Addy's Corner

              AIGA, the American Institute of Graphic Artists, has a chapter at Ohio Northern University. This is the only professional organization on campus for graphic designers. Despite graphic design seeming like a small major on campus, it boasts over thirty students. Joining this club is crucial for all graphic design majors because it provides an opportunity to attend the national conference, which is pivotal for networking within our community. This networking can lead to easier access to internships and credible field experiences. I'm writing this week not just as a member but as the president of this organization. My term has been less than stellar so far. I've neglected AIGA during the chaotic first weeks of the semester. Historically, AIGA has maintained strong member retention among majors. However, the club was inactive for five years and was only reinstated last year. The previous president revived the organization but treated it more a...

In Chapter Three, the book delves in-depth into creating personas. These personas help marketers visualize whether their media will be beneficial depending on the type of person. In user interface design, we created websites based on personas similar to those the book discusses. For example, I developed a new MacBook interface — 'interface' refers to the usability of a service, such as website design. My persona for this project was a stay-at-home wife. I conceptualized the stereotypical 'soccer mom' and redesigned a MacBook for her. My product, named iWife, featured a neutral aesthetic. Major changes included iconography, such as 'husband' replacing the Finder and 'nanny' substituting for Safari. These metaphorical changes resonate more with a stay-at-home wife than their actual names. I thoroughly enjoyed this project and I loved my concept. As I began my Simternship, I kept personas in mind. I started by reviewing all the audits and research available...

In high school, I always aspired to be in the field of STEM. I excelled in science from a young age and took a keen interest in biology in high school. Freshman year, I even won Biology Student of the Year. I went on to take AP Biology without a hitch. So, why did I decide to completely change my future career in my junior year of high school? JEP — Junior English Project — that's why. This was a yearlong project that would change my entire life. The assignment's premise was to create an entire dissertation on a topic of our choosing. This was the first time in school I was allowed to study something I was interested in. So, to say I was nervous is an understatement — what if I chose a topic there was not enough research on? Or what if I got bored with my topic? What would I do then? Luckily, I didn't have any of these issues. However, I was nervous about the sensitivity of my topic — nature versus nurture. Specifically, looking at the most publicized serial killers such as...

Media with Maddy and Addy Podcast With the hot topic of social media, Maddy and I talked about our personal experiences in the field. Maddy currently runs the PRSSA, Women in Business, and Alpha Xi Delta social media pages. I have a similar experience as I ran the Alpha Xi Delta social media pages last year. In addition, I currently run the Ottawa Hills girls' basketball and  AIGA ONU pages. I also run socials across all platforms for a podcast called “My Doctor Said What?” The goal of this podcast is to remove jargon your doctor may use and give everyday health tips to the general public.  With our experience, we both had difficulties coming up with ideas. Especially with the sorority page. Managing the sorority page is very different from that of a normal page. In Alpha Xi, there is only one person in charge of the social media pages whereas in other sororities on campus, there is a committee dedicated to them. This not only puts the workload on one person but makes it more ...

Big/Little Reveal Maddy's Bid Day “We have to keep the fam dark,” these words were spoken by none other than Girard — soon to be my g-big. Running home to Alpha Xi, I knew it was where I belonged, having committed to the sorority through a suicide bid. Sorority people understand the gravity of a suicide bid, and others simply know the risk of not being placed in a sorority at all. The connections I had already made with the AXID girls were undeniable. On bid day, I sprinted straight to Polina; she and I had become very close during recruitment. So I already knew I wanted her to be my big. Taking loads of pictures — as one does on bid day — Girard mentioned to my ginger friend that they liked her, however, they had to keep the farm dark, as she looked at Polina and me taking pictures. Keeping the fam dark refers to dark brunette hair color, as Polina, Girad and I all shared. Unknowingly at the time, I became more and more nervous as the big little reveal was nearing. I knew I wanted...

I am no stranger to social media. Spending large amounts of my day on different platforms, I had no idea the potential social media offers the average person. In chapter 12, section five, which discusses vlogs, the book mentions a popular vlogger, Neistat. Neistat caught the attention of Nike and was given a large sum of money to create a video. The video was a success, attracting even more brands to his page. He has since created content for Vogee, Mercades-Benz and J. Crew — all long-standing, extremely successful companies. While reading about Neistat and his journey, I began to think about how such iconic companies have embraced not just social media, but vlogging, into their marketing strategies. This concept intrigued me, as it seems many historic companies tend to shy away from overusing social media. While obviously all brands have some sort of presence, companies like Kendra Scott and Nike have a huge social media following. Interestingly, I had actually searched for internshi...

Chapter 1: Introduction to Social Media Marketing  Starting this Social Media journey off, Chapter 1 explores social media marketing. Social media marketing is how brands and companies use social media as a free marketing tool. This is a process that has swept the world off its feet, attracting us even more so to our phones. Upon further reading, it is brought to the attention of the readers that the average person spends one entire day a week on the Internet. This equates to around six hours a day on the web and around two and a half hours on social media platforms.  I found this particularly interesting because I currently run four social media accounts. The majority of these accounts are volunteer work, however, one social media page I run is a part-time job. So that statistic made me think about how I potentially compare to the average person. Typically spending around five hours a day on my phone in “creativity” or “entertainment” apps, I am spending approximately double ...