During Fall 2024, my Intermediate Media Projects course challenged me to develop a comprehensive final project. Drawing from my experience as an academic guide helping first-year students navigate course registration and college life, I created a centralized resource guide for Pitzer students. Through my work with first-year students, I identified a critical gap: while resources existed, they were scattered and often difficult to access, particularly for students from backgrounds with limited academic support networks. This project aimed to address the challenging transition to college life by creating a single, accessible hub of information that would make Pitzer's academic resources more readily available to all students, especially those navigating the complexities of higher education for the first time.
I conducted many interviews with current first year students and discovered that while the college offered numerous support services, study materials, and academic guidance, these resources were scattered across different departments, websites, and physical locations on campus. First-year students, particularly those from first-generation or low-income backgrounds, often struggled to locate and utilize these resources during crucial academic moments. I identified an urgent need for a centralized digital hub that would not only compile these existing resources but also present them in clear, accessible language.
Inspired by Candy Chang's work in making information accessible through public art and design, I transformed complex college resources into an intuitive z-fold brochure using Figma and Canva. The guide is available both as a digital PDF and physical copy, ensuring first-year students can easily access vital information whether they prefer digital or printed formats.
I also gave a short 5 minute pitch to the stakeholders of the project. This included my professors, the heads of the orientation team at Pitzer College.
