Barabashka — New Horizons™
The author’s reasoning about how communication theory works in the field of design
Design is not just aesthetics; it is a fundamental act of communication. Communication theory transforms creativity into a targeted, effective strategy. This strategy is guided by Message Design Logics -expressive, conventional, and rhetorical-which recognize that communication is not uniform, but must be adapted to context and audience to drive understanding and change.
Design is a Language. We use semiotics to build a consistent visual vocabulary. Every color, font, and image is a meaningful symbol. Design is Persuasion. We craft visual arguments (ethos, pathos, logos) and adapt our approach based on whether the audience is processing deeply or peripherally. Design is Storytelling. People connect with stories. We structure brand narratives visually: problem, hero, solution, and moral.
Design is Shaped by its Medium. The platform (website, report, social feed) is part of the message. We design for the specific ecosystem. Design Builds Worlds. We create consistent, structured touchpoints to make brand values tangible and foster community. Design Serves User Needs. Effective design fulfills the audience’s needs for identity, information, connection, or entertainment.
Moving beyond a simple transmission model, this approach treats communication as a bidirectional, dynamic exchange. Design creates contextual events for engagement, shifting focus from static objects to dynamic persuasion that actively shapes understanding, influences behavior, and facilitates meaning-making.
Presentation for a general audience
«Barabashka the Mischievous™» is a two-minute comedy cartoon about schoolchildren who got lost in the forest and met an ugly, terrible mystical monster named Barabashka.
In this project, we present concepts of media holding «Barabashka — New Horizons™» and an animation studio «Butterfly’s Little Spring Productions™».
You will see branded merchandise, concepts for a theme park, film adaptations and visualizations of studio spaces where animation magic takes place.
Merchandise and amusement facilities
Everyone likes our cartoon! That’s why we present a product line and a whole theme park with your favorite characters.
Play with branded Barabashka toys!
Wear branded Barabashka T-shirts!
Ride in a branded Barabashka mobile!
Visit the branded theme park Barabashka Land!
The film adaptation
We follow trends and come up with completely new fashion content. Hurry up to see the film adaptation of «Barabashka the Mischievous» in your cinemas in 2030!
Presentation for a professional audience
The expansive universe of «Barabashka — New Horizons™» traces its roots back to «Butterfly’s Little Spring™». What began as a dedicated animation studio has evolved into the alma mater of our entire media holding—the spiritual and creative home of our brand. Now it’s primary goal is to expand the «Barabashka — New Horizons™» branding'… horizons!
Our approach
For whom we exist? Target Audience: Children aged 6-14 and their families, representing a dual-decision-maker model where children influence purchase decisions while parents control spending authority.
That’s the reason why the strategy is defined by a deep respect for the modern family dynamic. We understand that our core audience demands authenticity, interactivity, and immersive storytelling, while parents seek safety, value, and meaningful shared experiences.
We do not view merchandise or amusement facilities as ancillary revenue; we view it as our primary channel for Rhetorical Message Design Logic. We reject simple Expressive or Conventional logics that merely reflect the brand or follow retail norms. Instead, we operate with a Rhetorical Logic, where every tangible asset — from a plush toy to an apparel line — is engineered to construct a specific social reality. The products actively negotiate meaning and shape the context in which our audience lives.
Engagement & Strategy
We apply the principles of Constructivism to ensure maximum market penetration across demographics. Recognizing that our audience possesses varying levels of Cognitive Complexity, we deploy Person-Centered Messages through our product design. A single IP asset is encoded with multiple layers of meaning: for the younger demographic, it offers direct functional play; for the older «kidult» and collector segments, it signals ironic identity and tribal belonging. This allows us to scale a single franchise globally while maintaining deep, personalized relevance for each distinct user group.
The communication theory as the basis for creating presentation
«Barabashka — New Horizons», was a creative exercise; it was a deliberate application of strategic communication. From the outset, we adopted a core philosophy: design is a communicative act. This meant moving beyond mere aesthetics to treat every aspect of our presentation as an encoded message, meticulously crafted for specific receivers — be it a general or professional audience — with the intent to minimize noise and maximize impact. This theory-first approach became our blueprint, transforming the project from a simple pitch into a targeted, persuasive system.
To architect this system, we turned to Craig’s Seven Traditions as a foundational toolkit. This framework allowed us to design with intention: the Rhetorical Tradition shaped our core argument using ethos, pathos, and logos; the Socio-Psychological Tradition informed our character dynamics to model influence; the Semiotic Tradition guided us in building the entire brand world of «Barabashka — New Horizons» as a system of meaningful symbols; and Cybernetics inspired the feedback loops in our long-term engagement plan.
We apply the principles of Constructivism to ensure maximum market penetration across demographics. Recognizing that our audience possesses varying levels of Cognitive Complexity, we deploy Person-Centered Messages through our product design. A single IP asset is encoded with multiple layers of meaning: for the younger demographic, it offers direct functional play; for the older «kidult» and collector segments, it signals ironic identity and tribal belonging. This allows us to scale a single franchise globally while maintaining deep, personalized relevance for each distinct user group.
Our dual-audience strategy was guided by both Politeness Theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), creating a single project with two tailored pathways. To build immediate rapport, we addressed each group’s social needs: for the general audience, we emphasized positive face with warm, inclusive language and visuals, while for industry professionals, we respected negative face with clear, efficient data that acknowledged their autonomy and expertise. This nuanced foundation then informed our persuasion strategy — for the peripherally-processing general audience, we employed emotional narratives and aspirational aesthetics, whereas for centrally-processing professionals, we built a logical case with market analyses, technical specifications, and detailed projections.
At the heart of it all was story. Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm confirmed that people are ultimately persuaded by coherent, values-driven narratives. We ensured narrative coherence by giving Barabashka’s world a consistent internal logic and a reliable character arc. More importantly, we anchored the project in narrative fidelity, connecting it to universal values like curiosity and friendship. This meant we pitched the story’s core moral truth first, ensuring the idea felt inherently compelling before delving into plot details.
Looking to the future, we used Symbolic Convergence Theory to plan for community building. We designed shareable «fantasy themes» — like the «playful trickster-hero» or the «discovery of a magical world» — and demonstrated how these could converge into a shared consciousness through «Barabashka — New Horizons» campaigns and fan-driven content. This allowed us to pitch not just a media franchise, but the seed of a participatory culture.
Finally, our communication model evolved from a linear transmission of information to a transactional vision of engagement. While the initial presentation followed a classic encode-channel-decode model, our proposed marketing plan-featuring AR and interactive elements — was designed to create an active dialogue with the audience, transforming passive viewers into participatory co-creators and modeling genuine, ongoing engagement.
In conclusion
This integrated theoretical application was our project’s true architecture. Semiotics and Narrative built the immersive world; ELM and Rhetoric structured the persuasive pitch; Politeness Theory and SCT defined the audience relationship; and Cybernetics and Transactional Models planned for long-term vitality. This process stands as proof that our study of communication theory was actively and indispensably employed as the strategic blueprint for every creative decision we made.
List of literature and sources of images
Online course. (2025). Communication Theory: Bridging Academia and Practice
Robert T. Craig. (1999). Communication Theory as a Field
Ernest G. Bormann. (1982). The symbolic convergence theory of communication: Applications and implications for teachers and consultants.
Barbara J. O’Keefe. (1988). The Logic of Message Design: Individual Differences in Reasoning about Communication.
John H. Flavell. (1965). Genetic epistemology of Jean Piaget
Erving Goffman. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Dir. Ivan Sapozhnikov, «Barabashka the Mischievous», 2023
The images are generated with Microsoft Copilot Designer, Ideogram, Alpaca Ai plugin for Photoshop and edited using Procreate and Microsoft Paint.
