons from the project. "I think the research helped us to know what to go for when we designed the logo," said student Matt King. "If we had not done the research, we wouldn't have the background to base it on." Student Jamie Kellis concurred, "It's really important to do the research first. When I first started here, I didn't know the process of design. We spend half the semester doing our brief and the other half working on everything else."
DeAna Ramirez said, "Our team came up with a comic book. I thought we had done a lot of research already, but we just barely scratched the surface. There is a lot more we could do."
"I learned how much more than actual design goes into a project like this," said Kevin Smith. "It is not just sitting behind a computer. It has changed my opinion about what graphic design is. You have to be a good thinker."
Shaw concluded, "The students have learned to do a lot of writing with this project." They created a complete proposal that accompanied their presentation that included background, logo, budget, media releases, and a contract. "Next semester, these students will move to working on their portfolios. They will work on similar projects individually, instead of in teams."
The students participating in the project and their hometowns, divided by agency teams, were as follows: 1) JB Creative Agency – Jamie Kellis of Troy, account executive; Sterling Kinley of Asheboro, creative director; Rebecca Craven of Asheboro, art director; Brandon Canter of Lexington, media buyer, and Will Gomez of Asheboro, designer; 2) Made by Giant Agency – Tiffany Auman of Archdale, account executive and media buyer; Gigi Burkhalter of Greensboro, creative director; Ryan McGinnis of Charlotte, art director; Meghan Kinley of Asheboro, designer; 3) Graphic Candy Agency – Kimberly Easterday of Asheboro, account executive; Bryan "Baxter" Nicholson of Lexington, creative director; Matt King of Kernersville, art director; Kristin “Nikki” Boling of Randleman, media buyer; Sarah Price of Lexington, designer; and 4) Forte Grafika Agency – Richard "Bryan" Kennedy of Denton, account executive; Franklin "Doug" Milloway of Trinity, creative director; DeAna Ramirez of Ft. Worth, Texas, art director; Doyle Hinkle of Asheboro, art director; Jamie Hiatt of Liberty, media buyer; and Kevin Smith of Ramseur, designer.
