Fall 2023
Overview
This project challenged us to design a 4.75 in x 4.5 in black and white only magazine ad. This stage of the branding project was important because we needed to see how our logo worked in a single color and in this case, at a small scale. Secondly, we needed to incorporate a strong concept and headline that ties into our brochure or annual report content. We needed to design the ad with the knowledge that in the real world, a designer wouldn't know what the final placement of the ad would be within a real magazine.
Research + Brainstorming
With a lot of the ad examples I found, I saw that there was a common theme of images of people, animals, or objects cut out and isolated against a solid background. Also, with a lot of the kid-centered ads, there were hand-drawn graphics included. Large, short, and impactful headlines would be important along with imagery that wasn't too overwhelming.
Sketches + Doodles
I quickly sketched out a lot of my ideas, mostly using the same image of the mad scientist girl. Since my brochure advertised the exploratorium's Mad Scientist Day event, I wanted this project to be an advertisement for the same event. Using the same image of the girl would make things more cohesive. I tried a few different headlines and concepts, all relating to the even.t
Thumbnails
At this stage, I tried to indicate typeface choices more clearly.
Intermediate Compositions
With my intermediates, I wanted to try out two options, one with a zoomed-out depiction of the mad scientist girl and one with a very zoomed-in depiction. I thought it might be cool for the brochure to have the full, zoomed-out image and this ad to be the close-up.
Final Hand Composition
I chose this design since it incorporates the same headline and typeface choices as my brochure and I wanted to keep it simple and cohesive, although I didn't know if I'd have room for the 'for more information' within the final design .
Black + White Computer Progressions
During my progressions, I had trouble with the headline and logo placement. The way the girl is positioned in the image made a lot of text placement awkward around her, so I tried a lot of approaches. Eventually, I found a happy medium where all the main information was placed within that solid white shape on the bottom of the ad and my headline was switched to my second choice since it fits a little better around the girl.
Final Black + White Magazine Ad
After updating the rest of my brand collateral, I made some small changes to the final ad, mainly by changing out the shape on the bottom that contains all the main text information.