Phuah Du Yaw I10006573 BCSI - Principle of Advertising Design

Principle of Advertising Design

1.     Introduction

Advertising can be explained as the persuasive intention of promote a certain ideological, goods and services through various media to identified sponsors. It is also can be expressed as one kind of non-personal communication for the public to getting know their recommendation.

Today 21^th century is compromised with lots of business industries and advertising is part of the common affection from the business owner. It is everywhere and society can view it unconscious every day. Even the peoples is not consciously viewing at the content or listening to the presentation, it can be anywhere like radio broadcast, newspaper publishing, television advertisement and more, the content expression reaches and influences peoples. However, it is depend on the level of influence. The level of influence is depend on the interest of that viewer or listener, content expression, graphic show, environment and more. It will be somehow recorded somewhere at that person minds and will be recalled back when that person is looking for service that related to that advertising.

There have been many principles on advertising design and communications. By look through on those knowledge, an effective promotion and communication can thus been formed. Those principles and some experiences will be explained in next section.

1.2  Background of produce an written advertisement

In advertising design, there are 8 critical format elements; logotypes, slogans, headlines, signature, seals, body copy, visuals and subheads.

 Figure 1.1 the pyramid of 3 important elements

Designer normally will categorize those 3 elements to the attention steps. The interest attraction will corresponds to the design of body copy and sub headline. Body logo will manage desire and trustworthiness. For the extra enhancements, the action steps can be on the slogan and signature blocks.

Headlines

As diagram stated, the headlines is the most important on attention attraction, audience engagement, visual expression, description understanding and objective convey. It attract and lead the audience into the conceptual of advertisement. For further explanation, it can be an impressive or attractive visual that dictates the advertiser’s image in that audience mind, doesn’t matter the prospect choose to understand on. Logically, headlines display the main selling idea. The headlines bring about the mood and situation that tells the audience to respond and spark a recognition response, which will ultimately boost the brand visibility and brand preference. There is necessarily for the headlines to include the product news or product images. So, client can understand the latest product, services, improvement over an old products and product visibility. “Power” sentences can greatly enhance readership and should only be employed whenever authentic applicable. Example such as free, latest, new, discount, gift and more (Burns, n.d.).

Subheads

The subheads is an additional smaller version of headline which locate in top or lower of headline. However, for subheads that appear above the headline is defined as kicker or over line. Subheads also can be used in body copy.

Figure 1.2 Example of headline and subhead

Similar with the headlines, it is mean of the key point transitions. But it represent less important title when compare to headline and carries less information also. The objective of subheads are present the title of certain paragraph to let the audience browse the scope of section and support the interest visualization. It is longer like sentences and telegraphing what the section is all about.

Body Copy

The body copy is one kind of critical text representation that describe the entire story of paragraph. It comprises the desire, reliability, action steps and interestingness. Sometimes it can be defined as scale down version of headline and subheads which is set in even smaller type of title compare to those elements. Its scope are benefits given, features include and utility provide.

Figure 1.3 Example of Body Copy

However, less people tend to ignore the function of body copy. So, writer must express their self-interest to the audience on recommend the new product and explain the way their product and service satisfy the favor of client. For the perfect advertisement, it is depend on how clearance the idea display and how great the benefit provide.

Slogans

Normally slogan is the representative of brand. It is a unique headlines that can become standard statements, whether in advertising or encouragement. Slogan also can be defined as taglines or theme lines. The slogan roles are prove continuity to other advertisements in campaign and lower the strategic of advertising meaning transform to a memorable positioning statement. For example, the slogan of Ford, the car manufacturer is Go Further.

Figure 1.4 Example of Slogan

Seals, Signatures and Logos

Seals is the proof of achievement for the brand, service or product. It will awarded only when brand, service or product meets requirements and standards indicated by a certain organization. If the brand is recognized authorities, their seals will verify a trustable and valued endorsement for that brand’s product.

Signatures and logos is also the representative of brand. But it is different with the slogans as it is graphic based designs of the brand, product name and company name. It act as trademarks that print in company advertisement, give the brand individuality and present quick recognition among the audience at that point of purchase.

1.2.1       Advertising Layout Strategy

Proportional strategic:

1.     Illustration                                    65 %

2.     Headline                                       10 %

3.     Body Copy                                   20 %

4.     Seals, Signatures and Logo          5  %

                                                     -----

                                                     100 %

100 % of space allocation (20 % included white space)

Illustration

Normally, the illustration work as to gather audience attention. It is the most critical element in the graphic display. To maximum the effectiveness of advertising, the huge and single illustration will work. Because it can visually convey the promotional and concept of selling to audience, and lead them into the content.

Headline

Similar with illustration function, but headline is more toward the interest arousing. This element will get the content more readable and truthful. Suggestion for headline are words can’t be exceed than 10 words and avoid to take up more than 15 % of advertise total space.

Body Copy

Typeface style adapted in the headline, subhead and body copy will influence the readability and emotion of the advertisement. Many mixed typefaces will cause the content confusing and busy. So, if there are more than single type, those types shall be either very similar or much different.

Seals, Signatures and Logo

Since audience start view the content from left to right, afterward top to bottom, the seals, signatures and logo shall be strategically arrange in the lower right hand corner of  a page. Through this position, audience will easily notice the elements and remember well on those form.

Direct the viewer’s eye

Starting from the top position of page, down through the center until the bottom position of page, the audience vision will note the illustration first. Later on, they will gain interest on the content and continue to read through the paragraph. So, headlines is important to promote 10% more audience.

Emphasis

The optical center of advertisement is locate in the center of page which is 2/3 up from the bottom. That position will be the advertisement’s focal point. The main selling ideas should be published in here.

Proportional use of space

The proportional adapt of space in an advertisement is depend on the selling and target audience. Suggestions for those product that advertise through the graphic view, it is better for them to have a huge proportion of illustration but less body copy. Whereas the advertisement for a technical service or technical product, it is suit well to have more body copy on page.

White Space

White space can be considered as underestimated element in the advertisement format. However, ample white space unify the advertisement and create the contrast. It is better to has at least 20% of blank in the advertisement page.

Bleed

Bleed is the page without a border and it can be seen as the ink bleeds through the encompassing white border into the trim space. Although bleed will cost the extra expenses charge, the charge is normally justified by the advertisement’s additional impact. According to the research, more than half of high readership advertisement adapt bleeds. A bleed presence the implication of freedom, challenge, action and tends to facilitate the advertisement more lifelike. Some obvious advantage of this technique is the advertisement looks absolutely larger.

Borders

Borders can act as the separation of section and page. It raise up formality, structure and isolate the advertisement from surrounding body copy and other page. Somehow it will attract the audience to focus on the advertisement.

1.3  Background of produce an visual advertisement

Identity marks is indispensable in commercial. From signature evolve to trademarks, it is the symbolic of business industry which audience normally notice it in commercial time. The role of trademark is to classify the entity of entire corporate. For those emblems or legal terms, they are serve as visual reinforcements of the advertiser reputation.

However, trademark is doesn’t not fully form the corporate personality. But it is depend on the total exposure a corporate create on the public through their marketing efforts, public relations and gambit. The trademark may grow or shrink in relation to reputation and other factors.

Corporate emblems is defined as visual identification in which many company willing to extend their programme to make themselves prominent in the commercial arena. Those extension may relate to distinctive color scheme, unique product design, exclusive lettering alphabets and numeric, matching architectural considerations and consistent formatting for design.

With the condition of designed products, unique lettering style, conscious adapted color mixes and controlled trademark use, they have indiscernible arouse strong personalities for company.

Yet there is a visual language act as a simple and crude form of conveyable on recognition language. The stronger identity programme will reflect the characteristics of company’s recommendation. Example like the unique image of product and satisfactory service. It will form content clues for rapid recognition.

Use of Emblems

The suitable emblems are simple and crude in form, matching the theme and readable on a poster. Recognizable in 1 inch size in an advertisement, the size is limited but still emblem and appellation must be isolated and individual for all the corner an advertiser identified itself (Burns, n.d.). Those forms of propaganda can be business card, delivery trucks, envelopes, letter heads, utility stationery, self-product and mores. It will better if the emblem has their own story either is common symbolism or recognition clues. Those stories will link the identifying mark to a dignified human value.

1.3.1       Basic of visual advertising designs

To create an effective banners advertisement, the progression of creation is an elusive task.

Designs and Colors – The color adaption will emphasize, highlight and trigger the emotion. If color is match with theme, it will create clarity, impact to the content message and lead audience to a call to action.

1.     Be professional: To impress the audience through the advertisement, the message convey must be in the best possible manner. So, spelling and grammar must be correct. Same goes to font sizes, colors, effects and styles, they must maximum the content readability.

What if the quality of banner advertisement is poor? Audience will think that advertiser’s product and service is too.

2.     Request Action: To get audience act like what advertiser expect, the hidden message must be within the image or typeface. Those meanings can’t be too complicated to interpreted or too easy to guess.

What if the message is too complicated to interpret? The audience may find boring on it and give up on them. How about message is too easy to be interpreted? The audience will soon forget the meaning they learned.

3.     Keep it simple: Normally every advertisement shall only have a few seconds to give impact on the audience. So, the meaning conveyable must be within a short time. To increase the likelihood that the audience will actually get advertiser expression, the concept and wording must be clear enough and concise. It is suggested to be fewest words using while possible.

4.     Use interest words and special emotion for attraction: To attract the audience into written content, words like “promotion”, “discount”, “latest”, etc. may help grab the audience attention and get them curiosity in advertiser’s offer (Burns, n.d.).

Here is the suggestion, pretend advertiser are reading the advertisement in audience view for the first time, would advertiser getting excited or interest on what it offer? If not, audience wouldn’t be either.

5.     Emphasize benefits but not features: Before promote the products or services, advertiser must understand what the customer / audience desire. Then, by focus on bring the impact will audience get to the advertisement, customer / audience will try to pursue that benefit.

What if the entire advertisement is only focus on features? Audience will find no meaning look at it. 

6.     Banners Testing: Advertiser can run testing on advertisement they make by promote it for 1 or 2 week. Trying to obtain any data desired by advertiser and analyze on them. Determine what the prosperous advertisement have in common and refine the owned advertisement.

1.3.2       Color Adaption

When interpret the color, some prerequisite need to be consider like target audience profession or industry involved, society culture, physiology of eyes, content readability and personal preference (Burns, n.d.). Moreover, for selected country to conduct the propaganda, advertiser need to research on the contraindications and society background on that country. For example, in European countries, color purple represent the royalty. Second example, in Netherlands, color orange represent royalty. Third example, in China and South East Asia, color white represent unlucky and death whereas in some Western cultures, it is the meaning of purity.

1.3.3       Colors and legibility

Advertiser need to consider the human eye processing power in choosing advertisement colors. The hardest color for eye to discern is purple, so it is not an excellent color choice for the display. The easiest color and first color the eye discern is yellow. This color work perfectly in call attention to some text on a deep color banner.

Here is one principle, even color yellow is the best color for propaganda, still it not to be consumed much in the advertisement space as it will cause stressful to the audience’s eye. So, color combination is extreme importance in this case. A perfect combination of colors will balance the layout.

For the highest color contrast, they are white and black. The combination of this colors can create the font on advertisement legible.

1.3.4       The comparisons between white and black and colors

When comparing the white and black to other color, the same size of advertisement but diverse color based will the periodicals charge a higher rate. Moreover, expense of material, art techniques and mechanical production in produce diverse color is much higher in the budget and requirements. Exception for this deflect is single color is printed on a different page for a direct advertising piece (Burns, n.d.). However, advertiser are willing to increase the budget for implement multiple colors in their content.

The reasons can be seen from here:

o   Color is capable to raise up the value retention and attention value. It catches the attention of audience, prospects and impress the consumers.

o   Thanks to color contrasts, it can highlight the font and emphasize important elements.

o   There is environment white and black unable to present it. Color can reflect the product, situation and service with a sense of realism.

o   Colors have indiscernible create a rapid and clear identification of product, service, brand appellation and trademark.

Food, travelling, environment, beverages is normally expected to be in colors.

Fashions and fabric shall be gain much more.

Figure 1.6 Advertisement of DKNY brand

Messages to promote an instance policy require colorless. This is to get the audience to pay attention on the messages expression but not on decoration.

1.4  Conclusion

Advertisement is mean to encourage a person to act what the advertiser hope for. A human being is a rich mix of goals, needs, ambitions, hopes and interest. Human beings will never satisfy their desire and hope to get more and more. All those things are categorize as motives. The advertisements is try to appeal to some of those manifold motives that encourage people to act for what they desire. An advertising appeal is to promise a benefit will it give to the buyer through the advertised product or service. For example, the possible promise for a tools can be durability, economy, safety, convenience and mores.

Through this assignments, I getting know the requirements to produce an advertisement. And I will adapt what I learned here in the next project.

1.5 Reference

Diana Burns, n.d. Advertising Design & Principles. [Online] Available at:<http://www.scribd.com/doc/23738532/Advertisng-Design-Principles> [Accessed 25 February 2014].

Charles, J.F., n.d. Layout of Advertising and Printing. [Online] Available at:<https://archive.org/details/layoutpract00felt> [Accessed 26 February 2014]