I am Dr. Shannon Zenner, a recognized professional in the field of visual communication and design, currently serving as an Assistant Professor at Elon University. My career path has led me through various sectors, including notable stints at eminent advertising agencies such as Grey Worldwide and TM Advertising. I've had the privilege to work with a diverse range of clients, including Bank of America, Justin Boots, Bell Helicopter, Dairy Queen, and Nortel Networks, experiences that have significantly broadened and enriched my professional portfolio.
With over a decade of teaching experience under my belt, I've shared my knowledge across various disciplines such as graphic design, digital illustration, photography, art direction, and advertising at several educational institutions. My deep understanding and practical experience in advertising are channeled into creating engaging and real-world lessons for my students.
My research interests lie at the intersection of visual communication and political advertising. I am particularly intrigued by how differences in audience visual tastes can impact their perceptions of political advertisements. My current work primarily involves a quantitative approach, using surveys and experiments to explore areas such as political candidate branding, logos, yard signs, and typography choices.
Currently, I am part of a team investigating 'conservative' or 'liberal' typefaces and their potential effects on candidate branding. In an effort to find patterns, I am in the process of building a comprehensive database of political yard signs. This undertaking involves a combination of content and network analysis to identify potential links between the decisions that local candidates make to appeal to their audiences, compared to those made by national political candidates.