The Ever Changing World of Advertising and Marketing

The Economy. Those two words are on the tips of everyones tongues these days. It's amazing how quickly things can change. Just a few years ago we were all talking about terrorism. Every industry has it's own "ese", i.e., words and phrases that are specific to that industry and the people in that industry understand, but others don't. In the world of advertising the phrases such as "branding", "direct response" and "demographics" have been part of the advertising "ese" for several decades. We are experiencing a profound change. The new "ese" includes words and phrases such as: 

"Tweeting", "Behavioral Targeting", "Keyword marketing", "Mobile media", "Rich media", "RSS", "Search Engine Optimization", "Social media", "Third-person recommendations", "Unique users", "Viral marketing", and "Wiki". These new words and phrases don't necessarily eliminate the "ese" that has been used for decades but they do provide insight into the new approach to promoting a product or service. There isn't one learning curve, there are several and the challenge for client and agency is to keep to the fundamentals while intelligently exploring progressive methods. Just because it's new doesn't mean it works, just as it doesn't always work because it worked in the past. Thoroughly confused now? Many are, but it's our job to use cutting edge technologies and methods without falling off the edge :)  <---- "emotioncons" is another word in the new "ese". 

Exploring Ad Design Philosophy with Chris Mabry

Designers love to create the best work possible. It doesn't matter what or who the work is for. We want it to be the best. In order to achieve the greatest success with our work we study type trends, what this season's newest hottest colors are and what next season's will be. We analyze what photography styles are relevant for the products and brands for whom we are designing, and then make the appropriate decisions that will achieve our clients desired results.
Good work may look ok and get a small a bit of attention but great work will be engaging and memorable. Great work can actually gain a percentage of the market share for our clients. Great work will make a difference for our clients and the services their brands offers.

An old mentor once told me, "to be a player in the game you must be a student of the game." Designers must constantly remain diligent about the current climate of our industry and how to take advantage of the new tools provided but never forget the basics. Great design achieves a desired result. It keeps the audience coming back.

Some basic principles we live by:

1. Readability is the most important issue in commercial advertising design. Too often we see attractive designs that can't be deciphered by the viewer, which defeats the purpose of commercial advertising design. For example a billboard should have no more than 8-10 words because most viewers are traveling past the board at 70 mph and need to get the message quickly - they don't have time to read several lines of copy.

2. Less is More. The typical print ad is seen for less than 2 seconds, which means the designer must create the ad to capture the viewer's attention immediately. If the ad is stuffed with too much content the viewer has too much to focus on and ultimately sees nothing. This principle applies to most things in life - consider the design of home décor, clothing or automobiles. Often a client wants their ad to say everything they offer - which is a tragic mistake because no one, including them, looks at advertising to educate them selves on every aspect of a service or product. We look at advertising to determine if we want to pursue the product or service further. Ads are like road signs - or should be.

3. Form follows function. The color palette, fonts styles, use of positive and negative space and images must all work together to support one thing - the message. What do you want the viewer to do when they see your ad? Call an 800 number, visit a website, remember your brand, rush to your sale? We first ask our clients, "What is the purpose of the ad and what do you want the viewer to walk away with after seeing your ad?" After that is determined then we design with that purpose in mind. All elements should support the ads purpose. We use hero images, headlines, subheads, line, color and positive and negative space to direct the eye to the main focus of the ad - the message.

- Chris Mabry
Art Director / Designer