Third Year Graphic Design Major Project “Raising Paws”

How did the French Bulldog and Pug become trendy? What makes these dog breeds so desirable and ‘in’? How can these notions of ‘trendy’ be re-interpreted within an online promotional context? Could it have the potential to impact Greyhound adoption by making the breed more desirable? These have been the driving questions behind my major work that led to my two key themes that underpin my project: ‘Trendiness’ and ‘Cute as Currency’. These themes formed the basis of my sticker and gif set, allowing me to create a different type of awareness campaign. Using online stickers and gifs allow me to target a large audience surreptitiously, making the audience feel like it is their idea to see Greyhounds differently as a cute household pet rather than a racing animal. Through utilising ‘cute’ in a Greyhound character appearing in online stickers and gifs, I am re-contextualising what it means to be a Greyhound. My major project is focused on raising the status of greyhounds and removing the negative connotations and stigmas attached to the breed due to Greyhound Racing. To do this I created the character Pistachio, a cute animated greyhound, who appears in the Raising Paws digital sticker and gif set (sixteen stickers and sixteen gifs). In this set, Pistachio expresses various emotions and alter egos that can be used throughout any online conversation. To view the gifs online go to: https://giphy.com/channel/raising-paws For this project I incorporated illustration, animation, branding strategies and copywriting skills from my creative writing minor. Find below the sixteen stickers, a video of the animated gifs, the final portfolio in gif form and pictures from my graduate exhibition.