Mini Art School #1

Design Critique

Food & Wine Magazine, October 2011, pg 88

For my required design critique I chose  a page from Food & Wine Magazine's October issue (pg. 88).  I was thumbing through this magazine shortly after completing the readings for this week, and there were many design characteristics that stood out to me.

Audience

The readers of this magazine are interested in food and wine, so the article captures the audience's attention with a photo of colorful, fresh food. 

Image 

The designer here chose to combine two images of slightly different height to top the page.  The fact that both pictures have backgrounds in similar shades of gray creates a harmony between the photos that allows them to be placed next to each other without competing with each other.  Additionally, the vertically aligned subjects of the photos (the vegetable tarts on the left and the owners standing on the right) create a visual harmony that works.   The designer chose not to place a hairline border around the pictures because there is enough of a contrast between the white of the page and the gray of the image to set them apart.  Utilizing the 'works every time' layout, the designer placed the pictures at the top of the page to catch the audience's attention and guide the eye towards the article. 

Layout 

The designer here used the 'works every time' layout, and it works. There is a superb balance of color, text, and image that harmonizes to invite the audience to engage in the article and pictures. 

Headlines 

The headline is in a large and different font, placed right underneath the image.  There is an almost poetic quality to the headline, as evidenced in the assonance (repetition of the final 's' sound in three of the words).  The designer allowed the headline to justify where the line break would be - smartly, they did not separate the words 'Vergennes' and 'Laundry' the name of the bakery in the article. 

Typography 

In the 'works every time' layout, the rule of thumb is to only use two fonts.  This design breaks that rule, but it works because the fonts are not competing with each other.  The tag, headline, and byline are all in the same font.  The sub-heading and the text of the article are also in the same font.  The designer chose to use a slightly more whimsical font, very similar to the copy font, for the quote that is inset in column one.  The color of the inset quote matches the color of the initial letter of the copy and also picks up on the red color of the cherry tomatoes in the photo, so there is a continuity of colors that sets the mood and tone of the article - bold, yet classic.

Margins 

Margins are generous on all sides of the copy, but the designer chose to position the left-side photo flush with the edge of the paper.  Even though this technically breaks the rules of design, I think it works; the light colored background of the photo creates a faux margin for the eyes.

Columns 

This layout utilizes two margins or the copy, plus a technical third margin for an inset quote.  The use of two columns effectively breaks up the text and makes it inviting to read.  Additionally, the color of the inset quote draws the eyes down from the image to the text and invites the audience to engage in the article.

Cutlines 

"...if you do need a cutline, run it flush left and ragged right directly underneath the visual" (Golombisky & Hagen 24).  This design breaks the cutline rule, but with good reason.  First of all, running the cutline directly underneath the pictures would clutter the headline space, not to mention the fact that the differing lengths of the photos would create trapped white space.  The designer was smart in placing the cutline in the top left corner of the right picture for two reasons: 1. the black text of the cutline fills the empty space of the white wall behind the bakers, and 2. the black text of the cutline on the top left-hand corner balances the blacks shadows in the bottom right hand corner of the picture. 

Justified Rivers

One of the design no-no's explained in White Space is Not Your Enemy was justified rivers - what happens when you justify text in your copy and are left with 'rivers' of white space between words.  Despite the fact that the columns are fully justified, the designer generally avoids justified rivers.  When I look closely I can find one or two small ones, but they are not overt or distracting.

Widows and Orphans

There are no widows or orphans present in the copy; it is a neat, clean, and inviting layout.  The fully justified text is formatted just right too avoid the widows, orphans, and rivers. 

Design Basic Index:

Harmony Workshop Exercise #2

I decided to do the 'visual echo' exercise because I enjoy working with color and appreciate when colors work in harmony to help convey a message.  The posters I created are for a music festival featuring laid back rock and jazz artists- the target audience is young adults looking for a laid back music festival.  

Design Basic Index:

Loosened Alignment Exercise

I decided to do the loosened alignment exercise because it is something I have never done before.  Because this was new to me, I used the examples in the book as a model for my design. I chose to use muted purples and blues for the design to give an impression of an upscale toy store, but the orange pops of color maintain a young and fun feel. 

 

Multimedia Montage Project: Professional Communities

I have been a member of several online professional communities for several years now, but don't think that I've truly tapped into their potential yet!  I am hopeful that this project will force me (in a good way!) to use more of the professional resources that are literally at my fingertips.  

I like to use Facebook to follow education pages because it allows me to view information all in one spot and to seek out more details if I want or need to.  On Facebook, I follow Edutopia and Edmodo, and I just signed up to follow ReadWriteThink.org (one of my favorite teacher websites!)  I also subscribed to an RSS feed from ReadWriteThink for 7th and 8th grade Language Arts Materials, and I will be streaming the RSS feed through Google reader.  

The project I intend to create is for my students.  Every year, I teach a unit on persuasive techniques.  In past years, we have used mostly printed advertisements and speeches to evaluate persuasive devices.  I would like to create an website that houses all of the unit materials - including .pdf files, video, audio, and pictures - to use in the classroom.  I am hopeful that this website can be both informational and interactive for the students to understand and evaluate persuasive techniques.  

The online communities I have joined will help to provide a strong foundation for the design and content of the website.  I know that teachers have created content/unit specific sites before, so I am hopeful that I can use their tools and tips to create my own.  The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has issues a position statement on multimodal communications, and I feel strongly that I am responsible for modifying my instructional practices to meet 21st Century Skills requirements.  I am hopeful that my membership in the online communities and my goal of creating a unit-based website will help to fulfill at least part of that responsibility. 

May the Force Be With You...

The Volkswagen Force commercial’s primary intention is to advertise and ultimately sell the newest Passat model.  In reality, however, this commercial tries to sell much more than cars – it tries to sell a lifestyle.  The company uses nostalgia, humor, and images of perceived success to reach the audience.  In this cookie cutter mid-American upper-middle class family, the father works (as evidenced by his coming home at the end of the commercial) and the mom stays home with the young boy (as evidenced in her giving him a sandwich for lunch).  The people in the video are portrayed as financially and culturally/socially successful.   VW is attempting to portray what they perceive to be the American dream – working dad, stay at home mom, a cute kid, a dog, and a German car in the driveway. 

This commercial used strong nostalgic images to reach a very specific and targeted audience – young white working families.  The Star Wars Trilogy came out in the late 70’s and early 80’s, when their target audience was in their teens.  The images from Star Wars may have defined, or at least influenced, years of their target audiences lives, so I consider it very clever to tap into that nostalgia.  The advertiser transposes images of the families that they seek to reach – a ‘this could be you if you owned a Volkswagen’ approach.  The entire commercial is filmed through a third person objective lens, but it follows the behaviors and needs/wants of a young boy dressed in a Darth Vader costume.  We see the boy become disappointed over his lack of Darth Vader powers when he tries to influence ‘regular things’ (the advertiser here is creating a divide between the ‘average’ items- elliptical machines, washing machines, a doll that resembles Luke Skywalker, and peanut butter sandwiches – and the extraordinary – the new VW Passat), but the audience finally shares in the boys triumph and surprise when his powers work on the car.  Here, the advertiser is also trying to connect with the kid inside all of us, allowing us to share first in his frustrations with the everyday, and finally in his excitement and disbelief over his success (and who doesn’t want to dress up in a Darth Vader costume?)  Since the commercial is filmed through the third person lens, we are also able to share in some of the feelings of the parents.  For example, the mother humoring (or dismissing?) the boy’s attempts at telekinesis while going about her everyday doings makes a connection to the mothers in the audience.  The father’s clothing (casual suit, briefcase) and desire to hug his son when he gets home also appeals to the family men in the audience, while the young parents together can share a feeling of satisfaction at having both tricked their son and made him incredibly pleased with himself at the end of the day.  This portrayal of family dynamics is both a reproduction and representation of reality. 

I think that this advertisement was successful in its attempt to reach a specific and targeted audience, capture their attention, and convey a message.  Petterson, on information design, states “Regardless of the selected medium, a well-designed information material, with its message, will satisfy aesthetic, economic, ergonomic, as well as subject matter requirements” (Petterson 40).  Aesthetically, the commercial was clear, utilized single-angle and steady shots (an appeal to their older audience who prefers this to quick flashing images), and took advantage of well-known and powerful music to capture the audience’s attention from the start.  I would also suggest that by aligning VW with Star Wars, the advertisers are suggesting that the Volkswagen brand, much like the Star Wars brand, is part of American culture, has a strong influence on that culture, and is a ‘force to be reckoned with’ that has staying power and an ability to connect with multiple generations at the same time. 

I think that by filming the commercial in this way, Volkswagen was able to successfully appeal to all of the stakeholders in their target audience – mom needs to be happy, dad needs to be happy, and the kid(s) need to be happy.  I would also suggest that filming the commercial in an alternate point of view, for example, the first person point of view of the child, would both weaken the intended message and would even possibly appeal to a different demographic than would potentially buy the car, thus weakening the effectiveness of the ad. 

The students in my classroom conduct advertisement analysis when they learn about persuasive techniques, so this activity really put me in their shoes!  What this reinforces, however, is the importance of the ability to apply and analyze information over the ability to recall details.  Over the course of our lives, the content and medium through which messages are delivered changes, but it is our ability, and the ability of our students, to identify that a message is being delivered, analyze that message, and make an educated decision about how to act in response to that message is what is most important.  The P21 initiative corroborates this intention, as well as the importance of embedding problem solving, critical thinking, and media literacy into core content knowledge.