Department of Communication

Contact and Overview

Email Address

brittainll@appstate.edu

Office Hours

Monday: 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. (by Zoom)
Tuesday: 12:15-1:15 p.m.
Wednesday: 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. (by Zoom)
Thursday: 12:15-1:15 p.m.

Schedule an Appointment

Education

Ph.D., Visual Arts, Visual Culture, Visual Studies, Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (In progress)
M.A.,  Advertising Design, Syracuse University, Thesis: Exploring Silence in Television Advertising
B.S., Business Administration, Gardner Webb University
A.A., Visual Communication, Art Institute of Atlanta

Teaching

Currently Teaching (Spring 2024)

COM 3245 (App State Online) Intro to Promotional Video
COM 3440 Second Story Media
COM 3545 (App State Online) Portfolio Development
COM 4400 (App State Online)  Advertising Campaigns

Courses Taught

Foundations of Advertising
Communication Research Methods
Advertising Campaigns
Media Graphics
Copywriting for Advertising
Introduction to Media Publishing

Teaching Specialties

It is said that “money makes the world go round.” All you have to do is look at the worldwide economic crisis to know that is the truth. 

And nowhere is that more true than in America. We think, eat, breathe, live, and die according to the almighty power of the dollar. 

We are all consumers. And consumerism is the force that drives our nation and our world. And the language that defines the culture of consumerism is advertising. 

Advertising drives us. It binds us. It defines us. Gives us a common frame of reference for who we are and how we live. It helps determine what we wear, what we eat, where we live, how we live, how we see ourselves, and how we see others. Our entire existence is branded. Packaged. Positioned. Labeled. Bought and sold. Advertising does all that. Even money itself is advertising. Coins and currency didn’t just appear from the sky one day. Someone created money. It began as a concept, an idea, or a design, created for specific purposes. 

The ability to come up with those ideas, to speak the universal language of consumerism is what I teach.

Research Interests

Visual Literacy 
Silence

Publications

• Roam Magazine: Editor and Publisher 
• Roam Online Magazine: Publisher 
• Catawba County Magazine: Publisher 
• Haney Farm Online Magazine/Blog: Publisher 
• Catawba Chamber of Commerce Website and Newsletter: Contributor 
• Presenting the Seasons Magazine: Children’s Division Contributor 
• Health First Magazine: Art Director, Photographer, and Contributor 
• Bad Hair Day: Writer 
• Amphibians, Reptiles, and Mammals of Bermuda: Contributor  
• Advertising: Prentice Hall Books (Hong Kong): Contributor 

Speaking Events

• 09 International Conference on Arts and Humanities invited speaker 
• Appalachian State University Hickory Campus Open House: speaker 
• Appalachian State University Orientation Sessions: speaker 
• Catawba County Chamber of Commerce Woman's Conference guest speaker 
• Catawba County Chamber of Commerce Technology Conference guest speaker 
• Girl Scouts of America Regional Conference guest speaker 
• Southern Spa and Salon Conference guest speaker 
• Catawba Valley Community College guest speaker 
• Building Community Through Diversity Conference panel speaker 
• Invited to speak at the International Conference on Arts and Humanities 
• Invited to speak at Syracuse University Law Conference 
• Catawba Valley Community College guest speaker 
• Lenoir-Rhyne College guest speaker 
• Boards & Committees 
• Red Cross Board Member 
• Catawba Chamber of Commerce Board Member 
• Building Community Through Diversity Board Member 
• Catawba County Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee 
• Hickory Metro Higher Ed Center Advisory Committee 
• Faith in the Future Nomination Committee 
• Leadership Catawba Planning Committee 
• Catawba Science Center Planning Committee 
• Life In Limbo Foundation Art Contest Committee 

Volunteer

• Hickory Community Theater 
• Breast Cancer Survivors 
• Children Protection Council 
• March of Dimes 
• Family Builders of Catawba County 
• Young Life 
• Catawba County United Arts Fund 
• Western Piedmont Symphony 
• Viewmont Elementary School 
• Hickory Museum of Art 
• African American Cultural Center 
• Life in Limbo Foundation 
• United Way 
• Louise L Blake Foundation 
• Mental Health Fund 
• Hickory Public Schools 
• NC Wildlife Federation 
• YMCA of Catawba County 
• Aids Leadership Foothills Alliance 
• Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry 
• North Carolina Community Action Association 
• Catawba County Chamber of Commerce 
• Catawba County Council on Adolescents 
• Grandfather Mountain Home for Children 
• Catawba County Health Partners

Business Awards

• Catawba County Faith in the Future nominee: 2003 
• Catawba County Small Business Person of the Year winner: 1999 
• Catawba County Faith in the Future nominee: 2001 
• Avon Business Woman of Distinction nominee: 1998 
• Catawba County Small Business Woman of the Year nominee: 1997 
• Catawba County Small Business Person of the Year nominee: 1996 
• Catawba County Small Business Woman of the Year nominee: 1996 
• Leadership Catawba Graduate: 1995 

Creative & Business Awards

• Namta Best Tradeshow Booth Award - Speedball 
• National Mature Media Award - United Church Homes & Services 
• National Telecommunications Annual Report Award - Skyline Telephone Company 
• Namta Best Tradeshow Booth Award - Speedball Art Products 
• Syracuse University - Voted Bubba (Creative) Award 
• Namta Best of Tradeshow Booth Award - Speedball Art Products 
• Communicator Award - Classic Leather 
• Namta Best Tradeshow Booth Award - Speedball Art Products 
• Addy Award Citation - Shurtape 
• Communicator Award - Shurtape 
• Namta Best Tradeshow Booth Award - Speedball Art Products 
• Communicator Award - Cox Manufacturing 
• Addy Citation Award - Pillowtex 
• Addy Citation Award - Pillowtex 
• Silver Coast Design Award 
• Addy Citation Award - Shurtape 
• Addy Citation Award - Blue Ridge Community Action 
• Addy Citation Award - Blue Ridge Community Action 
• Healthcare Marketing Award - Frye Medical Center 
• Communicator Award - Lenoir-Rhyne College 
• Advertising Readership Award - Shurtape 
• Harvey Communication Measurement-1st Place Winner 
• Addy Citation Award - Synergy Advertising 
• Namta Best of Tradeshow Booth Award - Speedball 
• Outstanding Advertising Readership Award - Special Metals Welding Products Company 
• Addy Citation Award - Speedball Art 
• AdQ Award - Inco Alloys International Welding Products Company 
• Addy Citation Award - Pillowtex 
• Addy Citation Award - Shurtape 
• Addy Citation Award - Blue Ridge Community Action 
• Advertising Readership Award - Shurtape 
• Harvey Communication Measurement-1st Place Winner 
• Healthcare Marketing Award - Lincoln Medical Center 
• Advertising Readership Award - Shurtape 
• Harvey Communication Measurement-1st Place Winner 
• Outstanding Advertising Readership Award - Special Metals Welding Products Company 
• Addy Citation Award - Speedykids 
• Addy Citation Award - Catawba Council on Adolescents 
• Addy Citation Award - Paragon Mechanical 
• Outstanding Advertising Readership Award - Special Metals Welding Products Company 
• Advertising Readership Award - Shurtape 
• Harvey Communication Measurement-1st Place Winner 
• AdQ Award - Inco Alloys International Welding Products Company 
• Outstanding Advertising Readership Award - Special Metals Welding Products Company 
• Outstanding Advertising Readership Award - Special Metals Welding Products Company 
• PICA Award: Synergy Advertising & Design 
• Atlanta Symphony Poster Award 

My ideal job description would be to never have a job description. 

My ideal job would be a combination of art, photography, design, learning, teaching and living, where I could follow my creative impulses and help others follow theirs as well. No day would ever be the same and I would never want to do anything the same way twice. I would explore the world, drawing inspiration from the places, people and experiences I would encounter in my travels, then bring those sights, ideas and experiences home to share with others through my art and through my teaching. I would be an artist, a student, a teacher, an explorer, a mentor, and a life coach, weaving together all those disciplines, experiences. lessons and perspectives to achieve a deeper understanding of the world in which we live, the people around me and myself. My job would be a never-ending quest to master new skills, to understand new ways of thinking and to experience life surrounded by people from all walks of life all throughout the world. As clichéd as it sounds, I would want to be a student of life, for life. 

I feel grateful, my position in the Department of Communication at Appalachian State University is the description of my ideal job.