When Keenan Cummings began research for his final Bachelor of Fine Arts project more than a year ago, he knew he wanted to do more than design something that was impressively artistic.

Cummings, a senior from Canyon Country, Calif., majoring in graphic design, wanted to use his abilities to potentially solve a problem in his community-the BYU community.

After much thought, Cummings decided to apply his research to redesigning The Daily Universe. His thesis was to see if information design applied to The Daily Universe could make it more effective, useful and important to the students and faculty.

Cummings said information design is the way information is organized and transmitted.

"It's everything from a subway map to the way a dictionary is organized," Cummings said. "The things you might never consider but someone has taken the time to design the way it flows, the way it's presented."

At first glance, Cummings' project just looks like a simplified version of the BYU newspaper, and in many ways, it is. After a closer inspection, however, his innovative ideas become clearer.

For example, at the bottom of the front page is a calendar that signifies important dates, school days and weekends. Cummings' version of the paper includes graphics illustrated by BFA students in addition to a few photographs.

Cummings acknowledged the importance of a campus newspaper as a tool for students. "It's really meant to provide experience for students and exposure for their work," he said.

The front page of the redesigned Daily Universe includes information Cummings thinks is most relevant to students. The weather, day of the week and date is printed in a large font in the top right corner where it is easy to see, and the world news is located at the bottom. In the current Daily Universe, the world news is on page two.

Cummings also renamed the popular Reader's Forum "The Daily Discussion" and has extended it to include an online version where the discussion can be ongoing at thedailydiscussion.com.

People like to have a copy of the newspaper they can hold in their hands, but "as time changes, it creates new demands," Cummings said. "They [print and web] need to complement each other."

Warren Bingham, advertising design and layout manager of The Daily Universe, described Cummings' Web site as a fair and valid idea.

"It's ... a hybrid between a blog and an opinion page," Bingham said.

The back of Cummings' paper describes each of the five primary features integrated into his redesign, including daily vitals, print and web integration and consistency.

Jon Troutman, one of Cummings' classmates, said he admired the way Cummings took the assignment to heart and produced something that is "not self-aggrandizing, but meant to be functional. It's smart design, not just design for the sake of design."

After completing his project that began as a 20-page research paper, Cummings said he learned he needs to address real issues in his work.

"I consider my work as a designer more than making things look cool," he said. "There are many ways that graphic design can solve problems."

Cummings' final work is currently on display on the fifth floor of the Harris Fine Arts Center and will be there until Oct. 11. The exhibit includes copies of his newspaper, as well as a computer logged in to thedailydiscussion.com, where students can share their comments and ideas about the project.

If Cummings receives enough positive feedback, he said he would love to use it as "a vehicle for pushing the DU to consider the changes. ... By commenting at thedailydiscussion.com, students can give their opinion and voice to support this cause."

abbycrich@gmail.com

Copyright Brigham Young University 9 Sep 2008