Ad project part one, advertising research

  For the second project of my Digital Art class, I need to create an ad about whatever I want. This is the first part of the project, research, in which I will be searching for the basics of creating ads, the techniques involved and a product to promote.

According to Prachi Juneja, writer of MSG's (Management Study Guide Content Team) blog, some of the most used techniques are the following; Emotional Appeal, Promotional Advertising, Facts and Statistics, Weasel Words, Endorsements and Ideal Family. 

I believe that one of the most useful techniques is the first one, in which the advertising is done with the help of two factors, fear factor and necessities. 

Based on this fear factor and the current global situation, I believe that I can focus my ad on the use of masks and other safety measures, such as social distancing or the use of hydroalcoholic gel. 

For this, I have looked up different posters from health systems such as the NHS or Medicaid.

From all the research I have conducted so far, I have got to the conclusion that the most used colours in this kind of advertisement are yellow and dark blue. Based on my own knowledge of colour theory and some research on webs like this one, yellow is used because of it's long-wavelength that makes it very visible and easy to see. In other words, it's eye-catching. And blue is likely used because of its calming effect, and also because it is often associated with intelligence. Others have black instead of blue, probably because of the contrast created between it and yellow, and also because black is the standard colour for writing.

I have also seen that most of the posters use only one letter font per design. This font is always sans serif,  and very rounded. This is probably because of the relaxing effect that these forms provoke, as well as because of how readable they are.

 Taking into account that I am currently living in the UK, I will probably make an ad for the NHS. Therefore, I will try to use the same colour scheme, letter font and motives.

Resources: 

Blogs on advertising: 

MGS Advertising techniques by Prachi Juneja (accessed the 14/10/2020)

The art of advertising, an exhibition by Bodleian Library, written by Julie Anne Lambert (accessed the 15/10/2020)

Colour theory:

Colour psychology January 16, 2017 (accessed the 15/10/2020)

Using colour when designing posters, (accessed the 15/10/2020)

Posters:

Social distancing free poster (found on google image search the 14/10/2020)

Free covid poster template (found on google image search the 14/10/2020)

CIMSPA printable posters in english and welsh (visited the 14/10/2020)

Flyers and Prints of the Island of Jersey (visited the 14/10/2020)

Coronavirus in Virginia (visited the 14/10/2020)

Please note that the referencing might seem unfinished because information such as authors and publishing date couldn't be found. Government pages tend to lack in this kind of information.