Final Project: Using Visuals to Communicate a Message

Visual media can have a significant impact on how effectively a message is communicated. Appropriate and strategic visuals can inspire the audience, lend clarity to a message, and, in general, say things that words alone cannot. 

Throughout this course, you decided on a message to communicate, determined the most effective platform or medium for that message, and selected the most appropriate visuals to support the message. For the Final Project, incorporate a minimum of three different types of visual design, such as typography, graphics, and images to deliver your intended message. Note that if you did not create the visual, you must include a reference for the visual(s) contained in the project. 

For this project, use the concepts you’ve learned in this course to effectively apply visuals to a business-related message. Below, you will find just a few examples of how visuals can be utilized to communicate a message in the business setting. Feel free to use any of the examples listed below, or if you choose to select examples not included on the list, be sure to request instructor approval prior to completing the Final Project. 

Your Final Project must contain aspects of each element discussed in the course as it applies to your example communication piece. It must use appropriate typefaces, deliver a clear message, and have clear brand identity. It must also use an appropriate composition of graphics, photos, video, or other visual media. In addition to the text, your paper must contain a minimum of five scholarly sources, two of which must be from the Ashford University Library. 

In your five- to seven-page paper (not including the title and reference pages or the three visual media examples), be sure to address the following: 

• Discuss the rationale behind choosing each of the three media elements and support your discussion with concepts from the course material.
• Explain why the media elements contained in your Final Project deliver the message you intended to communicate.
• Describe the intent of the message.
• Apply a minimum of five concepts from the course material to support your choice of media elements. For example you may use concepts such as visual literacy, perception, visual marketing, storytelling, design, branding, social media, communication theories, or any of the other concepts presented during the course. Be sure to discuss the relationship of the concepts to the media elements that you have chosen.

Writing the Final Paper

The Paper:

1. Must be five to seven double-spaced pages in length (not including the title and reference pages or the three visual media examples) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Title page, reference page, and any exhibits or appendices are not counted in the paper length. 
2. Must include a cover page that includes:
   1. Title of paper
   2. Student’s name
   3. Course name and number
   4. Instructor’s name
   5. Date submitted
3. Must include a title page and an abstract.
4. Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
5. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
6. Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.
7. Must use a minimum of five scholarly in addition to the text, two of which must be from the Ashford University Library.
8. Must use APA style to document all sources. 
9. Must include a reference page that includes the scholarly sources that you relied upon in constructing your paper per APA guidelines. 
10. Must be written in the third person.

Brand-building is a crucial exercise that often takes years to accomplish. The benefit of brand equity is realized in the bottom line.

In this assignment, you will complete primary along with secondary research.

Part 1: Primary Research and Text Application

Find a consumer who is extremely loyal to a brand-name product. The person can be a family member, friend, classmate, or other. Probe him or her for information as to why that brand loyalty exists. Discuss how the individual feels about competitive brands.

Analyze the interview using the brand equity and brand positioning concepts from your text.

This section of the paper should be at least 2 pages in length.

Part 2: Secondary Research in the Databases

Next, research the brand using its Web site and articles from the AIU Library’s full-text databases to address how the brand does the following:

• Identifies market segments and targets
• Developed its brand equity over time
• Positions itself in the market

 Articles are found in periodicals. These are not to be confused with eBooks or reference books. The most popular databases in marketing are: ABI Inform Global, Academic Search Premier, and Business Source Premier. This section of the paper should be at least 2 pages in length.

Your report must include a reference list. All research should be cited in the body of the paper. In-text citations and corresponding references should be included in your paper. For more information on APA, please visit the APA Lab. The paper should be written in third person; this means words like I, we, and you are not appropriate. The use of direct quotes is discouraged but may be used sparingly in appropriate situations.

Your assignment should contain a cover page, an abstract page, and a reference page (in addition to the body). The body of the paper should be 4–5 pages in length, starting with a brief 1-paragraph introduction and ending with a short conclusion. The entire submission will be 7–8 pages in length.

Your organization is located in one of the largest metropolitan areas of the nation. Your organization hosts and supplies services to all the courts in the United States, including Guam and Puerto Rico. The power grid in your building is no longer able to handle the demand of power. They need to be relocated to other areas. The proposed areas are San Diego and Ashburn, Virginia. It would be more economical to fork-lift the entire server rooms at once to the proposed locations as opposed to moving a few pieces at a time. Additionally, the vendor who designs and installs the servers at the new locations is rigid on the due dates for receiving the planning drawings and will only build the designs per drawing specifications. Even if the vendor knows something is incorrect, they only build per written and signed off specifications. A consultant on the project knows that something is wrong but he does not notify anyone of the problem. A month later, when another vendor goes to install the power to the servers they notice that the server racks are off. The consultant calls back to the office to notify his supervisor that the vendor will not deliver power and lets it slip out that he knew about the potential problem a month ago. Each time the power vendor goes to the location, it costs more than $23,000 per day, full day’s work or not. The supervisor is angry because this could have been corrected over one month ago.

Based on the scenario described above, create a 2- to 3-page Microsoft Word document that includes:

• An explanation of how you would handle the given situation.
• An analysis, identification, and reasoning of the theory that relates to this scenario.
• A description of how the framing process could affect this situation and whether things have turned around to the positive side.
• An analysis, identification, and reasoning for the person accountable for this situation, assuming that firing the consultant is not an option.
• An analysis and description of the kinds of check lists that should be in place to prevent the situation from happening in the future.

Support your responses with examples.

Cite any sources in APA format.