Undergraduate Senior Thesis

Within the past few weeks, I was able to complete my undergraduate senior thesis project, as part of my Senior Capstone course and matriculation requirements for the B.A. in Communication & Media Studies. The thesis project is intended to serve as a culmination of the skills and tools I have gained during my time as an undergraduate student. Since I was able to study a broad range of communication and digital media disciplines, I wanted to ensure my project represented my variety of skills and unique interests. From this, I chose to develop a travel view book featuring the destinations I had visited within the past few months.

Writing had been my first introduction into media, but I had developed a deep love for photography over the past few years and knew I wanted to work on something that included both disciplines. I had also begun to develop an interest in graphic design and felt that a design project could tie the writing and photography together in a way that would be more visually appealing than a simple digital gallery. I had originally considered creating a project similar to the souvenir programs available at Broadway shows, but I knew that wouldn’t be fully possible since the dates of the on-campus performances were too close to the project deadline. From that initial thought, I modified the concept of “live entertainment” to be a broad category and decided to approach the project through the lens of entertainment destinations on the East Coast.

While the process of creating the booklet had some parameters, I chose to tackle the photography for each destination first to develop a cohesive visual presentation for each subject. All of the photos were taken on a Nikon d5600 and edited in Adobe Lightroom. From there, I developed copy that mirrored the style of the travel guidebooks that can often be found at hotels and visitor centers. With all of the components completed, I then developed the layout and design of the completed document using Adobe InDesign, with some graphic elements being created in Adobe Photoshop.

I feel that my Senior Thesis project is an excellent summation of the work I have done during my undergraduate years, as well as the skills and techniques I have developed through my coursework, internships, and on-campus jobs. I look forward to continuing to develop these skills as I progress in my professional career!