Assignment #4 - Photo essay (Narrative)

Assignment #3 - Photography (genres)

Genre 1 - Street Photography

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

Genre 2 - Landscape/Nature Photography

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

Genre 3 - Abstract Photography

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

Assignment #2 - 2-D Advertisement

Advertisements analysis assignment

Ad #1 - Febreeze/Walmart

This online advertisement displays a concrete structure, with each visual element divided by lines and in their own distinct portion of the composition. There is a contrast of color between the top 4/5 of the composition and bottom 1/5. The lower portion draws the eye because of its prominent color, drawing the viewer’s eye to the store/vendor of this product (Walmart). A majority of the ad has a tan/autumn color that further distinguishes the blue in the lower portion. The scenic, atmospheric pictures of a leaf and a young girl are neatly grouped to the right edge of the composition. A major portion is devoted to the product, grouped in a large area of the upper left section. This product is the “star” of this ad, obviously, and given most of the “screen time.”

Ad #2 -  American Express

The American Express font and recognizable blue are almost motifs of this formally structured online ad for the credit card company. A visual balance is prominent in this ad, with the top portion serving as a heading, middle as the substance of the ad (consumer feedback), and bottom as the slogan and product logo (a kind of “sign-off”). The contrast of colors between blue and white attract the viewer’s eye to go up and down, parallel to the direction of the ad’s message. I’d also suggest that the combination of intentional balance and color choices create a sense of rhythm to the viewer’s comprehension of the ad.

-What’s the ad about? (top)
-Testimonial (middle)
-The product/slogan (bottom)

Ad # 3 - The Dr. Oz Show

 The figure of this ad (from a magazine) is Dr. Oz and a happy/satisfied patient/audience-member. The composition of this formalist structured ad centers this picture as a means to draw the viewer’s eye and serves as its foreground. A plentiful audience of the show (all smiling women like the one in the foreground) sits in the ground of this ad; both pictures play off of each other and design the sense of a spiritual experience that is implied to be tantamount to this television show. All textual information about the show (name, date, time, website) is positioned above and below.

Ad #4 - Wrigley 5 Gum

Perhaps the most striking aspect of this print advertisement is the contrast between black coloring and the bright, neon green flashes in the middle of the composition. The texts both above and below the main figure are a sleek white that also contrasts and, therefore, stands out. The product is centered nicely, creating visual balance. The prominence of the product in the composition is also elevated by the white space (as it were in this case, black space) bordering the picture.

Ad #5 - Sonic

It seems advantageous for a billboard to draw the eye with a concentric structure, such as this Sonic ad, as if to create a bull’s eye for a viewer’s attention. Separation of the heading (with logo and directions) displays an element of concrete structure, too, along with contrast of the white and black to divide visual objects and make the message more visually palpable. Such a contrast has greater visual intensity to draw the attention of people driving quickly by the ad.
The hot dogs serve as vectors pointing to the middle of the composition where the price and ingredients are proclaimed (font size cues the eye to comprehend important aspects of the message, also intensifying as you read towards the middle of the composition). The layout directs the eye to the words. The visual elements of this ad have been positioned carefully.