DLE INTERN JASON MCGILL LAUNCHES A LIVE ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE 

What does it take to earn a master’s degree today? DLE Creative Intern Jason McGill details his steps to achieving a master’s degree in multimedia & design at Syracuse University. Jason tells his story in this feature article.

I completed my final dissertation for my MS in multimedia & design from the Newhouse School of Public Communications. My program concentration was digital design and user experience, complementing my undergraduate studies at SU in information technology & web development. 

The program focused on a variety of aspects of multimedia, including visual design, content writing, photography, video, and creative production in the context of professional communications. The track that I selected focused on the digital side of brand and experience design, and the coursework that I took was heavily aligned to producing professional creative work for websites and social media.

I wanted to develop a cumulative master’s project that aligned with my graduate studies area of focus and my professional goals. I decided to establish HypeBeats, a project that showcased the Central New York live entertainment scene within the electronic and dance music space, in the form of an original storytelling brand and website.

The beginnings of HypeBeats started with what the constraints and objectives of the project would be and what I would need to accomplish the goals I had established. Starting with market research and user data was key in determining what the project’s execution would look like. From there, I developed a brand style guide to serve as the basis of the look, feel, and creative design. 

After the visuals, photos, and videos for the project were completed, the next step was developing the brand website. Thinking about the user experience and how the audience would interact with the site, full designs were created that aligned with the HypeBeats brand guidelines.

In the development process, I knew that I also needed to write engaging content to complement the work being showcased, additionally keeping in mind that many users would be accessing HypeBeats through their mobile devices. With all of this in mind, I was able to develop an eye-catching, responsive, functioning live website that was aligned with the HypeBeats brand and showcased the variety of content that I produced. Additionally, I developed several social media pages to serve as supplemental content to market the brand.

In the future, I would like to continue my work on the creative side of digital branding and communications, focusing on the entertainment industry. I am hopeful that my academic and professional journey will allow me to continue reaching my goals.

Before joining my family in Maryland for the holidays, I decided to set out on another adventure, traveling for 10 days throughout the U.K. and in Stockholm.