The purpose of our research is to further knowledge in the area of liquid crystal research and their applications in a photovoltaic cell. The liquid crystal that we used for research is 4’-n-octyl-4-cyano-biphenyl or 8CB for short. For gathering our data, we used a camera mounted on a polarized light microscope. 8CB would be placed on a glass slide, which was then placed in a heat stage that controlled the temperature of the specimen. When we prepared a specimen before photographing, it would be spin coated onto the glass slide or physically deformed by various methods. Some promising results we gathered for spin coating was what appeared to be good alignment when 8CB was in a solution of methanol and spun at 600-700 rpms, with no surfactant on the glass slide. Another result worth mentioning is physically deforming the substrate allowed 8CB to follow distinct patterns and show some degree of alignment. In conclusion, we improved our methods for creating an ordered film and characterizing the liquid crystal phase of choice. The next step would be to continue to improve our spin coating procedure by further investigating the concentration of solution of liquid crystal.