Advertising

YOUR AD NEEDN’T BE DULL

Here’s an advertisement I designed a few years ago for Consolidated Communications. The ad admittedly had a lot to say, but by breaking the space apart into grid sections the message remained managed and intelligible. When the message is long, the important thing to do is draw the reader in with a simple high-level message—in this case, an excited happy gentleman has a special offer to tell you about. This alone may be enough to peak one’s curiosity enough to read on.

Another way to grab attention is with an engaging photograph. Consider the anthropomorphic implications brought out in this simple poster I designed to invite office workers to a holiday luncheon.

KEEP YOUR NAME OUT THERE WITH A NEWSLETTER

One of the more enjoyable projects I’ve taken on was a newsletter called “Envision” for Consolidated Communications. This was a quarterly mailer used to educate and promote the features of their TV service to existing customers. The tendency in communicating with newsletters is to try to include as much information as possible thinking this creates the most bang for the buck. The truth is, that approach generally fails. People want to have fun and feel entertained, not be bogged down with text. And that’s the direction I took this project in. I worked to keep the copy light and the look colorful and energetic. 

NOTHING NEEDS TO BE BORING!

Forms are arguably the most mundane and boring design work of the business world. Right? Not necessarily. With the right approach, the ordinary can begin to approach the extraordinary. Consider this example.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOUR COMPANY OR INSTITUTION?

Can an advertisement created in PowerPoint be sent to the newspaper for publishing? The answer is no. In the past, newspapers requested art as slicks generated on a stat camera, hence the term “camera-ready art.” Now days they generally require that art be sent electronically in the form of a PDF, or sometimes as a JPG or an EPS file. These are formats the newspaper can manipulate in their layout programs. These documents can be adjusted for the correct halftone density and color separation—features necessary for creating plates for the printing press. Presentation programs like Word or PowerPoint lack these features.

Below is an example of a Word document file that I redrafted to send to the newspaper. Apart from creating it in an appropriate software program, in this case, Adobe Illustrator, I took the liberty of moving text off the photo to enhance readability. In the original design, the logo totally over-powered the message. In my design I carefully considered the elements of the ad hierarchically and flowed the massage accordingly. Finally, to add a bit of flair, I borrowed an element from the logo and repeated it as the border for the photograph. 

A project like this takes very little time. I charged this client $25. Now, imagine what I could do to help your company get the message out!