Preparing for your course

As you prepare to join the course, this summer task is designed to encourage reflection on how content creators engage audiences through digital storytelling, branding and strategic design.

Your task is to choose a content creator, brand or platform whose approach to content creation you find compelling. This might be a digital campaign, a branded social media presence, a podcast, a YouTube channel, or a creator whose work combines originality with strategic clarity.

Use your reading list of websites, independent magazines, or archive platforms to help you.

When making your choice, consider:

• What makes their content engaging or distinctive?
• How do they tell a story through format, platform or tone?
• What type of audience do they attract, and how do they communicate with them?

Once selected, please collect three examples of their content. You can do this with screenshots on your phone, saved clips or printed visuals.

During your first week, you'll be asked to share your examples and briefly explain your choice. This isn't a formal assessment but an opportunity to begin conversations about creative communication and digital strategy.

Have fun exploring, surprise us and be bold in your choices.

• Chaffey, D. & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2022). Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice (8th Edition). Pearson.
• Barker, M., Bormann, N., Roberts, M., & Zahay, D. (2020). Social Media Marketing: A Strategic Approach (3rd Edition). Cengage Learning.

Many of these magazines are costly, but you don’t need to buy them all. Most are also available via AUB Library subscriptions.

• Aesthetica
• Aperture
• Dazed
• Elephant
• I-D
• Holiday
• Pop
• Selvedge
• The Beauty Papers
• The Gentlewoman
• Fantastic Man

• https://www.wallpaper.com/art
• https://www.wgsn.com/en
• www.nowness.com
• www.showstudio.com (Nick Knight, the founder, is an AUB alumnus)
• https://www.vice.com/en

Classic films with iconic style and creative impact– we’ll add to this list when you are here.

• A Clockwork Orange (1972) – Kubrick’s stylised dystopia is known for its provocative visual language. It blends brutalist architecture, surreal interiors, and striking costumes to create a disturbing yet influential vision of the future.
• Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) – The film helped define modern elegance through its visual minimalism and urban sophistication. Audrey Hepburn’s portrayal of Holly Golightly became a lasting symbol of aspirational style and cosmopolitan charm.
• Metropolis (1927) – Metropolis is a pioneering Art Deco work of science fiction, celebrated for its monumental set design and visual effects. Its aesthetic legacy can be seen in countless depictions of dystopian futures, from cinema to architecture.
• Barbarella (1968) – This cult science fiction film is renowned for its imaginative world-building and playful, sensual tone. Its use of avant-garde costume and pop-art design helped shape the visual language of camp and retro-futurism.
• The Wicker Man (1973) – Set within an isolated rural community, the film’s use of natural landscapes, folk imagery and ritualistic detail created a haunting atmosphere that redefined the visual potential of British horror.
• The Virgin Suicides (1999) – Sofia Coppola’s debut established her signature ethereal aesthetic. Through soft lighting, muted colour palettes and dreamlike pacing, the film captures adolescence's emotional distance and fragility.
• Blade Runner (1982) – Ridley Scott’s vision of a decaying future Los Angeles redefined cinematic world-building. With its fusion of noir cinematography, urban decay and neon-lit atmospheres, the film continues to shape the aesthetic of science fiction.