2. 2
Table of Contents
Prologue 3
What exactly is Civic Engagement? 4
Redesigned Media Templates 5
Updated Letterhead 6
Content-altered Newsletter 7
Informational Brochure ( Outside Panels) 8
Informational Brochure (Inside Panels) 9
Informative Flyer 10
Future Considerations 11
References 12
References II 13
3. 3
In recent years here at Coastal Carolina University,
there have been a variety of efforts to redefine,
develop, and implement leadership and civic
engagement programs to overall improve the campus
life and to get the student body involved with
strengthening community interactions. As happens with
most changes though in campus activity and new
programs, results are often mixed or still unknown
which allows for a subsequent lack of student
involvement.
What follows in this portfolio is a discussion of the
Leadership and Civic Engagement department here at
Coastal (formerly known as Volunteer Services), a
series of suggestions regarding what students need to
know in the future to become more aware of the
opportunities here for them (based upon media created
by me), and some thoughts on possible future efforts to
broaden its appeal and make it a known commodity
within the university setting as well as the community.
Prologue
4. 4
What exactly is Civic Engagement?
To be more informative on the term
civic engagement and what it is
attempting to convey to the students, it is
defined as “the effective and mutually
beneficial collaboration of students, faculty,
and staff as well as the community.” (Banta,
2005) The Office of Student Activities and
Leadership works closely with this outlook on
Civic Engagement in general along with other
activities.
What it means here at Coastal Carolina University as it pertains to OSAL’s
(Office of Students Activities and Leadership) mission is that “Civic Engagement
seeks to educate students through the use of volunteer opportunities, service
learning, and activism who will strive to understand the shared strengths and
challenges of the Grand Strand community by engaging in impactful collaborative
action on and off campus.”
Civic Engagement will allow the student body to:
Improve problem solving and critical thinking skills in connection with an
ability to analyze the complex social issues of the Grand Strand and Myrtle
Beach communities.
Establish an ability to articulate an appreciation and an unwavering respect
for the dignity of humanity and the efforts to defend such appreciation.
Develop the foresight to project and implement activities with the primary
goal of achieving a common good.
5. 5
Redesigned Media Templates
Updated Letterhead
Simple Design/Color Scheme
Content-altered Newsletter
Altered content from community perspective
to student perspective
Simple Brochure (Outside Panel & Inside Panel)
Informative Flyer
Informative flyer on civic engagement and
contact information
6. 6
Updated Letterhead
Letterheads are a great tool for sending and retrieving
information within any place of work, whether it be a university or
business for that matter. They are a printed heading on a
stationery stating a person's or organization's name and address.
What I was going for here was a simple design that represented
Coastal Carolina’s colors and provided enough room for important
writing within the civic engagement offices and anything going out
to community partners or to that of the student body within the
campus setting.
7. 7
Content-altered Newsletter
Newsletters are a another great tool when referring to different types
of media templates. A newsletter is a bulletin issued periodically to
the members of a certain type of society, business, or organization.
In regards to this content-altered newsletter, there wasn’t a great
amount needed to be done graphically because the format layout was
rather informative in its own sense as to who it’s from and what its
representing. The main focus of this particular media piece was to
change the central focus of the newsletter altogether from a
community partners perspective, to that of a student body
perspective.
8. 8
Informational Brochure (Outside Panels)
A brochure is a flyer, pamphlet or leaflet that is used to pass information about a
particular topic. In cases such as this project, brochures are advertising pieces mainly
used to introduce a company or organization and are to inform about products and/or
services to a certain target audience (the students and community). In reference to the
front panels of the brochure, the color scheme represents that of Coastal Carolina’s
with some pictures of past events on the right panel, along with a bronzed boxed-out
structure which expresses a certain theme within the brochure itself. The middle panel
expresses some important links that deal with civic engagement opportunities such as
Facebook and Twitter handles, along with a dedicated website with more information if
a student seeks interest. The left panel express some of the passed non-profit events
that have taken place in the past as part of civic engagement opportunities. Included
with that is a gold heading theme that is portrayed throughout the brochure, along with
a picture from a past event.
9. 9
As for the inside panels of the brochure designed, there is also a color scheme
close to that of the colors that represent Coastal Carolina, with these being a golden
background with a white accented middle. In congruence with the color choice, teal
was used to give an impactful design on the boxed-out sections of the brochure,
including that of a small quote, a contact section, a teal-outlined picture, and a Civic
Engagement logo. The right panel conveys some important information about civic
engagement, including a past events section and a “collaborate with us” section. The
middle panel expresses a picture from a specific past event along with a bronzed boxed-
out structure continued from the outside panels and some information about why to
volunteer and its benefits from it. The left panel also has the bronzed theme continued
from the front panel along with more information about what civic engagement
specifically offers to students who have an interest in volunteering with community
partners.
Informational Brochure (Inside Panels)
10. 10
Informative Flyer
A flyer is a form of paper advertisement intended for a wide distribution and typically posted
or distributed in a public place or through the mail. In this particular flyer, what I was attempting to
design here was a piece of media that was to be informative, but not too talkative; stylish, but
representable in a professional fashion. Too much writing can become a major hindrance on the
particular reader, whether it be a student, a faculty/staff member, or perhaps a member of the
community. When in the process of creating the flyer, I wanted there to be a presence to it based
upon:
Color Scheme, to which I chose the CCU colors of teal, gold, black, and white to represent the
university and its pride in dealing with civic engagement in general.
Font, to which I chose Verdana and Corbel, so that the potential reader can easily understand
what the flyer is attempting to convey.
Font size, to which I chose 10 and 12 that way it makes for an easily readable and informative
piece of media.
Detachable tabs, which contain contact information and provide an opportunity for the student
to gain more information about civic engagement in general or gain information about non-profit
community interactions.
11. 11
Future Considerations
W hat do tomorrow’s leaders need to help serve our
communities? In light of this question, it might be
helpful to provide a couple future considerations on how we can
actively engage tomorrow’s leaders as problem solvers in our
community.
Here are some suggestions:
Have a structured model in place for showing how being involved
with civic engagement can be helpful for the students as well as
towards the community as a whole. This structured model could be
a very beneficial way of increasing student growth in connection
with that of civic engagement and other community interactions.
Perhaps hold a student seminar completely devoted to just that,
instead of just setting up stands on particular campus locations and
hoping students come to you
Express the benefits of how much tangible knowledge students can
allocate by being active and taking advantage of civic engagement
opportunities
Keeping your media templates simple and informative, but creatively
stylish and representable in a professional fashion. Sometimes too
much information can be a hindrance on the reader, especially for
students who are on-the-go and don’t have the time read the fine
details of what you have to offer.
12. 12
References
The majority of the research done for this project
came from informative journal articles on that of
leadership and civic engagement and how it bests fits into
society along with that of campus interactions. With that
said, it also helps to shape the student for future success
beyond the classroom by being given the opportunity to
assist in non-profit community interactions and special
events associated with this organization.
Other sources of research found came from previously
used media templates used by the OSAL office and the
Leadership and Civic Engagement Offices, along with that
of my clients. The research done on how to redesign and
alter the media you’ve just seen and read about came from
passed knowledge of how public relations works and how
powerful the aspects of advertising can be when they are
used properly. The new templates created will hopefully be
a great future asset to Coastal Carolina’s Leadership and
Civic Engagement family.
13. 13
References II
Lindroth, L. (2005, February 1). How To... Create Exciting Brochures. Technology In Your Class
room, 35, 23-24. http: eds.a.ebscohost.com.lo gin.library.coastal.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/
pdfviewer?sid=f303280a-d910-4b6e-80af-f40d645615b2%40session mgr4004&vid=6&hid
=4213
Johnson, J. (n.d.). How to Design an Awesome (Even If You're Not a Designer). Design Shack. Re
trieved , from http://designshack.net/articles/graphics/how-to-design-an-awesome-flyer-
even-if-youre-not-a-designer/
Banta, T. (2005). Assessing civic engagement. Informally published manuscript, IUPUI, Retrieved f
rom http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.login.library.coastal.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
sid=a4e66a69-ca19-41eb-b367-09498d640be2 @sessionmgr 112&vid=51&hid=102
Caputo, D. (2005). A campus view: civic engagement and the higher education community. Informal-
ly published manuscript, Available from Academic Search Complete. Retrieved from http://
login.library.coastal.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebs cohost.com/login.aspx?direct
=true&db=a9h&AN=17358785&site=ehost-live
Blau, G., & Snell, C. (2013). Understanding undergraduate professional development engagement
and its impact. College Student Journal, 47(4), 687-702. Retrieved from http://login.library
.coastal.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct
=true&db=a9h&AN=93813998&site=ehost-live
Robinson, C., & Gahagan, J. (2010). In practice: Coaching students to academic success and en
gagement on campus. About Campus, 15(4), 26-29. Retrieved from http://login.library.
coastal.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db
=a9h&AN=54861139&site=ehost-live
Bowman, N., Brandenberger, J., Lapsley, D., & Hill, P. (2010). Serving in college, flourishing in
adulthood: Does community engagement during the college years predict adult well-being?
Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 2(1), 14-34. Re trieved from http://lo-
gin.library.coastal.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebsco host. com/login.aspx?direct=
true&db=a9h&AN=62719263&site=ehost-live
