The Total Concept: Words and Visuals Chapter 17 The Total Concept: Words and Visuals

Four Basic Areas of the Creative Process Concepts Words Pictures Medium

Concept A general notion or idea, an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars

The Creative Team Art Director Copywriter

Creative ideas do two important things: Make the prime prospect consider your product Implant your brand name and connect it to the positive attributes of the product

Developmental Stages of Creativity Preparation Incubation Illumination Verification

Sources of Inspiration for an Idea Packaging How and where product is made Product’s history What happens with the product Product’s old advertising

Layout Headlines Illustration Copy Logo type Sub-headline

Basic Means of Attracting Attention Use the visual alone Use the headline alone Combination of visual and headline

Layout Readers look at (in order): 1. Visual 2. Caption 3. Headline 4. Copy 5. Signature (Advertisers name, contact information)

Visual at the top of the page Visual at the top of the page. If you are using a photo, bleed it to the edge of the page or ad space for maximum impact. For photos, place a descriptive caption below. Put your headline next. Follow with your main ad copy. Consider a drop cap as a lead-in to help draw the reader into the copy. Place your contact information (signature) in the lower right corner. That's generally the last place a reader's eye gravitates to when reading an ad.

Visual at the top of the page. Caption below photo. Headline next. Place main ad copy in first two columns of a three-column grid. Place your contact information (signature) at the bottom of the middle column. In the third column put a coupon or a faux coupon. Placing the coupon in the outside corner of your ad makes it easier to clip out.

Headline first. When your headline packs a bigger punch or is more important than the photo, put it up top to grab the reader first. Visual next. Caption below photo. Place main ad copy in two columns. Place your contact information (signature) at the bottom of the second column in the lower right corner.

Visual first, to the left Visual first, to the left. If the visual lends itself to a more vertical arrangement or if you want to equalize the importance of the visual and headline, try this. Headline next, to the right of visual. When you break your headline up into several lines like this, you'll probably want to avoid headlines that are too long. Caption below photo. Place main ad copy in two columns. You might want to use a drop cap as a lead-in. Place your contact information (signature) at the bottom of the second column in the lower right corner.

Basic Design Principles Unity Harmony Sequence Emphasis Contrast Balance Formal Informal Color White space

Example of Contrast

Development of an Ad Thumbnail sketch Rough layout Comprehensive (“comps”)

Computer Design Today’s computer hardware and software make it possible to do both layout and production.

Example of computer layout

The Art Two types of artistic talent The imaginative person The artist Other sources of art and photography Royalty tree stock Stock photos

Example of Original Artwork

Example of Artwork

Reasons for Using Stock Images Time pressure Budget restraints Quality, choice, variety of stock collections Ease of accessibility

Summary The concept is a fresh way of looking at something. Creative team develops best approach. Computer technology makes the creative process less complex.