Final Project

Final Project – Crusade for Children

*I am in no way affiliated with this organization.  These materials were developed strictly for educational purposes.*

 

Company Analysis

The WHAS Crusade for Children is a nonprofit public charity formed in 1954 by Louisville, Kentucky based television and radio station WHAS.  An internet/radio/telethon is held each year during the first full weekend in June, and fire departments take donations in busy intersections all around Louisville.

The target audience is anyone in the Louisville area – donations can be given around the city, online, over the phone, and through the telethon.  For this reason, localized marketing is the most important strategy.

 

Logo Design

I wanted to redesign the logo to clarify some things about Crusade for Children as an organization – first of all, having all of the text in capital letters is a bit confusing, as it makes WHAS look like it is an actual word rather than a media outlet.  Secondly, CFC is a Kentuckiana-based organization (Kentucky and parts of southern Indiana), so I added the shape of Kentucky.  It is already obvious that they focus on the needs of children from the name, so it made sense to take out that depiction.  I used the same blue from the original logo, adding a complimentary lighter shade and a green – after all, we are the Bluegrass State.

logo redesign

 

 

 

 

Print Promotions

These print materials would be sent out to corporate sponsors to be used at their own discretion, as well as existing benefactors from previous years.  A general mass mailing of the postcards could be sent out to residents of the city of Louisville as a reminder of the telethon as well.

folder

flyer

postcard

 

Social Media

Since the CFC’s audience is so broad – anyone willing to donate money to a good cause – the social media campaign must be all-encompassing and quite active.  I would recommend posting at least twice per day, and up to four during the active fundraising season.  It is important to highlight some of the specific grants and individuals that have been helped through their efforts, in order to make the organization more personal.

I would also recommend utilizing Twitter to help reach the younger audience and offer real time updates during the telethon as donations come in.  This will also facilitate direct conversations with individuals and can link to organizations that have benefited from donated money.

Facebook cover photo

Facebook cover photo

Facebook cover photo

Facebook post

Facebook post

Facebook post

 

Infographic

infographic

Project 14 – Infographic

This week, I created an Infographic for the state of Florida.  I tried to keep it simple, with a watery blue background and small icons to depict each of the 10 facts.  Once I chose the color scheme (obviously UF colors), the rest of it came together pretty easily.

I included a bold Florida shape to help drive home the point of the infographic, and stuck to a single font throughout.  I wanted things to remain cheery, since I think of Florida as being full of sunshine and spring break – needless to say, I’ve never been there during hurricane season.  I used the Magic Wand more than any other tool.  I tried to find transparent pngs, but since I was working mostly with what I could find on Google Images, a lot of them required the background to be removed.

Project 13 – Social Media

The three Facebook cover photos were designed with the profile picture overlap in mind (as shown with a gray box in the first version).  I stuck with the traditional red, blue, and yellow colors found in all Southwest materials, and tried to channel a spring break feel with the shoreline image, and I included a palm tree and in-theme beach ball.  The second is more of a common Southwest promo, touting their airfare deals, and the third depicts various destinations.

My Instagram overlay is fairly simple, using the heart and ‘Let’s go.’ from the third Facebook cover photo.

I reworked my favorite cover photo for the Twitter image, resizing and repositioning the elements to suit the platform.

I am in no way affiliated with Southwest – these images were created for educational purposes.

Project 11 – Web Ads

Here they are… my banner ads.  I chose Victoria’s Secret as my company since I feel like they have very clear branding that would translate well even to small images.  This was quite a struggle for me- I’m still a novice when it comes to graphic design so the bulk of my ads are the holiday stripes and text.  I didn’t feel like I could successfully include more content and still have it legible and with a clear message.

I’ve seen ads like the tall and skinny skyscraper on the sides of websites, usually after I’ve already visited that particular store and they are cookie-stalking me.  The squatter leaderboards are typically at the footer of a page, and I’ve seen the button and rectangle ads pretty much anywhere a designer can squeeze in the space.  I like that those tend to be a bit more subtle, but that also makes them easier to overlook.  My favorite is probably the skyscraper- you almost always expect that type of ad alongside your content, and it gives designers more room to be creative.

*I am in no way associated with Victoria’s Secret.  These ads were created solely for educational purposes.

Project 10 – Website Mockup

I love Sir Pizza.  It’s my favorite place for date night with my boyfriend, and we lovingly describe their pizza as high-class Totinos.  I just made myself hungry.

Anyway, I pulled the colors from their knight logo, focusing mainly on red because it reminds me of pizza sauce.  I used an old English font, but left it just to the word ‘welcome’ for readability’s sake.  The website is simple, as is the restaurant, and I used a lot of rectangles to tie into their slogan, ‘good to the very edge.’

I was really excited to find crest/shield-shaped social media icons!  If this were a real website, I would have tweaked the shape to match the Sir Pizza logo a little bit better. I’m already rethinking the yellow on the ‘featured’ section, but we’re going to pretend like  it works really well since I desperately need to go to bed right now.

I kept the main section of the page centered along the same guide line so that the scrolling would seem natural as you read down the page, and the menu and features would remain prominently in their places.

This design is for educational purposes only. I am not affiliated with the deliciousness of Sir Pizza.

Project 9 – Mood Board

What a fun project!  I pulled all of these images off of the web – I love the greenery, it reminds me of a hedge maze.  The deep blue and chalky gray of the sea and cliffs feel very calming, I love lighthouses, and New Orleans is one of my favorite cities.  I simply searched for landscapes, and then I drifted toward hexagons, one of my favorite shapes, and used clipping masks to echo some of the angles in the background.  The colors are all calming and natural, but err toward jewel tones.  This mood board is 100% Lenny.

Project 6 – IMC Practice

 

This week’s assignment focused on IMC campaigns, and I chose one of my absolute favorite stores – both when it comes to spending money and analyzing corporate social media done right.  Target is fabulous, and I almost always turn to them when I need inspiration.

I found a high res version of their logo and started there – and since 98% of my marketing skills rely on puns, ‘always on Target’ popped into my head.  And honestly, they are.  Graphics and copy on point, thousands of items that magically fall into my cart upon every visit, and a constant stream of collaborations that keep their prices down and street cred up.

I selected a few items one might find at their local Target, all in red, of course.  I didn’t want to skew toward one demographic, so I tried to mix it up with clothes, household items, and personal care.  After some magic wand and magnetic lasso work, each item received a similar drop shadow to tie everything together and make them look like they were photographed in the same place.

*this image and blog post are purely for educational purposes

Project 2 – Image Manipulation

I’m no stranger to the artsy inspirational quote images, except I usually depend on iPhone apps like WordSwag, Retype, and Typorama to make them.  I’m an It Works distributor, and I try to keep a steady flow of these images on all of my social media accounts.  This was my first time making one of my own, and it was really fun!

I searched on Google for a simple photo of scenery and loved this black and white bridge.  I already knew which quote I wanted to use – one of my all time favorites – and this worked out perfectly.  I cropped the bridge a little off center, and then used the Diffuse filter, then softened it a bit with the Edit->Fade Diffuse option.

The rectangle behind the text is a light gradient with a lowered opacity, and the text sits just above that in white.  The result is what I hope to be an easy to read inspirational image!  I’ll be sharing this one on Facebook for sure.

hello!

This is my first post for VIC5325 – Digital Imagery in Web Design.  I’m really looking forward to learning more about Photoshop this semester.  I first started using on my own when I was about 13, but now that I’ve learned more about design principles, I can’t wait to bring everything together and make an amazing portfolio.

Please visit my About Me section for more information!

Lenny + her puppy sister, Sadie

Celebrating my most recent promotion with It Works!

MyCentralFloridaFamily.com / Florida Kids & Family Expo

Company Analysis

My Central Florida Family is a brand designed to inform and influence their target audience, which is spelled out quite clearly in the name itself.  Focusing on families in Central Florida, the website acts as the main focus for the brand and offers news, events, and business listings that might be of interest to the head of household and their children.

MCFF focuses on events and opportunities for families in the area, offering most of their services for free.  It aims to promote events and local businesses, but also serves as exposure for the Florida Kids & Family Expo, their inaugural event taking place on August 29th and 30th, 2015.  While both the website and expo can function as standalone business ventures, it makes sense to keep them intertwined at a marketing level, keeping the branding and target audience in line with one another.  The website will promote the two day Expo, and the Expo will promote the use of the website year-round.

Utilizing an IMC strategy will help keep efforts and branding between both the website and Expo coherent and streamlined.  Even with two different goals at hand – increasing traffic and ticket sales – it is important to ensure that messaging remains consistent across all platforms and that a wide variety of channels are used to reach the largest audience possible.  One example of this being done quite well is makeup and beauty retailer Sephora.  Sephora functions as both a brick and mortar storefront and an online shop, with active presences on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, and Wanelo.  This may seem like a ridiculous number of identities to manage at one time, but Sephora navigates these deftly, knowing when to reuse or repurpose content, how to keep their image and voice consistent, and always linking back to the site for online product pages.  Despite the fact that the company does not constantly push sales, the end goal is apparent, centering around promoting their products and making it easy to purchase them.

Repurposed yet consistent content across three different social networks.

SWOT analysis

Strengths (internal)- Past experience with trade shows and expos, familiar with the area, business is run by mothers (part of the target market)

Opportunities (external)-  Market is wide open with few competitors, offers a service that many central Florida residents can use, offers touchpoints online (website) and in person (Expo), great partnerships/sponsors

Critical Thinking

Content

Continuing to build the email list through both the website sign up and gathering information through Expo ticket sales is likely the most valuable tool available to MCFF.  While engaging with fans and followers in the moment on social media can increase exposure and garner instant feedback, the connections made through an email list can often prove to yield the best results.  A carefully maintained email list and directed eBlasts will help make the 2015 Expo a success and continue that momentum through to any future Expos.

Another option to consider is launching a MCFF app.  This would largely depend on how the website’s calendar of events is constructed- there could potentially be a simple way to create a basic mobile app that would access this event database and display it on a phone or tablet.  Putting too much effort into this app would likely be a waste of money, but if content can simply be repurposed, the small investment could prove to be a great extension to the website.  Depending on the outcome of the 2015 Expo, looking at an app specifically for the event may also be an option.  This would depend largely on attendance, the number of exhibitors, and sponsors.

Print ads and media, radio, and TV may be the ‘old’ way of doing things, but incorporating this into the IMC mix makes a lot of sense.  Even if billboards are not in the budget this year, holding on to that idea for future events would be a great way to get the attention of those that may not be as comfortable on the internet.  Recruiting current users of the website to attend the Expo is common sense, but promoting one also promotes the other- attendees of the Expo may become avid users of the website after the fact.

Planning and implementing these marketing strategies are key to the success of both the MCFF website and the Expo, but analytics are an essential part of determining the results and planning for the future.  As promotional efforts ramp up toward August, I would first determine a baseline for each of the social platforms and website, seeking an average engagement and new fans per week.  These numbers should increase as excitement builds for the Expo and users purchase their tickets.  The goal should be to carry over this boost in analytics after the event ends, leveraging it into future events and website features.

Thank you for the opportunity to work on both the My Central Florida Family website and the Florida Kids & Family Expo.  This is an exciting time for a new organization, and I wish you the best of luck in your efforts!