STUDENT PROJECTS
One Tree, Two Futures
A powerful demonstration of media literacy in practice, moving beyond critical analysis to active media creation. At its core, media literacy education teaches that all media messages are constructed for a specific purpose, contain embedded values, and use a creative language to communicate with an audience. In this piece, the student acts as a media creator, intentionally designing a visual narrative to persuade viewers to take action on environmental issues. The project effectively uses the creative language of media by employing a stark visual contrast—a dying, polluted tree versus a vibrant, healthy one—to symbolize the two potential futures our choices can create. the student demonstrates a sophisticated ability to produce a media text for self-expression and civic engagement, showcasing how media creation can be a tool for advocating for important social issues.
The Eye of Palestine
This powerful artwork uses the map of historic Palestine, filled with the pattern of the Keffiyeh, as its canvas. Centered within the map is a large, realistic eye, its iris rendered as the Palestinian flag. As a media literacy project, it masterfully combines these symbols to convey a personal perspective on national identity, heritage, and land, challenging the viewer to see the human vision behind the geopolitical outlines. The piece powerfully argues that one's identity shapes how they see the world, and vice-versa. The student employs selective color, rendering the entire image in grayscale except for the vibrant, symbolic colors of the Palestinian flag within the eye's iris.
The Evolution of a Brand
This comprehensive media literacy project demonstrates the complete evolution of a brand, from a simple idea to a full digital campaign. Originating in class as a charming hand-drawn sketch of a smiling Tagine mascot, the concept was then digitally refined on Canvas into a polished bottle design, showcasing graphic design skills. The project culminated in a transmedia expansion with the creation of a video ad, showing an advanced ability to adapt a brand's narrative across different platforms. This entire process mirrors a professional workflow, effectively bridging the gap between a raw creative concept and a cohesive, culturally-rooted brand identity ready for a modern audience.
Crafting a Nation's Wings
As a masterful act of media creation, this project envisions "Tiyara Airlines" by creatively fusing the dynamic energy of graffiti street art with the proud symbols of Moroccan identity. The design thoughtfully weaves together inclusive language in both Moroccan Darija and the Amazigh Tifinagh script, the iconic Atlas Lion emblem, and the vibrant national colors of red and green. This synthesis crafts a powerful and optimistic narrative of a modern Morocco—one that is deeply grounded in its diverse heritage yet boldly creative in its flight toward the future.
The Fish With X's for Eyes
This student’s artwork is a direct and heartfelt plea to stop ocean pollution. Dominated by the bold, hand-drawn command "STOP, Don't Do That" the piece depicts a sad scene of aquatic life struggling in littered water. Floating among plastic bottles and other trash, distressed fish swim while one lies dead, its eyes marked with stark 'X's. The simple, poignant message, "Don't do that," transforms the drawing from a mere illustration into a personal and urgent request, reminding us of the direct and fatal consequences of pollution on nature.
Free to Play
This powerful concept sketch reimagines a brand logo for "AGAMING" by placing Amazigh identity at its heart. The design prominently features the Amazigh "yaz" (ⵣ) symbol, representing the "free man," which cleverly forms the "A" in the brand name. The competitive slogan, "Play To Win," takes on a deeper meaning, suggesting not just victory in the game, but also a triumph of cultural expression and identity in the digital world. Anchored by a detailed sketch of a modern game controller, the artwork powerfully bridges ancient heritage with contemporary gaming culture, creating a brand that is both proud of its roots and ready to compete. (project 3)
Anatomy of an Ad: A SHEGLAM Case Study
This media literacy project critically examines modern beauty advertising by creating a sample advertisement for the popular brand SHEGLAM. The student effectively employs several persuasive techniques to deconstruct: sensory association is used by linking the lip gloss to fresh strawberries, implying a sweet flavor and natural quality. The vibrant pink and red color palette, combined with playful elements like stars and a handwritten font, is strategically chosen to appeal to a young, trend-conscious demographic. The project serves as a practical analysis of how fast-beauty brands construct an image of fun, desirability, and freshness to engage their target consumers and drive purchases.
Selling Urgency
This media literacy project masterfully deconstructs how the global fast-fashion giant ZARA employs cultural semiotics to create a localized and persuasive advertisement for a Moroccan audience. The student's hand-drawn, "low-fi" aesthetic mimics authentic social media content, but its true genius lies in its cultural coding. The use of red and green directly evokes the colors of the Moroccan flag, while the star atop the apple is a clear nod to the pentagram that forms the flag's central emblem. This patriotic appeal is grounded by the "ZARA.ma" domain, explicitly localizing the brand for Moroccan consumers. By combining these national symbols with universal digital triggers—such as manufactured social proof (219K likes) and intense urgency ("Only for 24h")—the project demonstrates how a global corporation can forge an intimate, patriotic connection to drive sales, making an urgent call to consume feel both familiar and compelling.
Color Theory in Logos
This media literacy project analyzes the strategic use of color theory to build a unique brand identity for "Touijin," a modern Moroccan restaurant. The logo's power lies in its deliberate and unconventional color palette, which communicates the restaurant's core concept: a fresh twist on tradition. The earthy brown of the tajine pot grounds the brand in authenticity, evoking the natural clay of the vessel and the rich, slow-cooked spices of the cuisine. This traditional foundation is brilliantly juxtaposed with a bold, energetic red, a color that signifies passion, excitement, and urgency. Paired with this is a bright yellow, which injects a sense of happiness and warmth, reminiscent of key Moroccan spices like saffron and turmeric. The deliberate combination of red and yellow is a classic and powerful strategy in the restaurant industry. This specific pairing is psychologically proven to stimulate the appetite, grab attention, and create a sense of satisfaction, making it a highly effective choice for a food-related brand. The overall effect, amplified by the welcoming, hand-drawn style, creates a brand identity that feels both homemade and refreshingly contemporary.
Morocco's Environmental Call
This artwork is a powerful and direct media literacy project addressing environmental concerns, specifically focused on "Moroccan Weather" and its ecological future. The sketch uses a clear visual metaphor to communicate the urgency of pollution and water scarcity. At the top, industrial structures with prominent smokestacks sit upon what appears to be a fragmented landmass or ice floe. These structures emit dark smoke into the sky, and even more strikingly, dark, contaminated liquid drips from beneath the landmass into a glass below, implying both melting and pollution. To the left, a "Stop" sign reinforces the call for action, while on the right, a universal exclamation mark within a warning triangle highlights the danger. The Arabic text at the bottom, further grounds the message culturally, speaking directly to a Moroccan audience about collaboration for water and a clear future.
From Consumer to Creator
This media literacy project by Fatima Ezzaha elkhalfi cleverly uses the conceptual creation of a watch brand, "SET YOUR TIME" (SYT), to embody the principles of critical media consumption. The brand's name is a directive to reclaim one's attention from the digital "attention economy," while the choice of an analog watch promotes mindful, single-purpose engagement. The "WATERRESIST" feature is a potent metaphor for building resilience against the flood of online misinformation. The hand-drawn, schematic style reinforces the project's theme of deconstructing polished media and empowering the individual as a conscious creator. (project 5)
Drawn by Hand, Built for the Future
This project analyzes how the "Engineering Adam & Imran" logo uses a hand-drawn style to build a creative and competent brand identity. The professional tone is set by the cool blue, a color suggesting clarity, innovation, and technical expertise. Critically, the logo rejects perfect, machine-like precision by using deliberately asymmetrical lines in its cityscape. This "blueprint" aesthetic, with its active crane and varied buildings, portrays engineering not as a rigid, sterile process but as a dynamic and human-centered act of creation, highlighting the personal, hands-on vision of Adam and Imran.
How Oulmes Sells Authenticity
This project analyzes the "Chreb o Tmete3" advertising campaign for Oulmes flavored sparkling water, which strategically rejects polished corporate aesthetics in favor of a disarmingly simple, child-like crayon drawing. By juxtaposing the product with cultural signifiers of youth—a guitar and a speaker—the ad bypasses the traditional language of marketing to forge a more intimate connection with a new generation of Moroccan consumers. This analysis argues that the campaign’s lo-fi, nostalgic visuals and use of colloquial Darija are not simplistic, but a sophisticated strategy to embed the brand within an authentic cultural landscape of music, creativity, and uncomplicated joy.
Anti-Littering Media
This project analyzes an anti-littering poster that strategically employs a raw, minimalist aesthetic to confront the viewer. Rendered in bold crayon and marker, the piece rejects polished design in favor of a stark, unrefined visual language that enhances its emotional sincerity. The central element, the phrase "i love you," transforms the poster from a public service announcement into an intimate confession from the environment itself. This analysis argues that the poster's power lies in its directness; by stripping away artifice, the artist forces a visceral connection, reframing pollution not as a faceless ecological problem, but as a personal and painful betrayal of a loving world.
The Power of a Sketch: Crafting a National Symbol
the artwork powerfully reframes military might as a necessary shield for cultural preservation. The hyper-modern fighter jet, branded with the student's personal initials and the nation's historic pentagram, is presented not as a threat to tradition, but as its fierce guardian in a complex world. By fusing a symbol of technological advancement with one of deep-rooted heritage, the sketch makes a compelling statement: a culture's survival and vibrancy are ensured by a modern identity that is strong, assertive, and unapologetic in its duty to protect its past while flying into the future.
The Colors of My Heritage
This vibrant child's drawing is a joyful and powerful celebration of cultural identity. The central figure, a woman in a striking red and green dress adorned with gold jewelry, evokes a sense of tradition and celebration. The artist's personal creativity shines through in the imaginative choice of long pink hair, beautifully blending personal expression with cultural representation. The explicit, heartfelt message, "BE Proud of Your culture!", is reinforced by the simple but profound Arabic word "الحب" (Al-Hubb), meaning "Love," connecting the act of cultural pride directly to a universal emotion. (project 4)
