Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection

SYSTEMA NERVOSUM is an interdisciplinary personal narrative on design, music, and identity. The project is composed of eleven parts, each addressing the themes of interconnection, the power of the human body, internal and external misunderstanding, and fear. The goal of SYSTEMA NERVOSUM was to create a body of work that reflected the very essence of creative and interdisciplinary thinking.

Battered is a socially responsible bakery focused on providing prevention awareness, education, and donations to sexual violence awareness and aid. The bakery model will provide education resources within each order on the problem and current availability of aid and donations for local and national charities that assist in sexual violence aid and awareness. In order to assist in prevention and aid, Battered will create a safe environment and non-confrontational outlet for a taboo conversation; offering sweet treats in conjunction with aid and education of sexual violence awareness. Additionally, the company will donate 10% of all profits to local and national organizations that help victims of sexual violence.

This thesis is concerned with the political implications of two of Jacques-Louis David's paintings: Oath of the Horatii (1784) and The Lictors Bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (1789). In this thesis, I argue that David’s pre-Revolutionary work contained political anticipations of Revolutionary France articulated in his Neoclassical forms, the classical stories he chose to paint, his own narrative innovations using light, color, gender, unusual scenes and the thematic conflict of the state vs the individual and family.

Base of the pyramid (BoP) theory was posited in 2002, as a revolutionary method to combine profit and purpose. In this paper the concept of BoP is explored by delving into the development of the idea. Understanding the successes and failures of each iteration provides the opportunity to coalesce the efficacy of BoP. This leads into a dissemination of elements of successful BoP implementations. These elements establish concepts that are vital to any semblance of BoP success. Case studies then develop the complexity and nuance of BoP implementation; establishing there is no cookie-cutter formula for success. Ultimately, base of the pyramid emerges as a much more deeply complicated concept than originally suggested. Despite the ambiguity of BoP, the theory continues to be one of the most viable opportunities for correcting the inequalities of the world.

Within the last decade, it has become increasingly apparent that the effects of climate change are getting harder and harder to ignore. This fact has led to increased interest in sustainability and an increased pressure from consumers to have these ideals implemented into a variety of global industries. The fashion industry, in particular, has been facing this pressure toward the desire for sustainable products is the fashion industry. Over the last five years, sustainability has become a main focus within the fashion industry. Countless brands now include sustainability within their marketing tactics and a variety of fashion organizations release reports on the unsustainable practices that currently dominate fashion production. These misleading marketing tactics and enigmatic intensive reports lead to confusion on what sustainable fashion actually looks like for both consumers and suppliers alike.<br/> This report attempts to help tackle this problem by using sustainable fashion certifications as a tactic to prove sustainability within business procedures. To compare eight of the most common fashion certifications, this paper assumes a systems thinking approach to creating an assessment framework, which is then applied to said certifications. To back up the importance of the topic, this paper presents key points of the current issues related to this case, which then contribute to the integration of basic sustainability assessment criteria and case-specific factors into overarching core criteria. The application of this framework is utilized to determine which certifications cover certain aspects of the curated core criteria. This is then used to present consumers and manufacturers with a more accurate understanding of each of these certifications. This information is then followed up with a recommendation of certifications that align most within researched-based consumer and supplier desires.

This project aims to understand how eating disorder psychopathology, specifically with Bulimia Nervosa, is perpetuated, particularly by the unspoken rules of society that inadvertently provoke self -shame and discomfort by promoting a singular mold of beauty. Personally, I want to dissect the various psychological components that one faces when falling into this self-destructive disorder through the use of research and visual play. Art is a catalyst in unveiling the complexities of the human condition that are often concealed by those who feel them intimately, which is why it is a necessary means to reveal what is typically kept secret. Granted, it is worth noting that the paintings produced are meant to evoke a specific headspace rather than be a tool for art therapy.

This thesis project consists of a digital creative booklet educating consumers on the issue of fast fashion and the overconsumption of clothing. It also consists of easy to follow recommendations for consumers to begin their sustainable journey in fashion as well as resources for them to use to educate themselves further. The goal of the document is to be an introductory educational tool that spreads awareness while also being easy to understand and visually appealing.

This thesis will bring together students to engage in entrepreneurship by finding, measuring and sharing strategic market opportunities. From a student’s perspective, it will take a deep dive into the world of startup ecosystems, markets and trends utilizing both qualitative and quantitative market research techniques. The information gathered has been curated into a productive, meaningful manner, through a report titled “The State of Startups: A Student Perspective.” <br/> The first key theme of this thesis is that market intelligence can be a powerful tool. The second key theme is the power of knowledge implementation towards competitive strategies. The first section of the thesis will focus on identifying and understanding the current “startup” landscape as a basis on which to build strategic and impactful business decisions. This will be accomplished as the team conducts a landscape analysis focused on the student perspective of the student-based North American “entrepreneurial” ecosystem. The second section of the thesis will focus specifically on the personal experiences of student startup founders. This will be accomplished through the analysis of interviews with founders of the startups researched from the first section of the thesis. This will provide us with a direct insight into the student perspective of the student-based North American “entrepreneurial” ecosystem.

Virans is a book comprised of illustrations, hand-written text, and digital elements The book was conceived as an encapsulation of the broad social changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. With a unique art style utilizing distorted human forms, complex line patterns, pointillism, and flat compositions, each of the book's 15 spreads represent an issue observed during the pandemic. These issues include isolation, political concerns, conspiracy theories, and the overall human toll of the pandemic.