Design: Art and Advertisement
Good Design brings together artistic appeal and engagement with the reader. It is not a skill that just anyone can pick up along with the newest version of Photoshop and InDesign. Many elements work together to create design that is attractive and interactive with a viewer. Design in advertising goes one step further by adding a message that calls on the viewer to act. This article discusses design elements and how they work together to make successful design.
One of the most obvious elements is color. It’s possibly also the most fun. Often, mood is associated with color, so white may communicate purity or openness or possibility while green may communicate growth or longevity. But white could also be emptiness and green could also be jealously. Using color with other elements will define the mood more clearly. Value, while a separate element, relates to color in that it is the lightness or darkness of the color. This element especially will give mood to piece when used with color. It’s important to make sure you’re green means growth when you’re creating an advertisement or website as to draw people in instead of away from your work.
The element of size, especially font or logo, is an oft-debated issue between designer and client. The designer creates it one way and the client wants it bigger. But bigger isn’t always better. Yes, a big mark or font may attract attention, but is should be the right kind of attention. If it’s true that all publicity is good publicity, then that is not the case with attention to design. Make a font too big and people will feel that they’re being yelled at and the message may get lost. A little logo can go a long way.
Shape is a fascinating design element. With it, there is both positive and negative space created. Therefore, it’s key that a designer use the positive or negative to the design’s advantage, as well as balance the other design elements around the shape. Too many shapes will be a confusing clutter. And remember that shape is the folding of line. Any time a line folds in some manner it creates action. Too much action and too much shape will look chaotic. Texture is similar to shape and is either physical or visual. It creates depth and can draw a reader in quickly, but again, can be easily overdone and create a stressful feeling.
Line is an element that can be described as a verb. If color communicates mood, I guess it’s the adjective, while line communicates action and movement. It can be either the linear marks or an edge where two shapes meet. It can communicate hurriedness, relaxation, fluidity, recklessness, pep, flirtation, concentration, and many more kinds of activity to match whatever you are hoping to communicate. Urgency isn’t always the best answer; a sense of calm can attract the eye just as provocatively. Similar to the element of line, is the element of direction. All lines have direction, so the important thing to remember is to lead the reader’s eye to the most important part of the advertisement.
Design success will come when all elements are working together in a balance to one another. This will take much study and practice, and fortunately there are myriad ads to study, some brilliant and others that are simply terrible. But when you practice design, and it all comes together, you’ll find what’s attractive and meaningful.
Chris Kincaid is a twenty year marketing professional and writes extensively on business including local topics such as graphic design in Michigan and Ann Arbor advertising.
