Theses
Thesis/Dissertation Collections
8-1-1987
Master of fine arts degree programs marketing and
communication programs
Araya Srikanlayanabuth
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Recommended Citation
AThesis Submitted to theFacultyof TheCollegeofFineandApplied Arts inCandidacyfortheDegreeof
MasterofFine Arts
MasterofFine Arts Degree Programs
Marketing andCommunication Programs
(DemonstrationProject)
ArayaSrik-anlayanabuth
Professor R. RORerRemington
Professor Robert P. Keough
Professor Joe A. Watson
date
~/'1
Y7-date
7·
(7
·87
date
Professor Philip Bornarth, Special Assistant to the Dean for
Graduate Affairs
date
?t~~
/<1'1-Dr. Robert H. Johnson, Dean, College of Fine and Applied
Arts
I, Araya Srikanlayanabuth, hereby grant pennission to the
Wallace Memorial Library of Rochester Institute of
Technology, to reproduce my thesis in whole or in part. Any
1 Preface
2 Thesis Proposal
3 Introduction
7 MarketingProposalandPlan
8 A. MarketingandAdvertisingObjectives
9 B.MarketingandCommunication Research
17 C.Target Audiences
19 D. Media
21 E. Impacts
22 F. Images
23 G.Creativity 27 NotesandSketches
45 Final DesignPublications
Thebodyofthis thesisisdivided intothreeparts.
Partone contains amarketingproposalandplan, the
introductionto theproblem and objectives ofthemarketing
program, reseach, anditsresults.Italsoincludescreative conceptswithplans and strategiesconcerningimages,impact statements and media.
Parttwoconsistsof somedesignobservations and some
translationsof creativeconceptstovisualimages.
Thepurpose ofthisthesiswillbean attempttosolve a
graphic designproblemwhichwillbean efforttoproducea
creativemarketingand communication program.Inthis demonstrationproject,Iintendtodevelopa set of
publicationstopromotetheMasterofFine Arts Degree ProgramsattheCollegeofFineandAppliedArts,Rochester
MasterofFine Arts degreeprograms are offered atthe
CollegeofFineandAppliedArts,RochesterInstituteof
Technologyineleven particular areas of study: ceramicsand
ceramicsculpture, glass,metalcrafts andjewelry, weaving
andtextiledesignandwoodworking andfurniture design in
the School for AmericanCraftsmen, graphicdesign,
computer graphicdesign,industrialandinteriordesign,
medicalillustration,paintingandprintmaking intheSchool
ofArtandDesign.
Theobjectives oftheprogramaretoofferaprogram of
graduatestudy forartists, craftsmen, teachersanddesigners
toimprovetheirunderstandingand skillsindesign,materials
andprocesses, andtoallowforchoices inpersonal
expressionand extendcareeropportunities.
The MasterofFine Arts degreeisnormallyearnedintwo
years offull-time studywiththecompletion ofa minimumof
90credithoursonproficiency levels (Baverage). The
requirements alsoincludethepresentation of an acceptable
thesis: ashow of an originalbodyofwork, and awritten
reportillustratedwithphotographs ofthework.Approvalof
thethesisisrequiredbytheThesisCommitteeandtheDean
recommendation ofthegraduate admissionscommittee which
examinestranscripts,references,a portfolio and astatement
of purpos.Thecommittee proposesappropriate actionto the
Dean.
Intheadmissionprocess,correspondencebetweenthe
student andRITwillbeconductedthrough theAdmissions
Office,accordingto thefollowingprocedures:
1. Inquiriesabout,and applicationsfor, graduate
study aredirectedto theDirectorofAdmissions,Rochester
InstituteofTechnology.
2. The Admissions Officewill acknowledgethe
inquiryorapplication,instructingthestudentasto the
informationrequiredbytheschool ordepartmenttowhichhe
or sheis applying beforetheadmissioncanbemade.
3.Oncea studenthasmadeformalapplication,the
AdmissionsOfficewillprepareanapplicantfolder for himor
her.Allcorrespondence and admissiondatawillbecollected
by theAdmissionsOffice,and placedinthe applicant's
folder. Theapplicantfile folderwillincludeanRIT
application,previous college andsecondary schoolrecords,
applicabletest scores,recommmendations andother
school ordepartmentforaction.
5. Whena schoolordepartment hasmadeadecision
ontheapplication, thisdecisionandtheapplicant'sfolder
willbereturnedto theAdmissions Office.
6. The Admissions Officewillnotifythestudent of
theadmissiondecision.
7. Academic department mayinformallyadvise
non-matriculatedstudents,butnoformalprogramofstudy
canbeapprovedpriortomatriculation.
8. The formalprogram willbe laidoutbythedean's designee (departmenthead,coordinatoror programdirector,
etc.) andistheonethatmustbe followedby allstudents
applying foradmission or readmission.
Inmostcases,thecorrespondencebetweenthestudent and
RITortheschoolis donebymail.Efficientpublications of
RITand oftheschoolsentto theapplicantwillstimulate the
interestoftheapplicant,create a goodimpression,andplaya
very importantroleinthedecision makingoftheapplicant It
islogicalandunderstandablethat theapplicants to theSchool
ofFine andAppliedArts, who areartists,designers and
craftsmen,would expect thepublications fromtheschoolto
bewell designedratherthanmerebearersofinformation.
shouldbemadetohelpothereffortstoaccomplishmore
A. MarketingandAdvertisingObjectives
B.Marketingand communicationresearch(questionnaire)
C. Target audiences
D. Media
E. Impacts
F. Images
Theoverall aim ofthemarketingeffortistopromotethe
MasterofFineArts degreeprograms oftheCollegeofFine
andAppliedArts, Rochester InstituteofTechnology.This
effortbytheCollegeofFineandApplied Arts is designedto
reinforce other efforts intendedtoproliferate asuccessful
admissions process.Theexpected accomplishmentofthis
effortisthatitwouldencourage more studentstoparticipate
intheprograminthefuture.
The advertisinggoals ofthemarketingprogramcanbe
divided intotwoparts:
1. The primary demand istocreate a goodimpression andan
awarenessoftheMasterofFine Arts degreeprogramsand, tostimulatethedemandandinterestofthe targetaudience.
2. Theselectivedemand istoinformthe audiencewithboth
generaland specificinformationandenableittoobtain
Toobtaintheadequatedata, asurveyquestionnaire,
comprised ofinvolvedquestions about targetaudiences and
theMasterofFine Arts degreeprogram,wasdeveloped.
Thisquestionnaire containssixteenquestions which were
designedforthemainpurposeofcollecting datathatwould
beusefulinthedesignprocess.
Thisquestionnaire method was utilizedtogatherdata from
firstand secondyeargraduate students attheCollegeofFine
andAppliedArts,Rochester InstituteofTechnologyin 1986
- 1987.
Eightyquestionnaires weredistributedonDecember
5, 1986through mailfolders.Completedquestionnaires
were collectedbetween December6, 1986andJanuary 12,
1987.Fortyeight questionnaires (sixtypercent)were
returned.
Otherresearches weredone by interviewingthe associate
deanofCollegeofFineandAppliedArts,Dr. Peter
Giopulosandbygathering information fromtheexixsting
materials ofCollegeofFineandAppliedArtsandRochester
InstituteofTechnology.
Theresultandanalysis weredivided into fourparts; target
Questionnaire
Thisquestionnaireisa part of the researchforthegraduate
thesisingraphicdesignentitled: theMarketingand
Communication ProgramfortheMastertofFine Arts Degree
Programs. Theobjective ofthis demonstrationprojectisto
developnewpublicationstopromotetheMasterofFine Arts
degreeprograms atCollegeofFineandAppliedArts,
Rochester InstituteofTechnology. Yourcooperationin
completingthis questionnairewillprovideusefulinformation
thatwillhelpme towardthatgoal.
Pleasereturnthecompleted questionnairetomymailfolder
(FADC-6 :Srlkanlayanabuth,A.). Yourtimeand attention
willbe greatlyappreciated.
Araya Srikanlayanabuth
1. Your Major:
2. Age:
3. Wherewere youlivingwhen youappliedtoRIT ?
4. Whatwere youdoing beforeyoucametoRIT
C. craftsman D.teacher
E. other( )
5.Hadyoualready a specific majorinmindbeforeyou
appliedtoRIT ?
Yes No
6. Afteryou receivedtheinformationfromCFAA,did it
make you changeyourmind aboutyour major?
Yes No
7. Yourfirst information aboutRITwasfrom ...
A. afriend B.a teacher
C. anarticle D.a directmail
E. otherRITpublications
8. What didyou getfrom CFAAwhenyou applied?
A. RITGraduate StudyBrochure
B. CFAA Brochure
C. Graduate Art Education Poster
D. MFA Degree Leaflet
E.Poster,brochure orleafletaboutyour
department
F. other( )
9. Toyou,howimportantwas itthat thosematerialbewell
designed?
A. very important
B. important
C. notnecessary
Yes No
11. Theoverallqualityoftheinformationyou receivedfrom
CFAA was ...
A. verygood B. fair
C. poor
12.Theoveralldesign qualityofthematerials you received
fromCFAAwas ...
A. verygood B. fair
C.poor
13. Whatarethe twomostimportantreasons thatmade you
chooseCFAAatRIT ?
A. location B. program
C. its renown D.faculty
E. equipment F. other
14. What is theimageofCFAAtoyou?
A. high-tech B.practical
C.creative D. artistic
E. colorful F. theoretical
G. other( )
15.What doyouthinktheimageofCFAAshouldbe ?
A. high-tech B. practical
C. creative D.artistic
E. colorful F.theoretical
G. other ( )
Questionnaireresults
Agesofthetargetaudiences
20-25 33.34%
26-30 29.17 %
31-35 27.08 %
36-40 2.08%
41-45 2.08 %
46-50 6.25 %
Theplace of residencewhentheyappliedtoRIT
New York State 31.25%
Rochester 29.17%
OtherState 10.41%
Other country 10.41 %
careerbefore comingtoRIT
designer 33.34 %
student 18.74 %
artist 16.67 %
other 16.67 %
craftsman 8.34 %
teacher 8.34 %
Majorchosenaccordingto thepreviouscareer
change 31.25 %
Targetaudienceshadspecific majorsinmindbeforethey
applied
yes 100 %
no
Targetaudiences changedtheirminds abouttheirmajorsafter
receivinginformationfrom CFAA
no 95.83 %
yes 4.17%
ThefirstinformationaboutCFAA
afriend 37.51 %
ateacher 27.08 %
anarticle 20.83 %
otherRITmaterials 10.41 %
adirectmail 4.17%
Materialsreceivedfrom CFAA
RIT GraduateStudy Brochure
62.58 %
MFADegreeLeaflet 54.17%
CFAABrochure 31.25 %
Theimportanceofthedesignofthepublicationsfrom CFAA
very important 62.50 %
important 35.42 %
notnecessary 2.08 %
Informationreceived was adequate
no 56.25 %
yes 43.75 %
Qualityoftheinformation
fair 75.00 %
verygood 16.67 %
good 6.25 %
poor 2.08 %
Qualityofthedesign
fair 64.58 %
verygood 18.75 %
good 14.59 %
poor 2.08 %
Themostimportantreasons theychoseCFAA
program 84.34 %
itsrenown 33.34 %
location 31.25 %
faculty 14.58%
Accordingtotargetaudiences imagesofCFAAare
practical 77.08 %
high-tech 5S.33 %
creative 33.34 %
theoretical 25.00 %
other 8.34 %
Accordingto targetaudiences., imagesofCFAA shouldbe
creative 87.50 %
artistic 54.17 %
practical 52.08 %
high-tech 45.83 %
theoretical 37.50 %
colorful 14.58 %
ether 4.17%
ExpectationfromearningMFAdegree
togainbetterunderstanding 35.58 %
tobeabletoteach 33.34 %
C.TargetAudiences
The MasterofFine Arts degree istheterminaldegree inthe
professional areas andispresented asproof ofahigh levelof
professional competenceinthevisualarts. According tothat
fact,theMasterofFine Art Degree Programs wouldcover a
widevarietyoftargetaudiences.Themaingroup isthe
peopleinart,designand craft careers whoholda
baccalaureatedegree inafieldofthearts witha major
concentrationinart, arteducation,orindustrialartseducation
withthesmallergroup inotherfields. Theprogramprepares
artists,designers andcraftsmentooperatetheirownstudios
andshops, toworkin businessandindustryandto teach at
thecollegelevel.
Thefindingfromtheresearchindicatesthat theage oftarget
audiencesliesbetween20and30years old. Intheprevious
year,morethan halfofthemwerefrom New YorkStatewith
the sameamount ofstudentsfromotherstates andother
countries.Mostofthemalready hadspecificmajorsinmind
beforethey appliedtoRIT. Their first knowledgeaboutthe
CollegeofFineandAppliedArtscamefromteachers and
friends withonlytenpercentsfromthe college'smaterials,
and,according to this target group, thequality (of both
Placeswheretargetaudiencesmightbereached:
1.Educational institutions.
2. Private studios or shops.
3. Private homes.
4. (Art, designandcraft)professional organizations and
conferences.
D.Media
Mediawhich are nowinuse amongcolleges anduniversities
topromotetheirprograms couldbe divided intotwomajor
kinds.Directmediaisthemedia sentdirectlyfromthecollege
oruniversityto a student.Manykindsofpublications such
asbrochures,booksandphotography arenormallyused. In
some programs thiskindof media mightincludeslidesora
computerdisk. Indirectmediaisthatusedbythepublicfor
thechance that the targetaudience might come acrossit Most
oftheseare posters and magazine ads.
Themediathatwillbe bestutilizedto transmit themessageto
themarketinthiscaseisthesame asthatmentionedabove.
SinceRITusestherollingadmissions procedure,this media
shouldbe designedtoenable year-rounddistribution. A
Four-stepcontactisproposedformediastrategy coordinating
withadvertisingobjectivesandtheadmissions process (see
page4 ).
Firstcontactisfortheprimary demand (seepage8):
1. magazinead
2. (public)poster
Secondcontactis forthe selectivedemand (seepage8):
1. brochure
3.directmail poster
Thirdcontactisfor both demands:
1. department leaflet
2.applicationform
Fourthcontactis fortheapplicantthatisacceptedto the
program:
1.personal attentionletter
E. Impacts
Fromthe marketingresearch,themostpersuasive reasonthat
targetaudiences usetochoosetheCollegeofFineand
Applied Arts istheprogramitself (seepage 15);itmeans
theirdecisionsare realistic andbaseonappropriatereasons.
Fromthisanalysis,it isreasonabletoassumethattheappeal
which willbeutilizedasthemotivating forcetostimulateand
persuadetargetaudiencesisregionalappeal. Butsince there
is also ahighpercentage of emotionalimpactandexpectation
(seepage 15),itisappropriatetouse emotional appealas a
minorimpact. Theseappealswillbetranslated to thecopy
F.Images
Asshown bythemarketingresearch,targetaudiencesfeel
that thepresentimageoftheprogramisnot effective enough.
From thestudy, thetwostrongestimagesoftheprogram
indicatedbytargetaudiences arehightechnology and
practicality.Itis agreedthatbothareappropriate,butas a
resultofthestudy, itwasshownthat targetaudiencesfeel
thatitwouldbemore effectiveif theprogramalsohad
creative and artisticimages. Theseimages; creativity, artistry,
practicalityandhigh technology,willserve asthekeywords
G.
Creativity
In viewing graphicdesignastheprocess ofproblem-solving,
Iseetheconsequence of a problem asprevalent.First,the
nature oftheproblem shouldbeinspected,studied and
understood.Eachproblemhas itsowncharacter;there isno
"perfect"
solutionthatcanbeappliedtosolveevery problem.
Eachsolutionis,more orless,theresult of research.This
"fact",whenproperlyused,illuminates the"what"ofthe
problemand atthesametime, impliestheappropriateway(s)
tosolvetheproblem.
The marketingandcommunication programisthekindof
projectthatneedsaveryfunctionalsolution. Itisreasonable
toprocessitsystematically.Forthisthesis,theproblemhas
beenpinpointedanddefinedsincethebeginning,theoverall
aimandtheexpected accomplishments werealsodefinite (see
page ). The marketing andadvertisingobjectivesledtothe
studyofthe target audiences, theirages, educations,
expectations,etc.Throughthe questionnaire, target
audiences wereused as themainresourceforneededdata.
Thisquessionnaire andotherresearch,whichwasconducted
inaverylimitedtime,areanattempttouncover neededfacts
andprove what was already suspected.Images, impacts,
mediaandthiscreativitywereplanned and reliedfirmlyupon
Fromthefinding, keywords which willprovidethe visual
images theeffectivequality tofulfillthemarketingobjectives
are creativity, artistry, practicalityandhightechnology.In
ordertocreatetheawareness ofthe(MasterofFine Arts
degree) programs, the transmissionofthese imagesmustbe
forcefuland continual.Theapproachthatseems appropriate
andfeasibletomeetthisrequirementisanidentityor unified
system.Allthepublicationswillbedesignedtoblendwith
eachothertoformone strong imageoftheprograms.
1. Copy andText
The headlineorthesloganforthepromotionis "the Master
ofFine Artsdegree,thefinal steptoprofessionalism".This
emotional appealheadlinewouldcapturetheinterestofthe
viewers and atthesametimecommunicatethemainpurpose
oftheprogram. Italso allows the text toprovideinformation
andfacts abouttheprogram.
2. Identification
Topromotetheprogram,the"brand" name shouldbe
establishedforthepurposeofremembrance. 'MFAat RIT'
is
thechosen nametobepromoted.The nameiseffortlessto
rememberboth fromhearingandseeing,italsolooksand
sounds symmetricalwhich,indepth,represents theformal
aspectofstudy inthegraduateprograms. Theestablishment
Intheshort termitwouldhelpunify theelements ofthe
publicationstogether.Inthelongterm,aftersome periods of
promotionitwoulddevelope a social awareness.
3. Format
Allpublicationswillsharethesame structure:thename
"MFAat
RIT'
atthe top, CollegeofFineandApplied Artsat
theright,theheadlineandtextatthebottomwiththeimages
atthecentertocaptureinterestElementswillbe harmonized
ontheconstructional gridthatwillbe designedforall
publications.Thisconstructionalgridisusedtoensureavery
strong formateventhougheach publicationhasadifferent
compositeunitgrid.
4.color
Colormustfunction semantically,syntacticallyand
pragmatically.Manycolorsfrom bothcoolandwarmtones
willbeused.The principlein choosingcolors is based
strictlyonthefourkey words.Thisregionalrepresentation,
givesthepublications aninterestingand personal look,and at
the sametime,conceptuallyannoucestheimagesofthe
Publications ofthedesignproject
1.magazine ad
2. (public) poster
3. MFA degreeprograminformation (directmail)poster
4. graduatebrochurecover
NOTES ANDSKETCHES
Thesketchesonthefollowingpages arethedevelopmentof
animagethatwillbeusedfora magazinead,publicposter,
mail poster and graduatebulletincover.
This image is usedasthecenterofinterest Itworks as atool
toattract viewers'eyes atfirstglace.Developmentofthis
image isan efforttotranslatefourkeywordswhichrepresent
theMasterofFine Arts degreeprograms; creativity, artistry,
practicalityandhightechnology. Sincetheprograms cover
manyaspects ofart,designandcrafts, adevelopmentof an
illustrationthatcould representthemall willtake along
period oftimeandtheresultwillbehardtoevaluate.A
feasiblesolutionthatis suitablefor bothtimeand subjectis
theuse oftypography.Theuppercaseletters; M,FandA,
whichare theabbreviationfortheMasterofFine Arts degree
programs, actveryappropriately as avisual solution.
Themainidea in developingtheimage is using largetype
withadimensionalmix.Largetypealways gives a surprise
effect.The curiosityof viewers isprovokedwhenthey
encounterawordthatis toolargetoignore.This visual
solution is alsomadeintentionallyambiguousbyusing
two-dimentional objectsinteractingwiththree-dimentional
graphic tool;brightcolors. Manycolorsin bothwarmand
cooltones arechosentoenrichthepsychologicalimpactand
emotional effects.Thesebrightartistic colorsprovideasense
ofhope and expectation.This mixoflarge types,dimension
andbrightcolorswouldgives averystrongeffect ofgetting
viewers'
attention.Thesethreeelementsthenworktogether
Thesketches inthefollowingpages aretheexamplesofthe
imagesthatwillbeusedonthecover ofthedepartment
brochures. (These areimages forthedepartmentof graphic
designandthedepartmentof medicalillustration.)
Developmentoftheseimages followtheideaofusing
stage2 :
The
following
page showstheconstructional grid (inred)Thefollowingpage shows theconstructionalgrid (inred)
22"
The followingpage shows theconstructional grid(inred)
andthecomposite unit gridforabrochurecoverand
Thefollowingpage showstheconstructional grid(inred)
FINAL DESIGNPUBLICATIONS
Page46:magazine ad
Page 47 : publicposter
Page 48 : directmail poster(frontside)
Page 49 :directmailposter(backside)
Page 50:graduatebrochurecover
Page 5 1 : departmentmaterial(frontcover)
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MFA RIT
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CONCLUSIONSAND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusionseminatingfromtheresults oftheanalysis show
thatinordertoachievethemarketingand communication
goals,effectiveimagesoftheMasterofFine Arts degree
programsmustbeestablished.Inordertocreatethose
images,asystematicstepbystepapproach wasused.
Throughthescope ofdesignpublications,thedesignprocess
wascarriedout onthebasisofthefindingsproducedbythe
investigation.
This demonstrationprojectwasdone withavery limited
amountoftime andresources. Itwas suggestedforthereal
projectinthefuture (onthemarketing and communication
programfortheMasterofFine Arts degreeprograms)todo
more research ontheinflunceofthepublications received
fromtheschoolbytheprospectivestudent. Relevant
additionalinformationaboutcompetitorsshouldbegathered
and morestudyoneffective mediashould alsobe
undertaken.
Academically,thisdemonstrationprojectisanexample ofthe
waystosolvea graphicdesignproblemItisrecommended
forsimilar projectsinthefuturethateffortshouldbemadeto produce reliabledata,andthat designprocessshouldfirmly
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Berryman,Gregg. NotesonGraphicDesignandVisual
Communication, reviseded.Los Altos: William
Kanfmann, Inc., 1984.
Giopulos,Peter. AssociateDean;CollegeofFineand
AppliedArts,Rochester InstituteofTechnology,
Rochester,New York. Interview, 27 October 1987.
Nelson,RoyPaul. The DesignofAdvertising. 5thed.
Dubuque: WM. C. BrownPublishers, 1985.
Newcomb,John. The BookofGraphic Problem-Solving.
New YorkandLondon: R. R. BowkerCompany,
1984.
Rand,Paul. A Designer'sArt.NewHaven andLondon:
YaleUniversity Press, 1985.
RocheaterInstituteofTechnology.GraduateProgram
Brochure.New York: RochesterInstitute of