Channing Maddox

Course Blog

Category: Uncategorized

Summary of Learning

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On July 8, 2022

In Summary of Learning, Uncategorized

Throughout this last semester, it has been go, go, go! It has been stressful and at times, extremely overwhelming, but I have learned so much.

At the beginning of this journey, I felt a little more timid when it came to writing blog posts even though I had done it before. I wanted it to look perfect and was not really letting my personality shine through. I fixed that very early on though. My thought process is that it is my own blog, not my companies blog, so I should let my personality shine through.

One project that I am most proud of and take the most pride in is my social media posts that I did for the Oklahoma City Zoo. I had so much fun creating them and I used more of my own ideas when creating them rather than just constantly looking for inspiration. I know that they still need work, but I am proud of myself for using my own idea and for spending so much time creating them.

Facebook Cover Photo
Event Graphic

These are just some of my Canva pieces from the Canva section of my class. I grew so much this semester as I was given the tools to go our of my comfort zone and create things that I have never been able to create before. I am so proud of myself for not only being able to do all these different things, but also learn them basically on my own. I surprised myself with how much I was able to accomplish this semester, especially in this class.

Canva | I could Use it All Day Everyday!

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On July 8, 2022

In Uncategorized

I have chosen to create and infographic on Canva, and here’s why…

I am absolutely in love with Canva.

I could use Canva all day, everyday for every single thing I need. I am sure a large portion of these feelings are because I am most familiar with Canva and I have been using it since I was a freshman in high school. Canva comes easiest to me so when I am given a choice to use it, it will always be my go to!

The different types of tools I will need is to research information about what my info-graphic will have on it. I need up to date and accurate information to make sure I am giving my audience the most recent and reliable information they need. This is important because you want to always stay reliable for your consumers in order for trust to be maintained.

Canva is great at giving you inspiration and allowing you to be able to add so many different things to make your project fully your own. Here is just of the templates and inspiration of infographics on Canva.

Canva Infographics

If you are given a choice, do what you do best If InDesign is your best designing application, then use that. If you are given the option to choose what you get to use to design, then choose your favorite! It is a great way to show off all the things that you are great at!

Reflection on Photoshop

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On June 16, 2022

In Uncategorized

As I have spent the past few days working on photoshops and designing different handouts for OU recruitment services, I have found that photoshop can be very frustrating. It is a very detailed application and it can be very difficult to get the hang of how everything works. It is very important to take the time to learn how to use photoshop and to not skip the instructions in the beginning of downloading.

There are so many different YouTube videos for all different types of learners that allows you to move at your own pace, or allow you to work with them as they go along. Taking the time to learn all the tips and tricks will make designing so much easier. Take the time to find the video that you can follow along with and are enjoying watching.

There will be mental breakdowns. That is okay. Breathe and, like I always say, take a step away. You need to have time to allow your feelings to regulate and calm down. Then come back, you will always be more prepared then, and maybe even come back with some new ideas.

Stakeholders.

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On June 8, 2022

In Uncategorized

18-22 years old, newly accepted students, first generation college student, wants to be active on campus, plans on attending events on campus, slightly above average household income.

Handouts are important when new people are constantly filtering into your community. When it comes to at a university, if you are a part of an organization, you want people to join that organization. Handouts help people know and understand what you and your organization are. It gives them information and allows them to learn something about the organization to see if it interests them. Handouts are also a great way to make a first impression and get people to remember you and your organization. During the first week at OU, many organization will set out booths along the south oval to invite new students to learn more about their organizations and possibly join. Handouts can be a variety of things like paper handouts, stickers, t-shirts, prizes, and even food.

It is important to figure out your target stakeholder because you want to give your handouts to the right people. You spent your time and resources to offer these handouts, so just handing them to people that do not care to join your organization may just be wasting your time and money.

Why is Collateral Material Important?

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On June 8, 2022

In Uncategorized

So what’s the big idea? Why would these small types of things be so important for a company? To put it simply, it is ALL about the details. Nowadays, it is hard to connect with customers on a personal level. Since everything is online nowadays, it is much easier for people to just click a few tabs and be done. By defining these small details, it allows for you and your company’s personality to shine through your material.

I made this business card for the Oklahoma City Zoo. I wanted to incorporate real photos of the animals at the zoo to allow customers to have a personal connection with the zoo’s mission. You want to be able to provide that for your company and its consumers. Now it is easier for people to find a connection with a living animal, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do the same for your own company.

Let your personality shine through your creativity and design. It is amazing how much more interest people show in things that they deem pretty rather than something plain and simple. When making letter heads and envelopes, you want to still be a personal as possible. Write professionally, but also kindly to your customers. It allows them to understand who YOU are as a person and not just as a strict business.

Collateral material is vital to your success in a company. You want consumer to be excited to work with you and remember you. One of the best and easiest ways to do that is by being creative with your work.

Why a Business Card?

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On June 7, 2022

In Collateral Material, Collateral Material

Business cards are vital when it comes to the marketing and PR side of companies. You want people to be able to find your information when needed. Business cards help people always have your information on hand and ready to find your contact information at anytime. I highly suggest keeping business cards on you at all times so when people ask, you will be able to deliver.

Creating a business card can be so exciting and fun, but also overwhelming. If you are not one to be super creative, that’s okay! There are many different website that let you choose from templates or having designs already laid out for you where all you have to do is enter your own information. A site that I love using is Canva. They have so many different options for all type of designers. Canva allows you to start from scratch or fill in your information. If you are wanting a free option, then Canva is the way to go. Here are some of the options that Canva allows you to choose from.

Canva’s Free Business Card Maker!

If you are very tech savvy and love creating all on your own, I highly suggest InDesign. It allows you to create all of your own dimensions and exactly what you want to put onto your business cards. InDesign does cost money to buy so use that if you are wanting to design more things with the application. Otherwise, Canva does allow many of the same things that InDesign does.

Here is a great YouTube video from Linda Ward that explains how to create your own business cards in InDesign

When designing a business card, you want to first look at what your competition business cards look like. You want to have a card that is unique to your business and your own style. Make sure you business card is not too overwhelmed with information and is easy for your customer to read and understand. I suggest making an inspiration board on Pinterest that will allow you to see what aspects you like on other business cards and what you do not like. Let your personality shine through your business card. You want people to be excited to work with you! Let your designs flow and get excited from your inspirations! Happy designing.

Why is being creative so difficult?

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On June 4, 2022

In Uncategorized

Creativity takes time. Time is something that I do not have a ton of during this season of my life. I really enjoy sitting down after a long day and getting on my computer or phone to just sit down and create things, but after such a long day, my brain tends to stop working. I feel so burnt out of ideas and I just do not know how to create things. It is so frustrating. Either way, I still must be creative for my classes, so here is an EXTREMELY rough draft of my first business card for the Oklahoma City Zoo!

OKC-Zoo-Business-Card-1-1Download

Like I said, extreme rough draft. I enjoy the ideas that I have, and for every backside I would love for different animals to be on the business cards so that people can have the chance to get to know the animals a little more personally. It is very hard to do branding research when it is not a super popular thing for zoos to have business cards. I definitely challenged myself, but it is very fun to create things like this, even if they are only seen by a few people.

When it comes to business cards, you have to think about how this is the impression you will leave with your customer. You must understand that this is one of, if not the only thing you leave with them so you should understand what you are communicating with them. A business card is super important for a communications strategy, it is a huge mean of communication by itself. Making sure that all of the necessary information is provided on the card is vital. It allows your customer a way to easily contact you whenever they need.

Inspiration and mood boards can help when it comes to designing because although you may like a bunch of different things, by putting them into those boards, it is easier to see what you like the most. You want to make sure everything fits with each other so putting them all together in one place where you can see them easily allows you to do that.

The Rise of Zoos Around the World

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On June 2, 2022

In Uncategorized

Zoos have become more and more popular around the world throughout the years. As they have begun to grow, so have peoples worries about if zoos are truly doing good by the animals. It is important to fo research about the zoos that you are wanting to visit to understand how much they are doing for the animals.

For my public relations design class, I have chosen the Oklahoma City Zoo as my organization for an assignment. A competitor analysis will be done over how other zoos market and what they look like from a branding point of view. The Oklahoma City Zoo works closely with many zoos around the country, so the competitor analysis is purely marketing and nothing to do with what zoo is more effectively working on conservation. Most zoos chose to work together as they all have similar goals and missions.

I have chosen the St. Louis Zoo for my competitor analysis as it was another zoo that I grew up going to. I would like to compare the difference in branding and marketing in the upcoming days and would love to see the evolvement over time. I believe all zoos should have very similar images and messages. We want to keep our wildlife safe and allow them to live long and prosperous lives. Here is a Pinterest board of the different marketing and branding that has stood out to me about the St. Louis Zoo.

My Annual Summer Obsession

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On June 1, 2022

In Uncategorized

For as long as I could remember, I have gone to the Oklahoma City Zoo at least once every summer break. Once I was old enough to drive myself and my sister was born, it turned into almost a weekly occurrence. I have a zoo membership and would love to work for the Oklahoma City Zoo.

The Oklahoma City Zoo + Botanical Garden

The Oklahoma City Zoo has over 1,000 animals amongst its 100-acre lot. The core value of the OKC Zoo is their conservation efforts for wildlife. They are extremely caring and want to teach their visitors how they can help their conservations and are very transparent with what they are doing at the zoo. While the OKC is the largest zoo in Oklahoma, they work closely with many other zoos around the U.S.. They are not focused on the competition. They want to provide a safe place for these animals that have come to their zoo. The OKC zoo is transparent with their visitors and allow different opportunities for people to go behind the scenes to see what the zoo does on a daily basis for these animals

The OKC zoo works closely with neighboring zoos like the Tulsa Zoo and the Denver Zoo, so that all of the zoos are available to provide whatever is necessary to any zoo at any time. With different habitats at different zoos, if there is available space at one zoo, but not one at another then those zoos will send the animals to that zoo with the available zoo.

The Oklahoma City Zoo welcomed two African Painted Dogs to their Predator Pass habitat from Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park

I will be designing collateral material for the Oklahoma City Zoo. While I do know quite a lot of information about the Oklahoma City Zoo, I will be conducting research in order to fulfill enough research for my collateral material.

The Stress of Something New!

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On May 27, 2022

In Uncategorized

InDesign is one of the coolest, but most stressful applications I have ever had to use! Of course, it all must come with practice, but it is very stressful trying to learn how to work it at first. Especially when you have an assignment due and you didn’t plan your time accordingly throughout the day. However, I did enjoy it and believe that it is a vital tool to use while in the Public Relations Industry. You must be able to have some kind of creativity in your veins when being in the industry, so it is important to take time to practice and you can end up creating amazing designs through working in InDesign!

Adobe InDesign

Photoshop is another wonderful tool to use when trying to create designs. There are so many different tools that allow you to move things and take things away that you did not even know were possible. It is so amazing how you can completely change an image from a dark, gloomy photo to something beautiful and bright. Taking time out of your time day to watch and learn how to use this application is vital. It can be very difficult to work around photoshop without some sort of help. I recommend using the video that Adobe so kindly provides for you. It is a great tool and explains everything very thoroughly.

Adobe Photoshop

Always remember, a good design takes time. It WILL be stressful and you might feel like giving up, but just take a deep breath. Close your laptop and come back later. Your design will be there and so will fresh ideas. Watch some videos about how to elevate your designs and always take the time to learn new things. Start your work a few days in advance (unlike me) and make sure you like everything about your design. Finish it, and then come back. It is amazing how many different things our minds can come up with when we are doing laundry or the dishes.

Happy Designing!!!

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