Author: Andrea Mayer

Ad Campaign Reverse Engineer

Introduction

I found this image on the following link: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/western_union_shelter .

In this web page, the image is described as Print advertisement created by Saatchi & Saatchi, Trinidad and Tobago for Western Union, within the category: Finance. It also gives credit to Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi, Port of Spain, Trinidad as the Advertising Agency; to Jon Slater as the Creative Director and to Chris Guinness as the Art Director and Copywriter of this ad.

By looking at other designs with the same Creative Director, Chris Guinness, on this web page, ads combining items and concepts are predominant. Figurative content is used so the viewer can understand and receive the message without using many words.

This is an image of the “it matters” campaign, from which I was inspired to created a new ad. Link of the image in the caption below it.

http://www.adeevee.com/2008/01/western-union-money-transfer-it-matters-design/

Original Ad Analysis

Alignment

Here the designer decided to place text and icon in the center of the image, prioritizing the icon by placing it in the very center, and the text and logo in the center lower part of the page.

Contrast

A very well used principle here. The designer chose the color black to make the the greatest contrast possible with the background, so it stands out immediately.

Proximity

The way these items are organized, leads us to see the icon first, then the little text right in the right of it, and last the text below and logo. The distance between the icon and the rest of the text gives the viewer enough breathable space.

Color

The brand Western Union uses only two colors in its logo. The whole ad uses those two exact colors. It drives the mind of the viewer to relate quickly the color with the brand.

Typography

A realized, as I looked at other ads of the same campaign, that the typography of the character “S” is especially different than the others and it kind of relates with the word it forms with the following smaller characters. The smaller character by the letter “S” is very similar to the one by the logo.

Repetition

Here we see the designer applied this principle by repeating the black color on the icon, characters and background of logo. He is also repeating it on the straight line of the dollar sign and the line that separates the slogan with the logo.

New Ad Analysis

Original

I chose this icon design because it seals the main purpose of the campaign, to be a solution for many that are far from many resources. That’s why I chose a light bulb as my icon and “Solution” as my message.

Alignment

I kept the alignment of the original design by centering everything to the center, the icon in the very center and the slogan and logo in the lower part.

Constrast

I chose the exact same technique of contrast by using black for my text and icon, keeping the personality given by the logo that already existed.

Proximity

I used about the same distance between the icon and the loco and slogan, so the viewer first sees the logo and then where the campaign comes from. Now I see that I could have placed the “olution” part of the word a little closer to the “S”, to make it as one whole item, and more similar to the original one.

Repetition

I applied repetition on using the same color pattern of the logo inside the light bulb by allowing some yellow on more details. I also tried to repeat typography of the text, that’s not the logo or the “S”, the same.

Color

I used the exact same yellow as my background color, and the same black for all the items over the background.

Typography

I paid especial attention on the typography since there’s no much text to evaluate. The logo is the only one that has all capital letters, and the “S” of Solution with a unique and formal font. The rest of the text has another font and not capitalized letters.

Conclusion

The original and the new ad I created work very well together for the same campaign, because the message it gives fits very well with the purpose for which the campaign was created. Also, the color, contrast and other design principles were studied very closely to be applied on the new ad. Finally, the whole ad keeps the personality of the campaign and anyone that sees it could say from which brand it is advertising for, and from which campaign.

Inspiring Quote

I will be doing an analysis of the different principles of design being well applied in this image below. I found this on the Instagram app called masfe.org (“more faith” in Spanish), which is a web page also administered by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) from different Latin-american countries. On them they share and post their own diverse media content to inspire and inform Spanish speaking people (or Portuguese in the case of Brazil) about the beliefs of the Church. This image in particular contains a quote from the President of the Church Russell M. Nelson, published the 2nd of May by the masfe.org Facebook page (click on the image to find it).

(Quote in Spanish) "Each day brings opportunity for decisions for eternity." by Russell M. Nelson With a man standing against a yellow sunset in a grassy field.
Designed by masfe.org
“Each day brings opportunity for decisions for eternity.” by Russell M. Nelson

Analysis

(Alignment – Proximity – Contrast – Repetition – Color)

Alignment

Same first image described with a highlight on the alignment of its text flushed to the left.
Highlighting well use of a principle of design: Alignment.

Here we see that the whole quote is flushed left, including the name of the author. This gives enough room in the page for the background image to stand out. If the creator would have the text centered, it would have covered the legs of the man, making him less important probably and not giving much natural in the page for the eyes of the viewer to rest in that image.

Proximity

Same first image described with a highlight on the proximity of its well displayed elements.
Highlighting well use of a principle of design: Proximity.

The icon showing the source of the image is far enough from the actual quote, which helps the view to focus on the words first. If you notice, the eyes of the viewer don’t wonder around looking for a place to stop of start reading. Along with the principle of Alignment, Proximity is giving a clean and clear message because the related text is close together.

Contrast

Same first image described with a highlight on the contrast the sunset makes on the man, and the light colored text over.
Highlighting well use of a principle of design: Contrast.

The picture of the man against the sunset is a very good way to have contrast in an image. It’s hard to see the man’s face, but you can still see the whole human figure because of the shadow with the bright sun behind him. You can also see the words well positioned in the bottom and darkest part of the image using white and a kind of yellow that makes it easy to read, and even stand out in the image.

Repetition

Same first image described with a highlight on the color yellow repeated in several parts of the image (sky, words and details of logo)
Highlighting well use of a principle of design: Repetition.

This principle helps to unify the the design. Even though we see different colors and tones of them, this yellow is the one that repeats several times throughout the image and in all the elements of it: it’s in the text, in the icon or logo of the creator web page, in the decorative dots, and in the sky of the background image.

Color

Same first image described with a highlight on some reddish flowers growing in the grass randomly making a beautiful image and colorful enough to enjoy.
Highlighting well use of a principle of design: Color.

We can identify some reddish colored flowers scattered in the dark green grass. This is just a detail but it adds a special “flavor” to the design, especially because that color appears only on those flowers.

Conclusion

You could probably recognize a different principle applied at the same time other was being explained, and you are not wrong. As you can see, all these principles build on each other to make a well organized design. The creator made a good choice in color choosing, and positioning all the elements to result in a comfortable image to look at and admire.