I began my research for the Unit 2 project by trying to gain as much background information as possible about my graphic design professor, Elizabeth O'Neil. This began with a simple Google search of her name. I discovered that it was helpful to include a location (“Syracuse”) alongside her name, since there are several individuals named Elizabeth O'Neil. From there, I located her LinkedIn profile to learn more relevant information about her background, including her past experience in graphic design and the projects she has worked on. I discovered that she has worked for multiple graphic design agencies and brands, such as KHJ Brand Activation, Arquent, and Brew Dr. Kombucha. She also has experience teaching several graphic design classes, currently at Syracuse University and previously at Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES. This research informed me that O'Neil has extensive experience in her field and has worked with many different people who bring varying perspectives to graphic design. I also found on her portfolio that she has completed a wide range of projects, including logo development, restaurant branding, web design, and social media graphics. Among these projects, I eventually decided to focus on her Mesa Masa Mexican restaurant logo.
When it came time to find a secondary source to support my project, the first step was determining the art-related idea I wanted to focus on. After identifying this idea, I selected key terms from that statement to search in the library portal under the graphic design section. Because my art-related idea was that “artistic expression in graphic design manifests itself in the process of exploration, not necessarily in the final product,” I searched terms such as “creativity,” “graphic design,” “artistic expression,” and “exploration.” It took some experimentation with different keywords and filters before I eventually came across the source “Creativity in the Design Process: Co-evolution of Problem–Solution.” Reading this source, I started with the abstract to see what it was all about. After reading more, I decided that this source was a strong fit for my project. Not only was it written by two experts in graphic design, but it also uses a study to introduce a concept similar to the one Professor O'Neil highlights in the art-related idea, though expressed with some different language and supported by scientific research.
I began incorporating this source into my composition by carefully selecting a quote from the article that could further my audience’s understanding of the art-related idea and make them more interested in reading my transcribed interview. After including the quote, I used my own words to connect it back to the art-related idea and to Professor O’Neil’s perspective. However, after receiving the Rhetorical Sourcing handout, I realized that I had somewhat skipped the step of properly introducing the source and its authors. Instead of providing context about the article and the writers, I gave my audience very little background information and essentially presented the quote without explanation. To improve this, I added more background information about the source and approached it with the assumption that my audience knew nothing about it. I also established even clearer connections between the quote and the art-related idea, repeating key-words and making stronger links to the new material. It's challenging to articulate connections you made inside of your head into written words for an audience, especially when word count is restricted. I often have a hard time with this, but I think putting rhetorical sourcing into practice during this project made me so much better at it.