Final

This final assignment has been a challenge but intriguing one because it was done in a format that I have not done or even worked on before. It was an interesting, often confusing process but a necessary one because a graphic designer has to be able to operate in all forms of media including video which we did for our final project.

Speaking of which...

For the final project we were required to make a video promo along with a companion piece for the Graphic Design/Visual Communication option at Cal State L.A. Me and my partner Brett have finish the the assignment and we are quite proud of what we have done.  First the video promo is a fast-paced and energetic video that highlights the Cal State L.A. campus and shows the camaraderie, diversity, instruction and friendly environment among the students in the Graphic Design/Visual Communication. Our companion piece is a flier talking about what this option provides in terms of camaraderie, making friends, developing partnership, etc. that will be handed to students during freshman orientation at Cal State L.A.  All that is left to do is show it on Monday and hope that everybody likes it.

video:http://vimeo.com/38655489

2 Cool Ads

While browsing the web I decided to look for bus shelter ads.  Here are two that I found interesting.

This is a really funny ad for Je*s Jeans.

I have to admit it's kind brilliant: following the arrow down to see the copy thus exposing your butt to people is really funny and a clever idea for advertising jeans.


Another cool and interesting ad for Caribou Coffee at a Minnesotans bus stop.
ColleMcVoyCaribouCoffee.jpg

This really grab your attention. From what I know the Advertising Agency: Colle+McVoy of Minneapolis, MI made these real working ovens of these bus stops. They have real heaters and working clocks. What an awesome idea and what a creative display! Colle+Mcvoy really went all out for this.

While looking at many different kinds of advertising I have come to the understand that there are many different forms of advertising (print, T.V., electronic, etc.) that can be direct, efficient and compelling. One of them is outdoor advertising.

Outdoor advertising is any type of promotional display placed outside in public like billboards, bus stops, arenas, buildings, etc. The whole point of outdoor advertising is that it's trying to communication a message to the viewing public. Of course like any advertising medium one of the main aspects is that it grabs people's attention.  The ability to do that rest on the shoulders of very creative and hardworking individuals who take the time to know the products, have a sense of marketing, understand the target audience, etc. They are the ones who take mind-blowing visuals and turn them into an compelling ad for millions to see.

For example, here is an ad I came across the web:  http://www.billboard-outdoor.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/billboard.jpg

 

The visual aspects of this billboard is remarkable. The whole 3D look is impressive because it's goes beyond the normal measures of illusion and depth in advertising. The idea behind it (Gain's scent is so great that people are willing to climb the billboard just to smell the t-shirts that hang from it) is terrific as well and really fit in with the product its promoting.  This is just one of many examples of effective outdoor ads that succeed in getting its message across and gaining the public's attention.

Since taking Art 445 Advertising Art Direction I have notice that some of the best advertising does not limited itself to just print ads.

For example kiya1.jpg is what I believe is just really great advertising.  To have the bench resemble a kit-kat bar is awesome.  It's drawing attention because the color of the bench is just so similar to that of a normal bench that at first you don't really notice anything unusual.   Then looking at it closer, you see what kit-kat logo and suddenly the top part of the bench resemble a giant kit-kat bar. It's creative, innovative, interesting, and just really cool.  Advertising agencies who make this kind of ads are truly thinking outside the realm of normal and put out some really fantastic ads that really capture the public attention.

Another example is godsend.jpg from www.freemaninstitue.com/billboard.htm.  You know how people ask God to give them a sign? Now image your surprise one day when you drive down the street and you happen to look at this billboard. You first reaction would probably be what the hell? Then you become curious (and maybe a little weirded out) about this and want to know what it's all about.  This is good example of what advertising is about because it's not just enough to have people look at the ad then go about their day and forget about it. It has to get people interest enough in wanting to know more about it.

That I feel is the end result of successful advertising.

The next assignment is about making a 2 to 3 minute video that highlights the ascepts of the graphic design/visual communication program at Cal State LA as well as creating ads: one online and one offline.  I was a little confused as to how this video related to advertising but then I realized that the kinds of videos that showcase and highlight one's work and/or education program are in fact advertisement of sorts.  They are trying to "sell" the quality of their product to people who might be interested and want to know more. A big part of what makes these kinds of videos convincing is the mood/tone it sets and the messages it sends.

For example what i feel is as an good ad  is a commercial for the Art Institutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzbnLFsAdwQ.  This 31-second video is effective in that it draws attention to certain items: food, furniture, apps, etc. These items are purposely blank because the commercial is asking who will create these blank white items? The answer of course is the viewer who wants or might want to pursue a career in  food cuisine, interior design, apps, and/or fashion design.  This commercial does it's job of showing just enough images (the blank items, the students working, making, and creating display of visual art) to make the viewer interested about this school and what it has to offer. The message I believe the commercial sends is that if you attend the Art Institutes, you can create the visual art that can be display in the future.  It's a powerful message especially if one really wants to pursue a career in the arts.

When it come to thinking about concepts, I have come to the conclusion that coming up with ideas for a product is not the actual problem.  Coming up with good ideas that goes with that product is a way harder task (at least for me). I know that it's important to know your product and what it does but for an ad, it's more important to know exactly who you are intending this product to be for. Who do you want to buy this? Your ad won't work if you can't even figure that out.

GAUGE Speaker Event: Kali Nikitas

On Thursday February 16, 2012 at 7:00pm in King Hall Lecture Hall 1, I attend the GAUGE event for Kali Nikitas, graphic designer and educator for Otis College of Arts and Design in Los Angeles, CA.  The evening proved to be an interesting and entertaining as Kali Nikitas presented herself as very witty, funny, smart and knowledgeable person who loves arts and who loves to design. Some of the things that I enjoyed about that evening were the interactive part which started at the beginning of the lecture.  All the students were given cards and envelopes to write down words or/and sentences to what we wanted globally, professionally and personally and send a message through twitter and Facebook.  It was an insightful way for Nikitas to interact with the students.  I have attend these GAUGE events before and most speakers don't really interact with people in the beginning of the lecture.  That time is reserved toward the end for questions and comments.  I was most interesting in some of the responses for sending a message across twitter and Facebook.  One of the sentiments was funny: seeing first lesbian president.  I kind wish we sent that across or something funnier like "panda for president." (Although, great success for  panda habitat preservation was still pretty good.)

Another part I liked was when she show us her website at www.kalinikitas.com.  I really like the way this website was made.  For starters, the little rectangles boxes can be moved anywhere around the site by clicking and dragging the content tabs. I think I like that more than anything else because that one little thing makes this site so different from others because somebody sought to think outside the realm of how a site should operated. It impressed me. The site also feature work by Nikitas and students. All the design work display is truly incredible, amazing and very creative.  It speaks volumes about the tremendous talent both Nikitas and students at Otis College seem to have in order to create such fantastic works.

All in all, I thought Kali Nikitas was a great lady who presented herself well.  I really enjoyed her presentation.

Today I learned in class a couple of things that hopefully will help me in my product advertising project.

• really know your product. 
• the demographic for your campaign ads doesn't have to be for the usual audience.  It can be but it needs to appeal to that group in a different way. 
• You can appeal to a different demographic altogether. (It will probably be harder.)
• For demo, the more specific the group you are aiming for, the better your focus will be.
• Find out about competition, see where your product stands with others.

Final Presentation & New Assignment

The final presentation had turn out much better than I could have hope for.  When Jung and I presented I was really nervous.  I explained the con side pretty good although in some places I felt I could have worded things better or probably not repeated myself so much.  The feedback we got from others was good.  Everyone seemed to have like it.  The only thing that the headline on the con could have been better, maybe fitted the picture more accurately.  All in all, this assignment was pretty good for start with.

The next assignment is going to be a challenge.

Our next assignment is find a poorly marketed product and created 3 magazine spreads for it. First up is research the product which is proving to be hard considering it has to be something people are familiar with but from what I'm seeing the poorly marketed products are usually products that no one has ever heard of.  We then have a write a brief for it explaining what it is, who is the audience target for this product and what magazine will it be printed for.  Already I feel overwhelm by this task.  The upcoming days will be hard.

Final Comps Review

On Monday Feb.6, we reviewed final comps for our ads.  Almost immediately from the last Wednesday there were a significant amount of changes that everyone did for their comps.  However, it didn't necessary mean they were in any way perfect or even done for that matter.  As we review and comment on each and every comp there was still room for improvement on several items like:

• spacing (lettering and around the ad space). 
• leading. 
• grammar in headline and body copy. 
• what exactly is their issue about?  It wasn't explain clearly or had enough information.
• images: no stock pictures (original pics) and illustrations need to be better improve.

Reviewing Initial Comps

On Wednesday Feb. 1, the class presents their initial comps with complete graphics in 10 x 21.5 size.  Everyone looked over every one's work and then reviewed what was working and what was wrong with these comps. With our work (Airport Body Scans) the con comp (the man in the radiation suit with the women saying "have a great day at work, honey") had some problems:

• image: too big for the frame.  It needs to be smaller. 
• image (woman): too odd-looking.  The hair need to be fixed in way that isn't see through.
• Headline: the leading is too heavy, the position is awkward.

The pro comp (Rows and rows of eggs that stop with one egg cracked open with the york spilled out) was alright.  The main problem was the headline: only takes one to spoil the trip. That needs to be reworked (either rephrased or come up with a different headline).  The body copy seemed to be fine in both comps although they are kind of long.  Some editing should possibly be done to make them shorter (just have the most necessary points to the issue should be discussion).  A lot of work is ahead for us.

All in all, the critique didn't go as bad as I thought.  I always feel uncomfortable during these kinds of discussion (even when it's not my work people are looking at) but it is a necessary part of critiquing work.  If someone doesn't view it or have absolute anything to say about it, that can't be good, right?  The whole purpose of reviewing is to point out mistakes or items that could be better in order to have your work be presented completely done with everything it needs to say.

Concept & Image

For class on Wednesday, we were supposed to hand in 40 pros and cons concepts sketches for our issue (ours is about airport body scans).  Me and my partner Jung did our sketches in the most straightforward and literal way.    Turns out, it was too literal and straightforward.  It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either.  We had some not-totally-complete ideas but nothing solid to explain our side. And from that I learned an important lesson this week about advertising which I hope will help me in this assignment: some of the best ads aren't always the most obvious, (meaning the ad is not always supposed to be what its trying to represent).

What's in a Ad?

All that's goes into an ad is extremely  important (concept, image, type, body text, etc).  It's what drives the ad and get people to notice.   From what I learned, it's necessary to know and understand what these items do in order for the ad to be successful.  It makes all the difference between good and bad advertisement.

Issue Advertising

Creating an full-page print ad for an important or controversial issue is a difficult and demanding process on a person's part (even when you have a partner).  Especially when you are trying to communicate two sides to the same issue: a pro and a con side.  Sometimes coming up with an issue can be easy sometimes like health or crime. However, trying to narrow it down to a specific issue can be a bit harder.  Then there is deciding what side you are on: pro or con? After that, you now have to research your issue. Finding information can often be the easier part but trying to decide what info is useful, helpful  and relevant to your cause takes a lot of time and effort.

In order for these 2 print ads to work, you must:

1. Clearly define 2 opposing sides (that still have to be related to each other in some way).
2. Know your target audience so they can relate to your issue.
3. Come up with a lot of concepts for each side. Narrow down ideas until you come up with 2 you and your partner agree on.

The final objective to all of this?  Develop imagery that support a concept, make a headline and body paragraph that's persuasive and come up with an interesting and effective ad for print.

Advertising Art Direction is more than just recognizing and creating quality advertising.  It' also about how we presents the ads as well.  The way we present is important because it show to other you are in tuned with the needs and wants of the clients in order to produces the ideal ad for them.  For example, If I was presenting an ad for Old Spice with spoke man Isaiah Mustafa:
example: ghttp://agallantidea.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/old_spice_body_wash_matterhorn.jpg
I would say something along the lines of : "This ad displays a person who is a representation of the ideal man: confident, smooth, suave, rugged, handsome, an alpha male,etc.  The whole message of this ad is if the average man uses this product they too can be like this man.  If they buy this product they will feel and look better about themselves and becoming more likely to buy Old Spice products over other brands." (This is a rather short, condensed version of a formal presentation but you get the idea.)

When we come to the presentation of the Ads, there are things we must do. For example:

• Be Direct. Look at clients and speak honestly and truthfully as you can.
• Use Simple Yet Effective Language.  Speaking in simple, understandable term will help get your point across more easily.  Using too much technical term will only confuse and bore clients.
• Explains Things clearly and presciently.
• Answer Questions, Comments.

The reason behind presentation is to explain why your idea for this Ad works.  If you can't do that, then you'll have a hell of a time selling anything to anyone.

Questions? Comments?

Advertising is everywhere you go whether it's in movies, TV, online, magazines, stores, buses etc. There's no escaping it.  It's becomes so much a part of our daily lives it's nearly invisible.   However, when we stop and look at Ads, when we actually take the time to stop and look, focus and concertate on them, we find ourselves asking these questions: What makes this ad successful? How/Why does it capture our attention? What is it trying to say?

As I have learned there are many items to considered when reviewing what makes any Ad a good one:  These are the following to look at:

• context (background, framework, setting, situation,etc.)
• audience (the demographic in which the ad is aiming for)
• tone/mood (emotional feelings associated with product to evoke response)
• concept (a clear, stated idea)
• images (pictures that associated with product)

These aspects are absolute essential to observe and evaluate in order to see it as either new, exciting, interesting, compelling, though-provoking, etc.  Are there any items that I missed? Does anything have question, comments they like to add?