WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., March 1, 2022 — West Liberty University students studying public relations recently researched and developed a logo concept for the Belmont County Animal Shelter, then reached out to art students to refine and complete the finished product.
The public relations students working on this project include Kayla Deem, Kenley George, Lizzy Griffith and Brianna Hamon. Their goal is to create a rebranding that includes social media outreach, logo design and more.
Professor Ryan McCullough is the capstone director for the students in his Public Relations Cases and Campaigns class.
“Our PR students first had to listen to their client, in this case the Belmont County Animal Shelter, research and come up with a logo that reflected the shelter’s needs and identity,” said McCullough, who is an associate professor of communication in the Department of Media and Visual Arts of WLU’s College of Liberal and Creative Arts.
“I am very excited to see this type of multidisciplinary teamwork happening within the Media and Visual Arts department. I hope to see more opportunities for collaboration in the future,” agreed Sarah Davis, associate professor of Media and Visual Arts, who worked with the art students in completing the project.
“For public relations and designers to work together, it is essential to be able to communicate your ideas verbally, as well as in written and visual formats. I cannot stress enough how valuable these combined communication skills are for the students’ future careers! And it is so refreshing to work with communication majors who understand the design process,” Davis said.
Final designs representing several possible logo solutions were shared with the public relations student on February 18 and from there, the Belmont County Animal Shelter selected one winning result.
Bellaire resident Lisa Duvall is the director of the Shelter and is very satisfied with the students’ work, calling it “wonderful.”
“I’m excited to be able to participate with my group in working with the Belmont County Animal Shelter. I feel that this project is already providing me with helpful experiences that will benefit me in the future. I am sure that for the remainder of the semester I will only continue to learn more,” said Kayla Deem, who is from Williamstown, W.Va.
Throughout the semester until May, the public relations students will be assisting the shelter with more media projects including social media outreach on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Their hope is that the shelter gains a bigger audience and builds its brand so that the animals housed there can get adopted and find good homes.
The College of Liberal and Creative Arts offers undergraduate majors in both broadcasting and media communications, along with minors in both public relations and journalism. For complete information please click here.
