Senior Project
In order to graduate as a communication major all students have to do a senior project. This project must total a minimum of 50 hours and can be anything related to communication. I felt the need to work on graphic design skills, and do something that was relevant. I struggled to come up with an idea. Most students who are visual typically make a cookbook or they go rebrand a company for them. Those are nice ideas but I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before. After weeks of thinking about this I finally had an idea! SNAPCHAT! For the record this was in January of 2018 aka before the bad update and all of the controversy, but Snapchat was a popular social media app. Snapchat also anyone to upload filters for free if they are for a common area like parks or cities. They also have moment filters so any popular event you are also allowed to make snapchat filters for. The part that got me was the word FREE. Broke college student can design filters for free? Count me in.
Once I had my project set I needed to work on a game plan. I figured I would create Snapchat filters for cities in South Eastern Idaho following I-15 and Highway 20 from Malad to Island Park. In order to create these filters I would do research on the city such as when they were found and the various things that make them unique. After research I would do some sketching and then design up a filter.
After I completed the city filters I then decided to make 10 event filters. Snapchat allows you to create moment filters that can be any event. So I came up with a list of things that I feel like are common. This includes things like midnight snack, girls night, congratulations, to master chef.
Once all of these snap filters were designed I knew I had to create mock ups so people knew what I was talking about. I went around Idaho and took photos that looked like they would be something that a regular snapchatter would use. I then found an iPhone X mockup to put these snapchats into.
Once all of this was created I then put everything it into a booklet so it would be easy to showcase. You can see it here or below!
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Open in new tab The final step in the process was to submit my designs to Snapchat! Sadly none of my designs were accepted. I’m not sure if it was because they were submitted during all of the controversy or if they didn’t like them. Either way I learned a lot from it. I was able to use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign which really just helped solidify my skills. I was also able to create designs that were applicable to the place/event. I also learned more about Snapchat. Overall this project was lots of fun and it helped me graduate!
