A Tale of the Elements of Design

DHL Internet

The mood of the overall advertisement is optimism; the bright yel-low, the smiling man, the chaotic lines turned tame and organized. Were the lines not present there would just be some grinning business man car-rying a laptop. The message of streamlining logistics for a business would be lost. Sure, the image of a happy customer would be present, but the viewer would be left with no real idea how that contentment would have come to pass.

The colors imply a bright, optimistic atmosphere. The red text also stands out very nicely. Bold, like the company is showing the world that they are.

The ad is very effective; however I would replace the man. He is the typical business man, but he stands out in a way that makes him an eye-sore. The black of his suit is not reflected anywhere else on the page, mak-ing him look pasted on haphazardly.

The concept if that of popularity; so many fingers, already painted, reaching for and pointing towards this product. With the variety of colors painted onto the nails it is visually striking.

The frequency of red nails compared to any other color is noticeably higher, adding a feeling of passion while at the same time making the entire ad very noticeable. The color red also ties in the color of the polish bottle off to the side.

With all of the bright colors to one side of the page, it would have seemed to feel heavy were it not for the bottle of nail polish counter balanc-ing. This brings in how this ad is about shape. The shapes of the nails, along with the shape of the bottle are both selling themselves.

This ad is very effective, while at the same time very creepy. All of the finger are either attached to something or attached to nothing, from how they are positioned. Regardless, it is very interesting, just weird.

Females are the primary audience, the finger nails being notice-ably feminine.

Climate Wisconsin: Stories from a State of Change http://climatewisconsin.org/

The purpose of this site, which is a project of the Educational Com-munications Board, is serious. People from all over Wisconsin are encourage to share their stories about how climate change that they have noticed, but, more importantly, how they or people they know are changing the way in which they live in due to the changes in the climate.

The project is serious but encourages those with stories to share, and the website portrays that purpose to the “T”. The charcoal background gives a down-to-business feel, while the light blue, textured header along with the black and white text give off a feeling of friendly welcoming. Had the blue been a solid color as opposed to textured it would have had a weightier feel to it, making it top heavy and taking away from the very colorful and to-the-point photographs. Each photo illustrates one area in which climate change is affecting Wisconsin. For a serious matter, the photos do not give off a feeling of danger. Rather, the vibrant colors in each scenario seem to be energetic, hinting at energy and activity in the community.

All of the details described thus far are all well and good and stand up to scrutiny under their own merits. However, when it comes to portraying the message of climate change and changing with it, the balance that the en-tire site is built upon is key to making the whole thing feel stable rather than a mish-mash of pictures. The black empty space between each photo helps to emphasis each one while at the same time lending that feeling of stability.

The site gets its message across very successfully with this site, easily allowing their target audience of the people of Wisconsin access to such a proactive resource.

The Lost Thing www.thelosthing.com

The Lost Thing is a short film that took the creators three and a half years to make.

The texture of the website seems to emulate that of the film, Clayma-tion and paper. It gives off a feeling of nitty-gritty and physical, while at the same time it’s animated and light. The site is meant to promote the film, with pressure gauge buttons leading to other features and information. While clean and very well constructed, it has the purposeful feeling of being thrown to-gether. Almost like a rundown town or post-apocalyptic. Everything is dirty and faded, the square signage has either had no upkeep recently, or it has been so long that only so much can be done.

Just like the character on the left-hand side of the page, we are left staring, wondering what is out there. Could there be danger? Allies? Who knows? There are plenty of pastel colorings adding a lighter tone, but it also seems washed out, empty and industrial.

The target audience does not seem to be the general populace, but rath-er those who want something a bit different, with a journey and plot, while at the same time kind of artsy.

Very well done, it portrays the same feeling as the screenshots of the film. From seeing this website, one would immediately be drawn to watch the film.

The contrast of this Schick Hydro 3 advertisement has immediate impact, so to speak. One can practically imagine the soothing water hitting them square in the face. Which is made all the more intense when the bam-boo training sword is noticed, adding shock to the feelings shared between oneself and the ad’s actual target. What is expected to be hard and painful becomes cool and shockingly refreshing. The white typography in the lower left hand corner stands out against the steel blue, gradient background of the entire image. The cool, dark colors, the clothing, the man’s hair, and the background all make the colorless, bright water stick out.

The water does not stick out like an eyesore, however. Seemingly white, it is thinner in some areas allowing some of the background to pass through, giving it a cooler tone that blends with the cool color theme the ad goes with. The white is also used in the typography, tying that together along with the white gradient stripe at the bottom of the page.

Gradients and smooth shadows seem to be a theme with this ad. Smooth transitioning, cool colors, powerful imagery. The perfect description for how a razor should perform: a smooth shave, hydration that is skin deep at its best, and a product with skin guards that “smooth your skin to reduce irritation”.

The victim of the sword-turned-water is dressed in samurai kimono, adding a sense of noble and powerful tradition that is honor bound to get the job done, and get it done right.

The Schick Hydro 3 advertisement is very effective. The target audi-ence is men 16 and up. The training samurai is both a pop culture reference, what with anime and manga having become very popular in the U.S., as well as a historical reference, the samurai code being of honorable note world-wide. Even those not in the target audience might purchase this product if out grocery/essentials shopping for a loved.

Big Apple Hotdogs http://www.bigapplehotdogs.com/

The unity demonstrated in the website for Big Apple Hotdogs (ironi-cally a London, England business) is very effective on many levels. One long page, as opposed to several, the different variety of hotdogs can be seen as one scrolls down, though links at the top for each one are available in matching, silhouetted franks.

For each hotdog the layout of its area is the same: cartoony, funny ‘dog on the left, the name in a consistent red font over the description which is bracketed by a line over it and a line beneath and the price in red, surrounded by a white envelope looking square.

The arrows next to the price help to lead the viewer up and down the page without scrolling, but the real treat is how the hotdogs seem to transi-tion from one to the other, despite alternating background colors and differ-ent expressions and clothing for the franks. One scrolls right into the other, on face disappearing just as the next one in revealed, each saying something characteristic in a charcoal colored word bubble.

The theme of cartoony character-foods is very well done right down to the bottom of the page, where the onion’s and the pickle’s hands scroll into one another.

The colors and style are very simple and well done. Red accentuates the idea of the “Big Apple” as well as being the perfect color for the hotdogs themselves. The green silhouette at the top of the vegetables and toppings is different, making it noticeable. That would catch the viewer’s eye, pointing out the free toppings one can have.

Overall, very well done and interesting to boot. Makes me want to go to London and try some.

Cartier le must

A renowned French jeweler, this advertisement for Cartier le must is very bold. The red makes this ad very passionate and feral. The gold of the jewelry advertise the product while adding sense of wealth and refinement. The leopard kit adds a sense of wild grace.

Cute, beautiful, and regal; this ad is very effective.

Females are the target audience, but it also the sort of ad the gets the attention of a male looking for a nice gift for his significant other.

Krillbite Studio’s website: www.krillbite.com/ats

The website for upcoming game “Among the Sleep” at first seems to be dark and foreboding at first glance due to the gritty, aged texture and shadowy color scheme. However, the hint of warm brown added to the mix brings out a feeling of comfort in the dark. The teddy bear face typography adds a childish motif, whereas two children walking out from the shadowy, welcoming forest into the bright and shining field brings about the feelings of hope and adventure.

That is the top of the page. However, as the viewer scrolls down, some of the light seems to mute, and the foreboding feelings rise in your gut as you see the same two children from up top now in the bottom corner, adding a feeling of being trapped claustrophobia to the feeling of dread as they seem to be traversing the tangled, forested landscape with nothing lighting their way but glowing mushrooms.

The presence of the glowing fungi adds a sense of the fantastic nature of the forest being traveled, while at the same time being foreign and strange. The balance of the page, the boy and girl walking into the field counter acting the typography in the upper left hand corner allow the viewer to focus on the details of the page. Such as the wavy text and the complementing wavy dot-ted lines as the viewer scrolls down the page, added a sense of hesitant whim-sy. Adding screenshots to the bottom left corner also balance the children in the bottom right corner and the newsletter box.

Very well done, the texture does an excellent job of adding just the right amount of danger to the website, while at the same time preventing it from becoming too dark with the warm hints of earthy brown.

Regardless of the feeling of innocence that the site seems to advertise in the name of the game, the target audience seems to be from ages sixteen to thirty due to the foreboding feelings that are also associated.