2/22/2012

getting great photos is a really big part of having a strong ad campaign. That is what my partner and I learned today when presenting our ads for Netflix. Our headline and concept is really strong and clear but the images are not lending themselves to the same idea. In order to get better quality photos, they must first be art directed in a more careful way. The lighting and the shot must be perfect and then it is crucial to color correct everything in photoshop. I think that once we can get our image clean and crisp our campaign will be much stronger. Also, we are going to take into consideration alot of the feedback that we received from our classmates with really good ideas on how to improve the layout and overall design.

2/20/2012

Today we went over our idea comps and got a chance to look at other peoples work. It was helpful to get critique from our peers and everyone seemed to like the same concept that my partner and I came up with. We are looking forward to developing our concept further and coming up with really strong headlines because as of now we have really good images. It is exciting to be working on something that we think is humorous and eye catching. I am feeling really good about our project and I cant wait to see how it turns out.

2/15/2012

WORK AS A TEAM. That is what I took away from today. It is important to work as a group, in order to come up with the best ideas, but it's also easier said then done. Group projects are difficult especial when everyone has a million things going on in one day. Some of us have kids, multiple jobs, 4 classes to study for and just daily life activities. Finding time to be able to sit down and meet with a group is difficult but must be done in order to completely develop ideas. Time management plays a huge role in this, and that is something that I definitely need to work on. I spend many of days doing hw for hours and hours because I like to take my time, but maybe I should try setting a time limit and seeing how much I can achieve during a short period.

2/13/2012

research, research, research, that is the key to coming up with a brilliant ad. In "Letters of a Note" by David Ogilvy he clearly states that "I am helpless without research material—and the more "motivational" the better. " Until reading this ad, and actually sitting down and thinking about concepts for our ad campaign I realized that the more I had researched the more ideas came flowing into my head. It is very important to know EVERYTHING you can about your product and its competitors. I really like what David said about writing multiple headlines until he finds the perfect one after asking other people for their opinions. For our campaign we are going to take the same approach and see if it helps us discover great headlines. I really like everything about this article and will use it as a reference when creating our ad. 

2/8/2012

Pitching an ad and getting your audience to believe in it is a difficult thing to do. It takes a great layout and design, a strong copy and an attention getting headline. When trying to persuade people to feel a certain way it is important to give a strong powerful presentation. Know your facts and how to back them up with statistics and sources, think of every possible question that could be asked of you during your presentation and know how to answer it. Another important thing is to speak slowly, clearly and loud to show that you feel strongly about your ideas. I watched a few episodes of Mad Men before I pitched my ad with my partner and it gave me a few ideas of how to get right to the point and make your audience understand what they need to know as fast as possible. Practice makes perfect, and I am nowhere near that yet, so I will continue to try my best with each project that comes forth.

2/6/2012

It was nice to see everyones final comps today. After so much stress and hard work, it was interesting to see what everyone had come up with. We went over each groups ads and did a critique on how they could be improved for the final. Everyone had different issues with their own ads but I think the critique was really helpful in trying to see how we could improve and also getting solid feedback from our classmates.

Getting critiqued by classmates is the best way to learn, in my opinion. Since we are all at the same level, studying the same things it is important to see what other people think about your work and also take corrective criticism and use it to your advantage to make yourself stronger and a better designer. After our critique on Monday I think many groups will have really good work on wednesday for the final presentation. Good luck everyone!!

1/1/2012

In class on Wednesday we went over everyones ads. Each group got a chance to post their ad on the board and Jimmy went through them one by one and discussed what needed to be worked on. Some people had really good graphics but for the most part everyone still needs to improve on their work. My partner Aileen and I will be meeting this weekend to work on our illustrations, which need a lot of improving and also our typography. We need to make out copy's stronger and more persuasive as well.