Kyle Adams POV

Author: kyleadams

  • From Lens to Canvas: Crafting Emotional Connections in Design

    Image Source: Generated by Google Gemini

    Conveying information to elicit an emotional response is one of the most powerful skills a designer can master. From photos to hand-drawn illustrations and even digital artwork, each form of imagery is a core component of graphic design. Something that stood out to me in this learning module is the juxtaposition of Illustration and Photography. Specifically, what illustrators can convey vs. photographers, the factors in the decision process illustrators go through when choosing a style, and the intersection of goals illustrators and photographers share. Let’s dive in!


    Photography: Capturing the Moment

    Photography is your best friend if you are trying to visually depict a product, establish a mood, and ultimately build a relationship with your target audience. A few of the most practical outcomes that photography creates for graphic designers are the ability to sell a product, establish trust, tell a story, or teach a technique.

    For my semester-long brand project, I am working on creating a visual and verbal “Brand DNA” for New Haven Pickleball, a local pickleball community I am part of. Using photography that captures pictures of people serving, dinking (a light touch hit in pickleball), and drop shots can showcase the wide variety of shots in pickleball and teach members of this community proper form for these different types of shots.


    Illustration: Carefully Crafted

    Illustration is typically a form of art that depicts a product or location. One of the most valuable aspects of illustration is its ability to convey abstract concepts. Because of its versatility, illustration usually enables designers to reach their target audience in ways that photography typically can’t. A few of the best examples are creating reality with personality, showing how, revealing what lies beneath, imagining prehistory and fantasy, and visualizing a complex idea.

    Continuing with the example of the New Haven Pickleball organization that I am doing my “Brand DNA” project on, creating an illustration to showcase different types of paddles and the various materials that make up a pickleball paddle and how they impact the type of play style it favors, would be a great example of how an illustration would work best instead of a photo.


    The Decision Tree: Differences & Similarities

    If you’ve identified wanting to use or create an illustration for your brand/company, there are a few essential things to consider. The purpose of the illustration, its overall brand (mood, tone of voice, being reflective of the brand’s personality), understanding who your audience is, and the medium that your illustration is being designed for (where most of your audience is viewing it). I would likely choose a freehand digital style for any illustrations for New Haven Pickleball because it would enable me to use the brand colors freely which range the spectrum from bright to dark. This would also help me evoke the brand’s chatty and informative personality without being forced to use an illustration style that comes off as childish, luxurious, or serious, which wouldn’t appeal to most of my target audience.

    For photographers, the decision-making process looks a bit different. After a photographer decides what they’re shooting as a subject and are ready to go, they need to consider the following factors to get the best composition that’s appealing and impactful; fitting the format to the subject (deciding if horizontal or portrait format makes sense), using the rule of thirds, considering the background, and using lines to lead the eye. If I were shooting some pictures for New Haven Pickleball, I would use a portrait or vertical frame for photos of a pickleball paddle to capture its entire length. I would also capture some low-angle shots from the ground and use the court lines to lead the viewer’s eye to showcase some photos of people playing a game of pickleball in an interesting way.

    Anyone can take a photo or create an illustration, but getting the most out of either form of imagery is crucial to being a successful designer who knows how to tell a brand’s story and convey its emotion. I hope you learned a bit about the differences between photography and illustration and how both can elevate your brand and take it to the next level.


    Sources

    Caldwell, C., & Skene, R. (2019). Graphic design for everyone: Understand the building blocks so you can do it yourself. Dorling Kindersley Limited.

  • The Complexity of Colors Doesn’t Need to be Confusing

    The Complexity of Colors Doesn’t Need to be Confusing

    One of the most powerful skills a designer can master is the use of color, specifically the selection and manipulation of color to elicit a particular emotion out of someone. A vast amount of research has proven there’s a consistent response people have to different colors. For instance, yellow evokes feelings of happiness, warmth, and positivity, which makes it a perfect choice for a brand like McDonald’s to leverage and use one of the most popular yellow graphic devices (a smiley face). They also incorporate yellow as a primary choice in their branding, complemented by red to evoke hunger.  

    To fully unpack color psychology, I’ll use yellow as an example to explain the positive and negative feelings it conveys, what personality the color embodies, and examine how a brand uses it to connect with its target audience.

    Image Source: SeekLogo

    Context & Foundation

    According to Wikipedia, Color Psychology is the study of colors and hues as a determinant of human behavior. A hue is a color in its pure form, without tinkering with the shade, tint, or tone of the color to add neutral colors like black, white, and grey to brighten or darken it.  

    Another helpful aspect in understanding why a color conveys specific positive and negative emotions is that all colors convey two types of meaning that influence a person’s preferences and behaviors. Referential meaning, which is learned and usually reliant on environmental context, and embodied meaning, which is independent of environment, typically put into effect when exposed to a color.  

    A great example of referential meaning is when you see yellow on a street sign, you immediately associate it with a potential hazard/danger because of the context. A relatable example of embodied meaning in regard to yellow is warmth because that’s what we all see as the color of the sun.  

    Image Source: Kate Green Designs

    Eliciting Emotions

    When examining the color wheel, the spectrum shows 12 sections of different colors and their relation to each other. Yellow is one of the three primary colors, meaning it can’t be created by mixing other colors.  Because of yellow’s referential and embodied meanings, it’s classified as a warm color, and warm colors are associated with energy, brightness, and action. On the other end of the spectrum, yellow is known for fear, caution, and anxiety. A perfect example of yellow’s negative emotion and its application in the world is yellow being used to signal slowing down at a traffic light. Now that we know more about this color and its spectrum of emotions let’s see how this shapes its personality. 

    Image Source: Verywell Mind

    Personalities can be Polarizing

    Despite the fact that yellow represents warmth and energy, the intensity of it can also come off as aggressive and even confrontational. Brands typically utilize yellow to tap into the positive feelings I mentioned. In addition to McDonald’s, one of the better examples is the chain Denny’s, which is known for its breakfast offerings and trying to get customers in the “Rise and shine” mindset at the start of the day.

    Learning about the psychology of color and how every color plays a unique role in branding has been incredibly helpful in building a brand that’s more relatable to my target audience. I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned about color to evoke an energetic, welcoming, and passionate personality for this pickleball community.  

  • Evoking Emotions Through Writing: Why Typography is Branding’s Unsung Hero

    Image Source: Canva Dream Labs AI Generator

    Every day, the average person reads about a dozen different typefaces. Whether it’s a billboard for a new business that opened in your neighborhood, the recipe for a meal in a cookbook, or a television broadcast of your baseball team. Typography is one of the most powerful tools to convey emotion. Although it’s something most people seldomly think about in terms of understanding its core components and how to use it to convey specific moods, it is one of the most powerful tools a designer can have in their arsenal.

    After thinking about this week’s readings, videos, and assignments, I’m going to delve into the anatomy of type, explaining how several core components make up a typeface and ultimately the mood it conveys.

    Every Major Cog in the Machine

    After reading the first section of chapter 2: building blocks in the book, “Graphic Design for Everyone” it started to click for me. Just like the technology we have that uses lots of parts to make a device work, Typography has a nuanced anatomy with various components that make up its structure to create different typefaces. I’m going to teach you about three different components that make up the structure of a Typeface for you to better understand how designers can manipulate these things to create different typefaces.

    Ascenders

    The first component I want to examine is the ascender. An ascender is the part of the lowercase letter that extends above the x-height (the height of a font’s lowercase x). If a designer selects a font with high ascenders, it’s usually because they want a letter to be easily distinguishable. You’ll see this often with book titles, such as the example pictured below which would be used as a font for a fantasy book.

    Image Source: Creatype Studio

    Bowls

    The next component we’re going to look at is a bowl. This is the curved stroke that creates an enclosed space. This is a significant element of type design because the size, curvature, and proportions of the bowl can vary significantly depending on what typeface you’re using. A great juxtaposition to look at to better understand the bowl, is comparing the letters R and B and this article titled “Typography design 101: a guide to rules and terms” explains it perfectly.

    “The letters B, P and R are sister shapes, one being derived from the other. However, that doesn’t mean they have the same proportions. The bowl of the R needs to be slightly thinner so that when we connect the leg to it, it won’t become super thick. While the upper bowl of the B needs to be smaller than the bottom one, so that the letter appears more stable.”

    Image Source: 99Designs

    Serifs

    One of the most prevalent components in all typefaces is the presence or absence of a serif, a small, decorative extension at the ends of some strokes. This component defines whether a typeface is a serif type, or sans serif type. Serif types have this decorative extension and sans serif types do not. When you compare the two next to each other you can immediately tell a different mood is set. Serif typefaces typically look authoritative, professional and serious. Sans serif typefaces are usually quirky, whimsical and fun. Choosing these your typeface wisely based on your brand’s essence and expression can make or break your brand in terms of how it resonates with your intended target audience.  


    Although typography is the unsung hero when it comes to what the average person thinks of when they hear the word branding, understanding it and mastering it is one of the most useful skills a designer can build.

  • The Anatomy of Brand DNA

    The Anatomy of Brand DNA

    Staring at a blank canvas is overwhelming. Usually, we have an idea but taking a concept and turning it into reality to “get started” is where we have the most difficulty.

    This week, I learned about the different components of understanding your brand and why spending countless hours planning and researching will save you agita in the long run during the design phase.  Two concepts stood out to me the most and I want to emphasize why I think each of them is equally important in the world of branding.


    Brand Expression

    When it comes down to creating a brand plan there are four main stages in this process. Understanding the difference between creating your verbal brand and visual brand is paramount.

    When defining your verbal brand, you need to answer questions like:

    • What’s your brand’s summary line descriptor?
    • If you would describe your brand like a person with personality traits, how would you describe your brand?
    • If your brand were a person, how would it speak?

    Going through this consideration set with the New Haven Pickleball League, a small organization I am re-branding, I was able to establish the fact its tone of voice is chatty and informative, its values are inclusivity, positivity, an always learning mindset and passion, and its summary line is “Community over Competition.”

    Completing this exercise gets you one step closer to defining who your brand is and what audiences you want to connect with. After this, you can start to address the other side of the coin, visuals.


    Brand Essence

    Creating a visual language to convey the identity of your organization is a meticulous process. Collecting colors, images, and typefaces to make a mood board helped me organize my thoughts and start to think through what is central to the branding of the New Haven Pickleball League and figure out what’s that common thread that holds it all together.

    Selecting visuals that connect to your verbal brand and convey the words you chose that represent your brand is how you move forward in the design process to the fourth and final stage, development.

    Adaptable Aesthetics was at the top of mind while I was creating several versions of my logo. I used a combined mark with typography that conveys motion and unity (two constants in the world of Pickleball for all players). I also prioritized simplicity for my logo to work well in any context (business cards, water bottles, backpacks, apparel, etc.).

    Learning about the juxtaposition of a brand’s expression (verbal Language and positioning) and essence (visual language) has taught me how to use brand and design terminology, conduct research, and design brand components.

    An important distinction I took away from everything I’ve read and created this past week is that a logo is not a brand. It’s a unique design or symbol that represents an organization. A brand distills the nature of the experiences that consumers have when they come in contact with your business.

    I’m looking forward to delving deeper into typography over the next week and learning how it influences branding and visual design.

  • Why Social Media is The Best Trailer for Writers

    Image Source: Generated by Google Gemini

    If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? This metaphor can also be applied to releasing a long-form article on your blog.

    All great writers build a reputation on social media to connect with their audience and promote their work. Social media is part of the marketing mix and a necessary level of the funnel to get your customer (reader) to land on your website and read your article.

    Here are three social media post mock-ups teasing my upcoming article, “Social Media’s Obsession With Caffeine: The Reality of Consumption & Its Effects.”


    Instagram


    As attention spans shrink and more people are interested in entertaining and educational content that will stop them in their scroll, it’s vital to have eye-catching visuals for your Instagram post.

    In addition to using a futuristic dramatic visual that’s almost dystopian in some ways, I focused on making my caption short and pithy to motivate my followers to engage with the content.

    I encouraged them to read the article through the link in my bio since you can not hyperlink websites in Instagram captions.

    Now, I want to show you how I will promote this content through X.


    X

    For this post on X, I kept the tone very conversational by asking my followers a relatable question to start the post. After I posed the question, I transitioned to making a bold claim that poses a statement I know people will have different opinions on.

    The end of this post has several emojis to add some emotion and keep it casual. I used a pointing down finger emoji to act as a clear CTA. My followers can click that to read the article or click on the asset, the header image pre-populating my article.


    LinkedIn


    When I went to create this post for LinkedIn, I knew the tone of my copy would have to be slightly more serious. I wanted to focus on educational content that adds value while creating a hook that is a personal and relatable experience many of us have gone through.

    This hook is intriguing. Most people have had this thought. And if they haven’t, they are immediately curious to figure out what I’m talking about.

    Quantifying your opinions and research is popular on LinkedIn. When you have a number attached to your post, it validates you as a thought leader and trusted source.

    Social media posts are one of the most effective tools in the marketing mix to lead readers to long-form articles.

    I hope this encouraged you to read my long-form article, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about it!

  • Everything Good Doesn’t Have to Come to an End: Want to Know Why?

    Everything Good Doesn’t Have to Come to an End: Want to Know Why?

    Image Source: Generated by Google Gemini

    You’ve probably heard the phrase, everything good must come to an end. But what if I told you I disagree with that phrase? This famous proverb is an undertone used often in movies and television to express regret when something that brings you happiness ends. It’s also used to accept that even enjoyable experiences cannot last forever.

    When it comes to writing well, I believe there’s an exception to this proverb. Instead of focusing on the proverb’s literal meaning, the best writers take it one step further.

    The best writers prioritize leaving their readers with one provocative thought. Even if that “good” thing does end, writers cleverly do two things to get to this point with their readers.

    It’s as Easy as ABC

    Good writing knows how to spot the difference in scenarios with writing for the ear vs. writing for the eye. Writing for the Ear Instead of the Eye, an article by Jill Swenson, explains this concept perfectly.

    “Writing for print addresses the intellect: the intent is to communicate an idea or present the facts and let the reader infer the meaning and significance of the words. When you write for the ear, you want to evoke an experience, a set of sensations in the listeners.”

    Rhythm and alliteration matter for every sentence. As soon as you incorporate these things into your writing, you’re one step closer to having your readers hooked. There’s one more thing that can help you as a writer.

    Everyone Needs an Anchor

    Using unity to keep the reader from straggling off and satisfying their subconscious for order is the foundation of good writing. There are lots of variables you can choose as a writer to infuse unity into your writing. William Zinsser in his book, On Writing Well, explains this with the example of the unity of mood.

    “You might want to talk to the reader in the casual voice that The New Yorker had strenuously refined. Or you might want to approach the reader with a certain formality to describe a serious event. Both tones are acceptable. In fact, any tone is acceptable. But don’t mix two or three.”

    Everything good does come to an end, but that doesn’t mean you can’t harness the power of good writing to leave people wondering. Wondering about that new, provocative thought you left them. And wanting to read the next thing you write. Knowing how to write for the eye vs. ear and using unity are the first two steps. 

  • Don’t Look Into the Mirror For Too Long

    Don’t Look Into the Mirror For Too Long

    Image Source: Generated by Microsoft Copilot

    One of the easiest things to do is react before thinking. This goes for conversation, and even more so for writing.

    The words you say to someone or write in a communication must be chosen carefully. But there’s something equally important when it comes to writing.

    Understanding that if you write for yourself, there’s an inherent tradeoff.

    William Zinnser, author of On Writing Well, explores this and makes you ponder a complex contradiction. Zinnser argues that you need to simplify and shorten to remove clutter, but you also need to write in your own style that’s for yourself.

    Let us examine two issues he dives into that led me to my conclusion above.

    Zinnser says writers need to consider craft and attitude.

    Practice Makes Perfect

    Becoming a subject matter expert is important to build a foundation that turns into a reputation, but you need to have a realization first.

    Another article that explains this piece of this puzzle perfectly is The Source of Bad Writing by Steven Pinker.

    Pinker explains a concept called “The Curse of Knowledge.”  This is the belief that leads writers to assume readers know everything they know. He gives a great example of a speaker at a biology conference falling into this trap by giving a presentation packed with technical jargon geared to fellow scientists only.

    The speaker knew this presentation was being filmed and distributed to millions of people who aren’t scientists.

    Initial Impressions

    How you use a skill to express your personality defines how someone perceives you. In this case, it’s how your reader sees you as a writer.

    As a writer, an interesting and important consideration is giving the reader enough valuable information right away. Amy Schade, author of an article named, The Fold Manifesto: Why the Page Fold Still Matters, discusses the importance of this initial impression.

    “When users fail to see information of value, they stop scrolling. In usability testing, the occasional user does a “lay of the land” scroll to get a sense of what’s on a page before engaging, but this behavior is far from standard. Users scroll when there is reason to.”

    Writing for yourself has an inherent tradeoff if you don’t consider your craft and attitude as separate issues. Once you do and focus on reducing clutter, letting your style lead your writing, and following key principles, your writing will improve drastically.

  • Degrees and Detours: Using Empathy & Curiosity to Tell Stories

    Degrees and Detours: Using Empathy & Curiosity to Tell Stories


    Origins

    Kyle Adams is a 28-year-old who loves storytelling via writing and visuals. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2018 with a bachelor’s in public relations and a minor in Marketing. After working in agency environments for several years and gaining skills in traditional PR, content marketing, business development, and project management, he transitioned to higher education.

    For the last year and a half, Kyle has been working for the development department at Quinnipiac University, focusing on digital engagement. Kyle utilizes email marketing, social media, and web design to engage with Quinnipiac alumni, whether it’s event marketing, annual fundraising, or storytelling opportunities.

    Image Source: Quinnipiac Alumni Association


    The Quinnipiac Interactive Media and Communications graduate program interested Kyle because of the depth of its curriculum. He has a strong background in research, writing, and content marketing, but Kyle does not have a formal education in design, UI/UX, and other visual storytelling practices. He wants to develop and use these skills to engage and inspire people.


    Inspiration

    Image Source: Crocs

    One of Kyle’s favorite interactive media projects is a campaign created by the designer/artist Salehe Bembury. Specifically, his partnership with the footwear brand Crocs and his project, which released a brand-new Croc called the Croc Pollex.

    His social media promotions, activations in cities, and other marketing collateral grabbed Kyle’s and millions of others’ attention because it is ground-breaking work that goes against the grain.


    Aspirations

    Kyle wants to become more adept in digital writing and UI/UX work. He wants to grow into a career role focused on managing a university website. He wants to be responsible for the design and maintenance of a website’s content management system.

    Kyle is excited to learn from his peers in an immersive setting where everyone creates tangible work. He is especially looking forward to his classmates and instructors reviewing, critiquing, and offering new perspectives that will help him improve anything he creates.

    Something Kyle wants his classmates to know about him is that he’s passionate and curious. Both in his work and relationships, he leads with empathy and wanting to uncover the why behind someone’s opinion or the reason something works the way it does.

    Kyle is excited to take this Writing for Interactive Media course to sharpen his writing skills, learn from others, and get a chance to share his perspective on topics he hasn’t explored before.

  • Why Writing Well Can Be Your Road Map to Navigate Through the Instant Economy

    Why Writing Well Can Be Your Road Map to Navigate Through the Instant Economy

    Image Source: Generated by Google Gemini

    In 2025, we are living in a world known as the instant economy.

    Whether ordering your lunch with just one click, rescheduling an appointment through the voice technology of your phone, or even taking a picture of your check to deposit it directly into your bank account, all these actions have one thing in common.

    They are instant and frictionless.

    With the development and mainstream adoption of AI, delivery of news through social media, and connectivity of people through digital worlds, there is an expectation that everything will be instant.


    What is the bad thing about all of this?

    It is not as simple as categorizing this as a bad thing but rather an observation of a direct correlation.

    The rise of the instant economy has directly resulted in the regression of deep thinking and the ability to understand what we read and see online.


    What is the solution behind all of this?

    It is not a solution per se, but there is something you can practice to make sense of a topic and establish a clear perspective.

    Writing well.

    After I read an article titled 16 Rules of Blog Writing and Layout. Which Ones Are you Breaking?, I had a better understanding of the importance of incorporating things into your writing like:

    • Using images like that one at the beginning of this piece of writing
    • Having short paragraphs that are typically 2-3 sentences long
    • Using lists to create more white space and help people find information quickly

    Another article titled Is Google Making Us Stupid by Nicholas Carr has a quote from a playwright named Richard Foreman that captures the essence of this instant economy dilemma.

    “As we are drained of our inner repertory of dense cultural inheritance; we risk turning into pancake people-spread, wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.”

    The instant economy is here to stay, and there’s no argument about it or against it.

    Writing well, creating an environment conducive to deep thinking, and applying the principles of readability are just a few simple steps you can take to thrive in this new world we live in.