For his final semester of graphic design Jonathan made an information package for the UMass Dartmouth graphic design program, to introduce students to the program, prepare them for the experience, and promote community.

A problem was identified. There is an inverse relationship between technological advancement and infrastructure and a country’s strength of community. In essence, citizens of more technologically advanced countries are less likely to feel a sense of or be a part of a community.

The decision was made to focus on strengthening the sense of community amongst accepted and incoming students by giving them the tools needed to improve on the foundations laid by preceding generations of student

The package is composed of seven 24x36 inch folded pieces. There is one piece that contains the table of contents with short bios on each participating student and six pieces that contain real student work and interviews collected from the six participants.

All seven pieces were printed on different types of paper. Each piece of paper was chosen to match personality traits or aesthetic style of the student. Seven different papers with different combinations of surface appearance / texture / color were selected. No paper was used more than once.

Each student piece contains an edited interview with a selection of that student's work. The selected work shows a wide range of pieces designed both in and out of class, and captions show which year/class/professor each piece was designed with when applicable.

The front shows a brief rundown of topics the student talks about, as shown in the table of contents, their fist initial, and a very short bio. On the back students had more room to speak about their senior project and goals after graduating as well as showcase a few more pieces of work.

In addition, the back contained a number of resources relating to the content of the interview and a colophon specifying typefaces and paper type, for the graphic design nerds. All pieces use the same body type, but each has its own header typeface.

The interview questions were designed to draw responses about the experience and sense of community with the UMassD graphic design program and UMassD as a whole, as well as a positive and negative critique of the experience.

The inside/back of each piece displayed a large poster of each student's work. To prevent waste, students who receive the informational package are encouraged to use the posters to decorate dorms and apartments.

Thanks to all who made the time to be interviewed, and thanks to Emilie, Melanie, Matt, Liam, Danielle, and James who gave me samples of their work as well.

To fully appreciate the entire project in person, or to see a digital copy of the process book, please contact Jonathan at jonathan.alumbaugh@gmail.com or visit jonathanalumbaugh.com.