Graphic Design: What's Going On In This Design?

Identify where your advertisement came from:

Electronic Design Wireless Everywhere

September 9, 2010 Volume 58, Number 11
Identify what it is that is being marketed

Digi-Key Corporation

As a team, discuss each of the advertisements selected. Record both team members observations for the advertisement you've selected. Analyze the add using the following Message Analysis considerations:

• Message Content:
• The message that the add is trying to convey is complete and short. There are no paragraphs about the Digi-Key Corporation, but instead there are pictures of what type of products they sell. The website is on the add and the phone number as well, so whoever is looking at the add can buy a product if they are interested. The logo of the corporation is on the add: You Need It, We Have It!
• Size and Shape:
• The first thing that catches my eye is the You Need It, We Have It saying of the corporation at the top of the page. The name of the company is the second thing that catches my eye, since the text is so big reading: Digi-Key Corporation. It also has an oval around it instead of all the boxy shapes on the rest of the page. I think it is weird that the images of all the products they have are so small becuase it makes it hard to see right away what type of items there are on the website, especially if one is just taking a quick glance at the magazine. Everything that is important like the website and the phone number are bolded, and the website is even in a different color which makes it stand out.
• Readability:
• It is very easy to see what is being advertised becuase all the important facts are in different colors. The black background and the red and white text makes everything stand out more, but I don't like how they put so many small pictures of the products on the add. The boxes with the products in them are different shades of oranges and reds, and then the products themselves are black and silver. The fact that the images are so small actually makes my head hurt, and I don't like looking at it. I like the fact that their logo attracts people, and that it is in bold white text, but I just wish there were fewer, but bigger images present on the page!
• Needs the Audience:
• Becuase the add is in a electronic design magazine, and the Digi-Key Corporation is a company that sells electronic products, it fits the magazine that it is in. It obviously will attract to people that are in search of the various products they sell, but becuase I can not fully see the various pictures I have no idea what the products are that they are selling. All I know is that this add attracts to engineers, and people that are interested in mechanics, etc. I think that the add attracts to older aged people becuase I don't understand the pictures what so ever. So obviously it doesn't attract to teenage girls that are not interested in mechanics :).
• Designs and Principles:
• There is definitely color in this add, and the color is good and bad. It helps to make the add less boring, but really it makes it really chaotic and hard to read which I don't like! There are different shapes which I discussed before, and there is a different shape around the Digi-Key Corporation becuase it makes it more prominent. This is good since this is the company being advertised! There is definitely emphasis on the Digi-Key Corporatioin and the logo at the top becuase they are in bigger, bold text compared to the rest of the page. The fact that the pictures are so small makes it seem like the products are not important, which may be true, but to an extent I would like to know what the corporation sells. Honestly I would love to see bigger images rather than small ones!

Identify where your advertisement came from:

Scientific American Mind

Volume 15, Number 5

Identify what it is that is being marketed:

Nikon Coolpix 4800 Digital Camera

As a team, discuss each of the advertisements selected. Record both team members observations for the advertisement you've selected. Analyze the add using the following Message Analysis considerations:

• Message Content:
• The message of the Nikon digital camera add is that the new camera's best feature is it's zoom. People say "pictures speak a thousand words," well that is definitely the case here. The picture in the add shows the zooming feature of the camera becuase the girl is very far away, but when you look on the screen on the camera she is up close, hence the zooming feature. At the top of the page there are four boxes with key information. The first box has the type of the Nikon Coolpix camera which is the 4800. The amount of megapixels are 4, and the optical zoom is 8/3X, and the price of the camera is $399.95. All the key information is directly at the top of the page therefore it is easy to see. The website to order the camera online is nikondigital.usa.com, and this website is at the bottom of the page so it is easy to read.
• Size and Shape:
• The size of the camera is huge, and it is definitely the prominent item in the ad. The fact that the size of the camera is so big helps to make it easier for the person looking at the ad to see what is being advertised. The picture not only is just of a camera, but it shows the special feature, (the zoom), of the camera, in order to show the readers that it is not just any old ordinary camera. The next big thing that catches my eye in the ad is the top of the page with the boxes of information. The four boxes have bigger lettering, and they are white on a yellow page, and therefore they stand out. This is good so people know what the camera is all about, and how much it is going to cost them if they want it. The size of the information is a lot smaller than the camera, but that is because most of the information is conveyed with in the picture of the camera in the center.
• Readalility:
• This ad is definitely very easy to read. There is one picture that conveys the whole message, and the overall summary of the camera, and then there are four boxes at the top with key information about the Nikon camera. At the botton lies the website, so if one wanted to go online and buy the camera, then they could. Pictures are always good because they keep the clutter down in the ad, producing a less chaotic add. Providing only needed information helps readers of the ads not get headaches, and it helps them not feel sick while reading it. All you need in an ad is the key info about the product, the price, a little about it, and where to buy it. All of those things are included.
• Needs the Audience: 
• The fact that the add is so easy to read makes me belive that this ad was triggored towards young people looking for a camera. I say this because when people are looking through magazines and they see this, any one kid could read the basic information on the page, and see what is going on in the picture as well. I don't think teens, and children were the only audience, I believe adults were as well. I say this becuase the ad is in a engineering magazine, and most kids would not read that. I believe the ad is guided towards adults too because the picture being taken is of someone's daughter or grandaughter while fishing. The photographer is an older person, and therefore portrays that the person buying the prouct should be older. 
•  Use of Proven Design Elements and Principles
• There is definitely use of color in this picture. There is a yellow background, and the camera is silver, and the girl in the picture has a red life jacket on. The color makes the ad less boring, and it helps to keep people interested. Instead of having a black background with white writing and no color, it is better to have color to make the add more interesting and appealing. There is also emphasis on the camera, aka the product being sold. There is emphasis because the camera is in the center and it is the biggest thing present in the picture. It is good to have emphasis on the camera because it shows that the zoom feature is the most prominent of the Nikon Coolpix digital camera. Those are the two main design elements and principles that are present in the ad for Nikon. There may be others but, they don't really help to make the ad stronger or weaker in my opinion.

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