Advertisements

Nobody knows who made the first advertisement. Perhaps it was a potter , thousands of years ago, who identified his pots with a distinguishing trademark.

Today advertising is a phenomenon of tremendous magnitude. Creating effective advertising is a long process in which many experts participate. The first step is getting needed facts through research. Marketing research seeks specific facts about potential consumers and about appropriateness of the possible advertising mediums (newspapers, magazines, radio, television, etc.). Some of the questions to be answered are: Who uses this product and why? How does the product come to the attention of the consumer and how does it get into his hands? What factors, positive and negative, determine a person’s choice? Although no one will ever have all the answers in final form, marketing research helps advertisers to gear their advertisements to the potential consumer.

Psychological research is concerned with the general and specific human reactions to varied kinds of display and copy. It has given advertising experts such findings as these: size increases attention approximately by the square root of the space used (for example, if the attention value of a full page is 100 percent, that of a half page is about 71 percent and of a quarter page about 50 percent). Position is important: the first and last pages of periodicals get most attention, right-hand pages are preferable to left-hand; if less than one page is used, the outer column captures more attention than the inner (interior) and the top more than the bottom. Contrast, unexpectedness, and difference endless are almost always worth while for a time, at least, but they may not be held up under repetition. Colour catches the eye, and this is a very fundamental point. It should centre the readers thoughts and feelings on the product, service, or idea for which the advertisement was created. It fails if it merely attracts attention to itself.

The second step is planning the advertisement, whether a single one or an entire advertising campaign. A theme or an idea, in both text and illustration, is developed from the research results and out of the advertising experts' imagination and ingenuity. Anything that is external or inapplicable, or that divert interest from the basic idea weakens an advertisement just as it would weaken a painting, statue, or building. It is somewhat easier, though, to weed out the unnecessary in advertising than in most other art expressions because the aim is single and simple to sell. To succeed it must capture attention, arouse and hold interest, make a lasting impression and lead to the action deemed desirable by the man.

The final step is checking the effectiveness of the advertising, which amounts to a type of marketing and psychological research.

Graphic designer

Look around your desk. If you examine each item you will have a chance to find several things created by a graphic designer. The notebook, pens, display company logos. The magazine has several illustrations in a single ad. The web site has a cool new design and some animated features. The fact is, nearly everything has a "graphic identity" now. This helps people recognize different brands and companies.

Graphic designers begin a design project by talking to the client or supervisor. Next, they use a variety of print, electronic, film media to create art and prepare sketches or images according to the client's needs. If their work is a part of a larger project they will consider the project's goals. Graphic designers then draw a sample of the proposed layout or create the layout on a computer screen. They present their sketches and layout to the art director or client for approval. Together, they suggest improvements and make changes as necessary.

Designers must be able to work under extreme time pressures and very defined financial and design limits to produce quality material. Salesman skills are very important if you want to see your design. When projects are underway, a graphic designer expected to work long hours brainstorming. Graphic designers must have talent and an understanding of the business world, including issues of finance and production, and should be familiar with computer technology. Basic professional coursework should include design, drawing, computer artwork, and specific knowledge relating to any area of specialization.

Graphics, which were the original focus of image consultants, are concerned with the overall visual presentation of the organization. The graphics system should dictate the design style of the company's literature, signs and stationery. It involves coordinating the style of the typeface, photography, illustrations, layout, and colouring in all the company's graphics. The logo is the heart of the corporate design system.

Unlike nomenclature, logos can be changed subtly over time to reflect the evolving corporate identity.

Graphic design creates a pleasing layout from text and graphics. That design might be a brochure, a logo, a Web page, or an advertisement. The list doesn't end there either. Here are some definitions:

graphic design is the process and art of combining text and graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of logos, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any other type of visual communication. Today's graphic designers often use desktop publishing software and techniques to achieve their goals.

Graphics design is the creation of visual media, usually for marketing. Business cards, logos, publications, brochures, postcards or mailings, invoices, and books are all products of graphics design.

Some designers don't work with text at all, such as an illustrator or a digital artist. And some designers do it all: print, Web, layout, and illustration.