Free People Ad Analysis

Intro

This ad was created by the bohemian clothing company, Free People. This company attempts to appeal to women approximately ages 16-35. Their unique aesthetic is revealed through the design of this ad found at https://www.hercampus.com/style/9-clothes-accessories-free-people-are-perfect-festival-season.

Design

This ad is a good example of the 4 design elements that we have discussed in class. The text is aligned well with the outline of the girls body and the way she is positioned is aligned well with the rest of the ad. This ad shows contrast because of the bright color of the text as well as the colors in the background. It also shows alignment in the contrast of her dark shirt and the white background. This ad shows repetition in the background floral pattern. The proximity between the girl and the writing emphasizes the importance of both aspects of the ad.

Color

This ad uses color well. The purple/pink color of the text helps to draw the focus to the name of the brand. The colors in the background add a subtle visual appeal. The vivid and contrasting colors in the add overall help to make the add eye catching and effective.

Typography

The typography in this ad is definitely unique. Because of that, it fits well with the style of the company. It is written in a decorative font that is unique and eye catching. This type is contrasting to the rest of the ad because it is a different color and the the way it is positioned and its size really makes it stand out as well.

New Ad

This take on the previous ad from free people is generally the same with a few noticeable differences. Overall, the same principles are used and the same idea is presented.

Design

This ad shows design principles similarly to the original. Repetition is shows through the floral design in the background. Contrast is shown through the dark colors of the text and the light colors on the rest of the ad. The text is aligned to follow the outline of the girl. The proximity of the text to the girl shows their relation and draws the eye to both.

Color

This ad uses contrasting colors in the rainbow background as well as in the black text. There is also contrast in the color of the girl’s hair in comparison to the color of the white sweater and background. This ad uses color to emphasize the brand title and create an aesthetic appeal.

Typography

This ad uses the distinct typography associated with the brand. This is a decorative cursive font. It is quite large so that it is easily visible. It is written in a contrasting color to aid in readability.

Conclusion

Both of these ads contain similar design aspects. Both have contrasting ideas and colors. Both put emphasis on the text as well as the girl in order to convey the message that free people has clothing for women. Overall these ads appeal to the girly, bohemian crowd that the company is trying to appeal to.

Type, Photography and Hiking in Florida

Intro

This magazine page was found at https://www.coroflot.com/josuefranco/Ocala-Style-Magazine-Spreads-Editorial-Design

It was used as an example in an article written by Josue Franco about the impact of using compelling images and type in publications. The article was published in the Ocala style magazine. Unfortunately there was no information about the designer. The This article would most likely be directed towards people who are interested in the outdoors. It uses eye-catching colors, alignment, and images to draw readers in and is aesthetically pleasing. The use of good photography, and textual contrasts allows for the page to be interesting yet cohesive.

Category Identification

This article uses a variety of typefaces. “Hiking” is written in a decorative font whereas “Natural Florida” is written in a sans serif font. This contrast makes “Hiking,” the focus of the article, stand out. The body text is written in an Oldstyle font which is easier to read especially if there is a lot of text. In the “Florida Trail” sign the text is also written in Oldstyle which adds to the effect of the article.

Typeface Contrast

“Hiking,” written in decorative font, has thick lettering with faded spots. This text is the largest on the page and stands out because of its unique font and thick sides. The rest of the title text uses thin lines the size of the text is quite a bit smaller. The size and thickness in the text of this article shows a hierarchy of importance and relevance. The thickest and boldest text describes the main point of the article and the smaller and simpler the text gets, the more specific the information delivered.

Photography – Rule of Thirds

This photograph illustrates The Rule of Thirds. The tree branch at the top goes across the entire page and the horizontal one third line. There is also a branch that comes up from that branch along the vertical one third line. This makes the image pleasing to the eye and establishes subtle order even amidst random branches and bushes.

Alternate Images

These images share the vivid colors of the original image. The original image includes a lot of bright greens and woody browns. The original images displays the rule of thirds using tree branches and greenery to create imaginary lines. These lines give the image order and direction and really add to the cohesiveness of the design. The following images also use the same factors to create imaginary lines, making them easily interchangeable with the original photograph.

Conclusion

Typeface contrast and the Rule of Thirds are incredibly beneficial to the overall design. Typefaces should be starkly contrasting in style, size, and boldness. This makes the most important messages stand out and gives the reader direction in where to read first. It tells the readers what is most important and implicitly directs audiences to themes and topics. The rule of thirds provides order in photography and helps audiences to make sense of images. It also makes images more aesthetically pleasing. Overall, it is important to remember simple design rules and incorporate them when creating content.

Bullseye!

This advertisement was created by Target to announce the opening of a new location in California. As the eighth largest retailer in the nation, Target is winning with their iconic ads. This ad was found in a collection of other target ads by Alan Peters.

https://www.behance.net/gallery/31826275/2015-Target-Branding

Alignment

The text in this ad is aligned to the left, creating a clear and aesthetically pleasing line. This line continues down the ad to the small target logo and text at the bottom. These two separate components of the ad also align with the soccer player’s hands. The soccer player’s foot also is in line with the soccer ball. These invisible lines help viewers to make connections between aspects of the ad and establish a clean and cohesive look overall.

Contrast

Target is known for their contrasting red and white target logo. This logo is displayed very clearly in this ad creating a visually appealing background that is attention grabbing and distinct. Their use of contrasting colors in their text helps to make important information stand out. The, “Now open,” at the top is clearly larger than the rest of the text drawing the eyes in and establishing it as the most important. The soccer player and soccer ball also contrast with the rest of the ad. They add dimension to the red and white and take the add to a whole new level. This aspect gives the ad a more eye catching effect.

Proximity

Proximity in design shows relationships between different components. In this ad the proximity of the smaller text to the, “Now open,” shows that the text contains more information that relates to the main text. Proximity is also displayed on the bottom of the ad. The Target logo is in close proximity to, “Expect more. Pay less.” This shows the association between logo and slogan. The placement of the text in relation to the target and image also shows the relationship between the words and how they are separate from the picture. The placement of the soccer ball is also a unique use of proximity showing the relationship between the ball, the player and the bullseye.

Color

Target uses colors especially well. Their colors are iconic and eye catching. Red is bold, attention-grabbing, and powerful. White stands out strongly against the red. Target has branded themselves well enough that red and white are instantly recognized as target colors. This ad is no exception to this. They not only include red and white in the text, logo, background and bullseye, but they also use it in the uniform of the soccer player and in the soccer ball.

Repetition

There are a lot of motifs found in this and all of Target’s marketing campaign. The most obvious one is, of course, the red and white bulls eye. It is found in the logo and in the background of the ad. The colors used in this ad can also be seen as an example of repetition. There are basically only 2 colors used in the whole ad, they are just used in different ways. There is also repetition in the font choice. While the size and boldness vary, the font style is the same throughout the ad.

Conclusion

This ad strategically uses alignment, contrast, proximity, color, and repetition to create an eye catching ad. This ad is well designed and aesthetically pleasing. This ad is bold, memorable, and well designed.