WRITING CENTERS MARKET and DESIGN Thesis
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SURVEYING THE FIELD: HOW DO (AND SHOULD) WRITING CENTERS MARKET AND DESIGN Thesis Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts in English By Autumn Marie Lala-Sonora, B.A. Dayton, Ohio May 2020 SURVEYING THE FIELD: HOW DO (AND SHOULD) WRITING CENTERS MARKET AND DESIGN Name: Lala-Sonora, Autumn Marie APPROVED BY: __________________________________________ Margaret Strain, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor Professor of English Director of Writing Programs __________________________________________ Stephen Wilhoit, Ph.D. Committee Member Professor of English Associate Director of the Learning & Teaching Center __________________________________________ Christina Klimo, M.A. Committee Member Write Place Coordinator ii © Copyright by Autumn Marie Lala-Sonora All rights reserved 2020 iii ABSTRACT SURVEYING THE FIELD: HOW DO (AND SHOULD) WRITING CENTERS MARKET AND DESIGN Name: Lala-Sonora, Autumn Marie University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Margaret Strain This thesis seeks to fill gaps in literature within writing center scholarship where marketing and design are concerned. I discovered these gaps in literature upon attempting to design marketing materials for the University of Dayton’s writing center, the Write Place. In response, I conducted two surveys: (1) a three-part, anonymous marketing and design survey toward writing center professionals to ascertain their current marketing and design practices, as well as (2) an anonymous, session-based survey toward Write Place consultants to ascertain the topics they discussed with patrons for future materials. The writing center marketing and design survey collected 118 responses, which revealed a number of trends and tensions within the field’s marketing and design practices. Furthermore, the institutional research of Write Place consultants brought into question how much impact writing center sessions themselves have on writing center perception. Overall, the data indicates a lack of marketing and design expertise and guidance within the writing center field. Therefore, this thesis includes a marketing step-by-step procedure and branding checklist, aiming to consider the trends and tensions present within the writing center field at-large while attending to the unique circumstances of individual writing centers. I applied the procedure and checklist when designing iv marketing materials for the Write Place, though the effectiveness of those materials is beyond the scope of this project. Ultimately, more research is needed to uncover the marketing and design practices of the writing center field at-large so individual writing centers will be better equipped to market and design within their unique, local contexts. v DEDICATION Dedicated to my ever-supportive husband, Jordan Sonora. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Christina Klimo, Coordinator of the Write Place. Without her support, this thesis would not exist. Next, I would like to pay special regards to Dr. Margaret Strain, my advisor. Between her ten o’clock email responses and continual encouragement in moments of doubt, this thesis would not have evolved into what it is. I would also like to show my gratitude towards Dr. Stephen Wilhoit, whose expertise in English and writing center studies challenged me to strengthen the connections I hesitated to make. All three of you have been instrumental in the development of this thesis. I owe my deepest gratitude to Drs. Jennifer Haan and Tereza Szeghi for allowing me the opportunity to explore all of my passions in one project. I grew up inside my family’s print shop, Innovative Creations, and learned graphic design by sitting on my father’s lap as he worked. I fell in love with language all throughout grade school and undergrad, discovering a common theme amongst all of my professional, academic, and personal interests: audience. The opportunity to showcase my skills in this thesis has been one of my greatest challenges to date, and I have gained so much from this experience. I must also recognize my graduate student cohort, professors past and present, along with my friends outside academia. It’s hard to feel lost in life with people like you by my side. I must also recognize my parents, who have always supported me in my academic pursuits. You both have always believed in me, so I thank you for that. Finally, my husband, Jordan Sonora. This thesis is dedicated to you, for without your love, support, and sacrifice, none of this would have been possible. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... iv! DEDICATION ............................................................................................................... vi! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... vii! LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... x! LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xi! CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1! CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................ 6! CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 16! Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 18! Peer Consultant Survey .......................................................................................... 18! Writing Center Marketing and Design Survey ........................................................ 19! CHAPTER 4 DATA COLLECTION RESULTS ........................................................... 23! Peer Consultant Survey.............................................................................................. 23! Writing Center Marketing and Design Survey ........................................................... 26! “General Information” Results ............................................................................... 26! “Marketing/Outreach Inquiry” Results ................................................................... 30! “Design Inquiry” Results ....................................................................................... 41! Optional Upload Results ........................................................................................ 47! Educational material uploads ............................................................................. 47! Logo uploads ..................................................................................................... 48! Image or multimedia incorporated uploads ......................................................... 50! Final file upload ................................................................................................. 51! Key Takeaways ......................................................................................................... 53! CHAPTER 5 DATA COLLECTION ANALYSIS......................................................... 55! Peer Consultant Survey.............................................................................................. 55! Writing Center Marketing and Design Survey ........................................................... 57! “General Information” Analysis ............................................................................. 57! “Marketing/Outreach Inquiry” Analysis ................................................................. 61! viii “Design Inquiry” Analysis ..................................................................................... 65! Optional Upload Analysis ...................................................................................... 70! Key Takeaways ......................................................................................................... 71! CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................ 74! Marketing .................................................................................................................. 74! Design ....................................................................................................................... 79! CHAPTER 7 DESIGN DELIVERABLES AND RATIONALE .................................... 84! Design Deliverables................................................................................................... 85! Multiple Stakeholders ............................................................................................ 85! Student Stakeholders ............................................................................................. 87! Faculty Stakeholders .............................................................................................. 87! Design Rationale ....................................................................................................... 89! Consistency ........................................................................................................... 89! Voice ..................................................................................................................... 92! CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION........................................................................................ 93! WORKS CITED...........................................................................................................