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The art of Typography and Photography

Reference: pinterest.es/pin/58687601368686567/

The comment from the person who posted the picture is:
“I love traveling and the beautiful photography in this magazine spread just blew me away. The text is grouped together so that no other elements break that uniformity.”

In the magazine layout, you find the sunset at the Capones Island located in San Antonio, Zambales province, Philipinnes. The islands are famous for their white sand and coral beaches, moreover, their rocky cliffs are a big attraction for the tourists. There is a famous lighthouse on the main island and you can see it at the bottom of the left page.

The Magazine layout catches your attention because of its contrast in the colors and in the typeface. The design has its time but you can sense the good taste in the pictures and in the font style.

TYPEFACE

The oldstyle typeface used with small font on the top contrasts with the Script Style written in beneath the province to highlight the main attraction. The size, color, style and background help to send a clear invitation to the reader.

RULE OF THIRDS

You can see on the left page that the lighthouse is on the corner of two lines. It remarks on its importance. That is the main attraction of the page.

LEADING LINE AND DEPTH FIELD

The shore makes a natural and strong leading line that fits with the sight focus of the woman in the picture. It brings a thoughtful attraction and helps to see one of its most beautiful features, the cliffs. The horizon in the background and the woman in the front provide a sense of the depth of field.

MIMIC PICS.

I mimicked the original design because the first photo highlights the lake using the rule of thirds. The second picture uses a natural leading line on the sky and the leading line of the bridge to set the main goal or attraction in the picture. The last one is a good example of the depth of the field since you have a catching background and the elements in the front highlighting the depth of the picture.

Unraveling the Trend Line-Ad Campaign

The following page shows two pictures that belong to the same ad campaign. One was developed by Duracell and the other was mimetized by Juan David adjusting to the same design, color and typography principles reflected on the original ad.

Before you scroll down to see the similitudes and shared principles between the two ads. I ask you to se the following two pictures and decide which one is the original and which one is the mimic.

If you said the second picture is the original, you are correct. However, it was hard to decide. I will tell you why. The original ad was taken from a blog https://loyoladigitaladvertising.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/duracell-gets-energized/ and it had the following link to the source

Neff, J. (2013, November 06). Duracell vs. energize–one charges up, one sputters. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/news/duracell-energizer-charges-sputters/245108/

Design principles:

PROXIMITY.

The knife and the apple are very close to each other. You can assume that the knife was meant to cut the apple.

The proximity between the apple and the apple reflect the relationship between them.

I tried to apply the same principle by placing the spanner very close to the screw. It says that you are trying to adjust a screw with the wrong tool.

The edges of the spanner are very close to the screw’s head showing the relationship between them.

ALIGNMENT

You can see that most of the objects are aligned to the left side of the picture, the knife comes from the left and the battery picture is at the bottom left side of the picture. The text also is aligned to the left. This brings calm and consistency to the whole ad. Your “tools” are at the left and the object that is affected by the tools is at the right side of the picture.

The tools and the text are aligned to the left side of the picture

Likewise, the objects in the second ad were aligned to the left side of the picture except for the screw.

CONTRAST

There is a contrast in the light surrounding the elements in the picture. This contrast is used to highlight the power of the battery. The main environment is darkness, but the battery has light around it. That is a very effective use of contrast.

I tried to deepen that message by adding more bright around the battery.

The use of the same elements, like the black background, the battery at the bottom, the white text and the same alignment between both ads bring consistency and are part of the REPETITION principle of design.

COLOR

The color strategy is very simple, the use of dark and light colors

FONT:

There is only one font style used in this ad and that is Sans Serif, the only difference is that the battery has capitalized typeface.

I used a very similar font to mimic the ad. In this case is Calibri.

The color scheme is based on warm colors vs cool colors. the warm colors are more related to the written line, the apple and the battery. the cold colors are part of the knife and the background.

I used the same color scheme in the new ad, by keeping the background and the tools cold, and the other elements warm.

In sum, all the elements match design, color and principles. For this reason the new ad belongs to the same ad campaing. I think that one of the key elements to reach that goal was repetition.

Thank you.

IT IS NOT ONLY WHAT YOU SAY, BUT WHAT YOU SEE

Reference: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/450711875177646759/

The design was found in a section where many magazine layouts are posted. I didn’t find the author, but you can read in the light blue chart that the article talks about Dino Guarino, an artist. I found the pictures, typefaces, and colors very attractive. The old parchment paper background and the brushes are a good combination in the design.

The article talks about the artist and his attributes. It also shows part of his artwork and style.

TYPEFACE

The combination of typefaces is very impressive. The author dared to use four styles. The first section shows Serif (white) and Sans serif (black). The second section uses a Script style with a combination of the old style. The third section uses modern style.

The combination shows contrast and equilibrium. It delights the reader.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Depth of Field, there are two objects without a frame, the baseball player and the brushes. The brushes seem to be closer than the player to the reader. That is a clever way to use the Depth of Field, to highlight the purpose of the article, or the topic. If it wasn’t like it is, you may think the article is about baseball.

Lead line, This resource may not be as strong as in other magazine layouts, however, the line of the field carries your attention to the player located in the intersection of both tracks. You can find that in the picture located at the left bottom of the second page. The main object of the picture is located is found thanks to the lead lines.

Rule of thirds, There is a player that outstands from the picture located at the right top of the magazine layout. You can easily locate him with the use of the rule of thirds. I like how it was used in this article. The player comes to the main spot of focus.

MIMIC PICTURES OF MY OWN

Depth of Field
Lead Line
Rule of thirds

The topic of the magazine is art, maybe the pictures are not drawn, but imagine they are, and the style is not baseball, but parks. You can find that the experiences that you may enjoy in a park are represented and highlighted with the three techniques.

The first one uses the Depth of Field to highlight the person in the picture from his background.

The second picture brings the attention from the track to the man petting the ducks.

On the third pictures you can draw the lines in you head and find that the bubble and the kids are located in the intersection of two of those lines.

This pictures could easily fit in the magazine layout and catch the attention of the reader

FOLKS AND WAGEN

Volkswagen promoted its advanced parking system for the new car models with an original and even fun ad brought by Chief Creative Officer Eric Schoeffler. He developed the design with his team at DDB Tribal Berlin. I will help you discover the main design principles inside the details of this creative ad.

You can fin this and other interesting ads on the following link.

https://www.canva.com/learn/clever-advertising/

CONTRAST IS WHERE YOU START

The first detail that catches your attention is how odd it is to find a porcupine, with its spikes so close to the fragile bags with fish. It is undoubtedly a good example of how contrast can catch your attention and, in fact, it adds hierarchy when it highlights the porcupine as the main element. I would even dare to say that he is the main actor (Assuming that it is a plot).

IN THE ALIGNMENT FIND REFINEMENT.

Alignment plays a key role in this campaign. The disposition of the elements in the same line enhances the message Volkswagen attempts to share. Despite it is not usual, you can recall the position of the elements on the page as a parking lot on a street, and all the elements inside the symbolic lines form a whole. The alignment and the phrase “Precision Parking” help you catch the message, even when you don’t show any car.

PROXIMITY GOES BEYOND REVELRY.

It is inevitable to check up how close is the porcupine to the plastic bags. The impression that brings to your mind is how well placed it is in the fragile line where he is placed. If all the other elements gave a background to the plot, this is the problem and the solution at the same time. The porcupine proximity to its neighbors highlights how well it is parked.

REPETITION IN THE LOT MAKES THE VOLKSWAGEN COME TO THE FRONT.

The only elements that are repeated in the design are the plastic bags. They help you unify the elements and resemble the parking lot. It is complementary to the alignment and proximity principles. The element that is different is the one that represents Volkswagen.

COLOR

The colors used in this design are pretty simple and natural. They chose a light background and the darkness of the porcupine is part of the contrast.

The combination of colors is not extraordinary at all, but it is natural and simple with some shades, that way you don’t put to much symbolism. If you overwhelm the tacit message, it will be hard to understand. Colors in this design contribute to the other resources. It is different to other designs where the other principles contribute to the message that colors give to you, as it happens with most Coca-Cola designs.

In sum, all the principles described above plus the little label at the bottom create a clever and impressive advertisement, and I love it.

FOLKS AND WAGEN

Volkswagen promoted its advanced parking system for the new car models with an original and even fun ad brought by Chief Creative Officer Eric Schoeffler. He developed the design with his team at DDB Tribal Berlin. I will help you discover the main design principles inside the details of this creative ad.

You can fin this and other interesting ads on the following link.

https://www.canva.com/learn/clever-advertising/

CONTRAST IS WHERE YOU START

The first detail that catches your attention is how odd it is to find a porcupine, with its spikes so close to the fragile bags with fish. It is undoubtedly a good example of how contrast can catch your attention and, in fact, it adds hierarchy when it highlights the porcupine as the main element. I would even dare to say that he is the main actor (Assuming that it is a plot).

IN THE ALIGNMENT FIND REFINEMENT.

Alignment plays a key role in this campaign. The disposition of the elements in the same line enhances the message Volkswagen attempts to share. Despite it is not usual, you can recall the position of the elements on the page as a parking lot on a street, and all the elements inside the symbolic lines form a whole. The alignment and the phrase “Precision Parking” help you catch the message, even when you don’t show any car.

PROXIMITY GOES BEYOND REVELRY.

It is inevitable to check up how close is the porcupine to the plastic bags. The impression that brings to your mind is how well placed it is in the fragile line where he is placed. If all the other elements gave a background to the plot, this is the problem and the solution at the same time. The porcupine proximity to its neighbors highlights how well it is parked.

REPETITION IN THE LOT MAKES THE VOLKSWAGEN COME TO THE FRONT.

The only elements that are repeated in the design are the plastic bags. They help you unify the elements and resemble the parking lot. It is complementary to the alignment and proximity principles. The element that is different is the one that represents Volkswagen.

COLOR

The colors used in this design are pretty simple and natural. They chose a light background and the darkness of the porcupine is part of the contrast.

The combination of colors is not extraordinary at all, but it is natural and simple with some shades, that way you don’t put to much symbolism. If you overwhelm the tacit message, it will be hard to understand. Colors in this design contribute to the other resources. It is different to other designs where the other principles contribute to the message that colors give to you, as it happens with most Coca-Cola designs.

In sum, all the principles described above plus the little label at the bottom create a clever and impressive advertisement, and I love it.

FLAGGING

The design set by Sony Ericson in October 2008 is a great example of an efficient application of good design principles.

The picture was taken from: asoftheworld.com/media/print/sony_ericson_coldplay

The purpose of the adverstiment by Sony Ericsson was to promote its new W380 Walkman with a Coldplay concert in London.

Repetition

Its most distinguishing feature is repetition since its base design is the England Flag. The arms holding the phone create a unique pattern that brings a well-known symbol to the audience. It also catches the public attention since the hands, which represent people to meet on the phone, the main element.

Alignment

The second remarkable feature is the alignment. The arms are simmetrically placed and the main object is in the center of the picture. The order and the convergence of the elements highlight the telephone and the words on the screen.

Color

The colors are simple and the picture uses only primarly colors such as, blue as the background and white and red as the sleeves. The phone and hands colors are not as important as the others. The colors make an impact on the obsever’s eyes.

Proximity

The closeness of the walkman and the trademark highlight the importance of the product. The proximity of the screen and the concert information draws the attention to the relationship between the product and the event. It is a usefull resource.

Contrast

The shadows and colors make a contrast between the background and the phone. It heightenens the importance of the product. The difference in the color of the phone and the other elements make it special too.

Based on the analysis I can tell that the features I learned in the COMM 130 course play a crucial role in making an impact.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

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