Guerilla Advocacy Campaign Final

 LIBERALLY ME









“Liberally Me” is a campaign to inform aspiring and current college students about the benefits of Liberal Arts Colleges. The reason I chose Liberal Arts college as my topic is because when I was 17, searching for a college felt overwhelming. There was so much information I had to learn while being a student. However,  I was lucky enough to have support from my college prep teacher. As I finish my last semester at SUNY Brockport, I hope future college students are aware of the benefits Liberal Arts Colleges offer as it often gets overlooked. My goal is to inform not to persuade, so my poster and brochure are designed to be interactive. Also, I intend to target students who might not know what career path they want to pursue. Although it’s normal for people to not know what they want to pursue, it's important to immerse oneself in unfamiliar environments while improving their skills. Therefore, a Liberal Arts College is just for those who are ready to dive into more intimate settings for growth rather than focus explicitly on research.

This campaign was designed from a first-person perspective. I wanted it to feel as if the viewer had a “to-do” list and a vision board to complete so I used post-it notes and index cards pinned to the cork bulletin board. I even incorporated a “college pennant” for the logo design to remind the viewer of the topic/theme. I believe this brings to life the college spirit and “go get it tiger” nature. The scatteredness of the post-it notes and index cards also speaks volumes to students because that is something we’re always using to keep track of something. I chose the colors red, black, and yellowish/orange for my theme colors, and they flow evenly throughout the t-shirt, mug, and tote bags. It’s bold and the colors are appealing to look at. 

I strongly believe what I did visually was successful in communicating and informing the audience about just a few benefits of liberal arts colleges. I chose the top three benefits which were school size, well-rounded education, and career value, and provided brief statistics about each of them. My call to action is in my QR code disguised as a “to-do” reminder. This QR code will take the viewer to my website. The process was very time-consuming because I started out with just a few things and then I expanded to what I have now. At first, my logo was a cap with the words “Liberally Me” across the top of it as a decoration. However, when I transferred it over to the mockups, it was difficult to align and it was too big. As a result, I decided to keep some aspects the same but just add to them without overcrowding everything. It took extra dedicated time to add details to the design but the finished product flows beautifully together. 

I’m very proud of the poster, brochure, and t-shirt design. The poster took me the longest to do but when I finished it and transferred it over to the brochure and t-shirt it brought my ideas to life. I really like the off-white/cream color of the t-shirt, it reminds me of vintage college shirts we see many people wearing today. I can see this campaign growing further in the future because there will continue to be many people going to college. As a first-generation college student, I believe that college is a powerful tool that can be used to change the dynamic of one's family, career, and the next generation. 


Work Cited

Abrams, S. “Why are liberal arts college faculty building better relationships with their students?”. Washington Examiner. 02, November 2022, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/community-family/why-liberal-arts-college-faculty-building-better-relationships-students


Berglar, L. “What Is a Liberal Arts Education?”. Covenant College. 5, March 2021, https://covenant.edu/blog/intro-covenant/what-liberal-arts-education.html#:~:text=Instead%20of%20a%20sole%20focus,to%20specific%20majors%20and%20concentrations


Finley, A. “How College Contributes to Workforce Success”. Association of American Colleges and Universities. https://dgmg81phhvh63.cloudfront.net/content/user-photos/Research/PDFs/AACUEmployerReport2021.pdf


Gray, K. “Problem-Solving Skills Top Attributes Employers Seek on Resumes”. National Association of Colleges and Employers. 12, November 2021, https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidate-selection/problem-solving-skills-top-attributes-employers-seeking-on-resumes/


Hollis, J. “The Benefits of a Liberal Arts Education”. Coalition for College. https://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/mycoalition-counselor-all/the-benefits-of-a-liberal-arts-education


Jiminez, L. Sargrad, S. “A Well-Rounded Education”. The Center for American Progress (CAP). 16, August 2018, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/well-rounded-education/


Leal, F. “College & Career Readiness Data”. Youth Truth. 12, November 2022,

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2187198-college-career-readiness-survey.html

 

Liberal Arts Colleges. “The Real Cost of Attending a Liberal Arts College”. Liberal Arts Colleges (LAC). https://www.liberalartscolleges.com/content-the-value-of-liberal-arts-colleges/the-real-cost-of-attending-a-liberal-arts-college/#:~:text=The%20average%20annual%20cost%20of,costs%20and%20suffer%20lost%20wages

U.S Department of Education. “Beginning College Students Who Change Their Majors Within 3 Years of Enrollment”. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). December 2017, https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018434.pdf  


Newton, D. “If You Go To A Liberal Arts College, You’ll Make More Money”. Forbes. 28, January 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2020/01/28/if-you-go-to-a-liberal-arts-college-youll-make-more-money/?sh=55263a904fc5


Nimesheim, J. “What a Liberal Arts College Is and What Students Should Know”. U.S News. 07, July 2022, https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2018-12-07/what-a-liberal-arts-college-is-and-what-students-should-know#:~:text=Most%20liberal%20arts%20colleges%20do%20not%20offer%20graduate%20school%20programs,have%20fewer%20than%2020%20students 


Poliakoff, M. “What Is The Return On Investment From A Liberal Arts Education?”. Forbes. 22, October 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpoliakoff/2020/10/22/what-is-the-return-on-investment-from-a-liberal-arts-education/?sh=1964a4f6530a

Puri, I. “Don't Overlook Liberal Arts Schools: Small Class Size And Access To Faculty”. Huff Post. Updated 21, June 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dont-overlook-liberal-art_b_10574942


Popular posts from this blog

Reproduction Project Research

Image
 Foto-Qualität - Laszlo Maholy-Nagy                                           Background This is the Cover for  Foto-Qualität (Photo-Quality) Magazine,  created in 1931  by  Laszlo Maholy-Nagy in the category of a commercial magazine. The intended goal was to spread the style of modern technology non-traditional to art. The image displays a hand facing down with faint lines overlaying the hand. There's an unidentified object in the background and a cutout image of an old camera placed in the center of the hand. Lastly, the typography displays the significant words "Foto-Qualität" and small german words diagonally across the fingers in the color theme of blue and orange. The time period in which this image was created was during the Bauhaus Era (1920-1935), New typography Era (1920-935), and the Modern Movement Era in                            America (1935-1950). 
Read more

Human Rights Poster

Image
Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:     " Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay." The Overall Concept: The goal was to successfully communicate the concept of time in relation to the text and our day-to-day lives. I incorporated a range of clocks on the wall, on the laptop, inside one of the side tables, and the watch on the anonymous man's arm to visually communicate the irony of the article text. Granted, some people get paid time off and vacations but it only happens a few times a year. I find the work culture here in America to be draining, excessive, and sometimes dehumanizing given that there are folks that work more than 40hour a week to make ends meet. Not everyone has the freedom to rest when they want to. The Man: My original sketch showed a man in a suit laying on the bed but instead, I found an image of a distressed man sitting on the edge of a bed with
Read more