Magazine Advertisement Comparisons
Purpose
Have you ever seen an advertisement for the same product in two different sources? Were the advertisements identical? Did they appear to be targeting the same type of consumer, or was each designed for different demographic groups?
Every effective graphic design produced is created for a specific purpose and targeted at a specific audience. Once a target audience is identified, a graphic designer will research and analyze demographics to discover and understand the trends, likes, and dislikes of the prospective audience. The message content is then formed to convey the information in an effective manner, addressing the needs and interest of the audience. The visual design principles and elements are carefully selected and manipulated to gain the attention and interest of the target audience. Often the same type of product will need to be marketed to many different groups. Each of these groups may need a different approach if the graphic designer is going to persuade them to buy the product. So, what is going on in this graphic design?
Equipment
· Engineer’s notebook
· Clear tape or all-purpose glue
· Advertisements from magazines, newspapers, flyers, etc.
· Activity 1.4.2 Graphic Design Rubric
Procedure
In this activity, you will work in teams of two to locate and evaluate two different advertisements targeted at different audiences for the same or similar product type. Each partner will be responsible for analyzing one of the ads.
Identify where your advertisement came from, and what it is that is being marketed.
As a team, discuss each of the advertisements, and record your observations of the visual design elements and principles that are evident in your particular example. Explain what type of audience the designer was trying to target by giving an educated opinion as to the demographics of the group. Support your opinion with statements that exist in the advertisement, or explain the source from which the advertisement was found.
As a team, you will discuss and defend your evaluations and opinions with the class in a round table format. Your instructor will moderate the class discussion.
Following the discussion, you will submit your engineer’s notebook to the instructor for evaluation using the Activity 1.4.3 Graphic Design Rubric.
Conclusion
1. What are trends? Why is it important to identify them prior to graphic design?
2. How does human nature play a role in how a product is marketed to a specific demographic group?
3. How is a potential audience identified?
4. What must you discover about the target audience prior to graphic design?