Most students come to college to get a degree- brighten their future or something like that. Not me. Well, I did come to college to ensure a brighter future, but also because of something else. Romance. I am a hopeless romantic. The thought of living on my own, making mistakes, meeting new people, and having new experiences are all a part of my definitions of romance and love. This “romance” I was looking for has nothing to do with a boy, and all to do with my surroundings and ultimately myself. When I first heard of the Kissing Circle at OU, I just smiled. It is nice to think of a time when romance was not so structured, and showing that you love someone was as simple as a kiss on the lips. With this past idea of romance in mind, I decided to set my project around what the Kissing Circle would mean for a person of my generation- a person who relies on texting to say a simple thing such as, “I like you”. I wanted to challenge the minds of my audience by subliminally suggesting that maybe we have all forgotten what love is all about.
In order to successfully hone into to the minds of my audience, I had to have a structure. My structure consists of organization of information, color palette, and strategic word and image placement. With this structure in mind, I also had to make sure my information channel was conceivable and effectively persuasive. I created a character, Charlie Smith, to represent what I would call the “modern generation guy”. He creates a flyer proposing that the prey comes to him (from the ocean where there are apparently many fish to choose from). My second piece for my audience to decipher is a newsletter that discusses the flier and lays out the history of the Kissing Circle. Either of these pieces would be plausible to see around a college campus and the way they are presented says a lot about the way love is depicted in today’s society.
The flier is an excellent representation of how information is spread through society. The message is short and sweet, and it cannot look like you tried too hard. I chose to create flier to look like Charlie Smith just had an idea pop into his head, so he grabbed a sheet of paper and started writing. The font I used looks like quickly written handwriting and the colors are basic. Clearly, Charlie did not have a lot of time- or maybe he wanted to look like that. Charlie is the average college guy that is looking for the easiest way to get things done. Why not apply this logic to finding a mate? Keeping this in mind, I created the flier to look like he was cool and confident- the way most potential dates would want their man. The most important part of the flier is that there are tear-away tabs at the bottom that have times written on them. I wanted Charlie to appear to be in control of his future and unafraid of who takes notice. I also made sure to rip one of the tabs off. Maybe someone was really interested in meeting Charlie, or maybe Charlie ripped one off to make it look like someone was interested. Either way, my audience can see that Charlie is the product of a modern and complicated society.
The flier is only one piece of the message I wanted to send to my audience. I created the newsletter, The Athens Swap to represent the counter-culture of our society, I call it the “Hallmark League”. Hallmark, meaning the one of the businesses that is in the industry that provides us with cards for all occasions: birthdays, anniversaries, and especially Valentine’s Day. I have heard multiple times that Valentine’s Day is just a day made up by the card industry to make money. Whether this is true is irrelevant. What is pertinent is the fact that even though we all know that Valentine’s Day is hokey and overworked, we all still love to hear about love stories, listen to love songs, and of course, buy Valentine’s Day cards for our sweetie. The Athens Swap lays out all things sappy about love, and yet it focuses on the modern day. A lot of what is placed in my newsletter is meant to be subliminal, unknowingly apparent. The title itself is meant to remind the audience that kissing is the forefront of this piece. Swap- to represent the phrase, “swapping spit”. A little graphic, I know, but at least I have the audiences attention. To keep my audience’s eyes on the newsletter, I specifically coordinated my information with colors that evoke emotions like nostalgia, hope, and most importantly- love.
In order for my audience to find the newsletter believable, I chose to have the newsletter represent a gossip column of sorts that had special Valentine’s Day edition. The layout is crisp and organized, sought after the way a real publication would design. I wanted the eye to be able to flow seamlessly down the page, so I made the colors pastel, and manageable to adjust the eyes too. Along with this, the information had to be presented in a current way in order to keep the audience’s attention. I added tiny depictions, such as the Cupid and heart on the first page, and the lips on the second page to remind the audience of the feeling of love. I added specifically placed blurbs that added to the realness of the publication, such as the calendar of events and the trivia section. By doing this, I am able to keep the information synced and yet broken into parts that are quicker to read and absorb, as well as add a flare of creativity that leaves the reader wanting more.
Overall, my two pieces are meant to evoke emotions through colors and subliminal messages, stay organized and concise with columns and page breaks, and work together to create a believable cohesion of events. I made up one event, from the section titled, “The Kissing Circle Chronicles”, and I did this to add the idea that the Kissing Circle and its tradition have transcended through the years to mean something really special. Human interest was the main goal of my project, and I surprised myself with how easy it was to find the hidden gems of persuasion that rhetoric gives to our lives. In the end, I wanted my audience to sense the shift that our society has made from past chivalry to modern courting, and figure out if this is a good thing or a bad thing. One thing is for certain, history can only be passed along when you kiss...and tell.
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