The ads created by United Colors of Benetton have created heaps of controversy since their creation in the early 2000's. They use a Conceptual Approach and an Expressive approach in order to create the uproar they have thus far. The ads are so successful because the concept is strong therefore illustrating the expressive and emotional part. The concept being rooted in controversial topics uses contradicting images to make strong, blunt messages. Conceptually the message given is often a bit mindblowing for the average viewer, yet true and possible adding to its shock factor. The shock factor of the adds is the expressive approach. Hierarchy in these adds are better illustrated in the second example where the racially segregated hearts stand out before the logo is even seen. The hierarchy is image, text, logo. That in itself makes a statement. The concept is more important than the company name. I think these ads overall demonstrate a strong use of both the expressive and the conceptual approach in design. Even more interestingly they take a unconventional approach with the use of hierarchy.

LeighAnna Webb

JWT, Chile

The first example shown here, an advertisement for scrabble, conforms to the conceptual approach to design. It is minimalistic, yet very effective in communicating its message. Only two elements form the visual hierarchy - the image of the guitar, and the word "scrabble". The image speaks so well for itself that it takes up most of the advertising space. The message becomes clearer by the placement of the word scrabble, centrally in the lower part of the poster. It immediately gives context to the image and creates a pun.

Saatchi&Saatchi Simko, Geneva, Switzerland

This second example conforms to the expressive approach to design. I think it is a gorgeous piece of advertising formed around a very clever concept. It is from a series of poster that depict hands painted to look like different animals. The viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the vivid colours used to create these animals. After studying these hands our eyes are drawn upwards to the WWF logo (the intrusion of the white on the coloured background grabs our attention), which immediately accesses the emotional part of our brain. It is then that our eye is drawn to the message of the posters: "give a hand to wildlife". And subsequently the entire image is reinterpreted with this new understanding. The visual hierarchy is strong and well informed.

hsbc vs. always with honor

The HSBC 'Your Point of View' print advertisements comply with the conceptual approach to design embodied by Haslam. The campaign sets out to envisage an understanding of its customers and the world they live in by recognising their different values. Through paring different word associations with the image, it successfully highlights the variety of impressions given by different frames of reference. The advertisement follows the hierarchal structure where the visual is the foremost the focal element. The use of a universally recognised and accessible font (Helvetica), it does not detract from the image itself and allows for the wordplay to be solely based on word/image association. The second element in the visual hierarchy is the sign-off which punctuates the advertisement and leads up to the text. The text works ranged right due to the briefness of the passage and the lack of discrepancies in where the line begins. With it ranged right it constantly draws eyes back the focal image reiterating the content with the concept.

This infographic is the collaborative effort of the Information Design collective Always With Honor and integrated media platform GOOD, which highlights how diets affect the weight of the population globally. It is a comparison of nutritional consumption vs. body fat percentage which breaks down the complex data transforming it into a design which is accessible and enjoyable. It adopts an analytical approach utilizing visual hierarchy to emphasise the countries with the highest fat percentage and consumption. Through this, the size compliments the percentage making it obvious to the viewer which countries have the largest percentages immediately. Corresponding to each percentage is the nation's average calorie consumption linked to the key which strategically blends into the colour scheme of the background. The explanation of the data is placed top left to allow the viewers gaze to continue to refer to the pictorial data, which dominates majority of the infographic. The colour of the title is shared with that of the countries linking the image with the text through word association. The size of the text is large enough to be the second most salient element, clarifying the purpose and content of the infographic.

Cityrail map vs DKNY advertisement:

The cityrail map is an example of Baines & Haslam’s analytical approach as it is presents a large amount of complex information that has been organised in a logical, informative manner. The key places an important role in accompanying this information and is essential in the understanding the data. There is only one typeface used which creates simplicity and the small text used creates a consistent, basic hierarchy, with the heading being the main element, followed by the map itself and lastly the key and information located on the bottom.

On the other hand, the DNKY advertisement represents a conceptual approach to designing information as the concept and idea of the ad is encapsulated with minimal text, yet still communicates a message to the audience. The branding and promotion is represented through the use of the apple image, which symbolises the slogan ‘be delicious’. This creates a visual symbol/metaphor and demonstrates an ad that relies mainly on image to convey the message, rather than text. The visual hierarchy in this example is much stronger than that of the Cityrail map as various sized text are used to draw the eye to various areas on the page.

The Foundry Measure series provides a set of paper measuring tools to measure a huge range of things - Produce in season, Wine, Height, Lunar phases, and Yearly calendar. The collection of cleverly designed paper tools are simplistic and have a consistent and striking colour palette that draws in the eye – this combination allows for these charts to be easily read as well as visually appealing. The Foundry measure series is an example of a successful analytical approach to design by containing a huge amount of information for each paper measuring device as well as easy to understand symbols and charts - all of this working harmoniously thanks to its careful and simplistic layout.

The Borders Online store receipt is a classic example of design concerned with documentation. It provides all the information required about the order in a simplistic and easy to read layout all without even a little aesthetic detail. This form is filled out by a computer once an order has been processed and this may be the main reason for the bland look of the document. The typefaces used do not sit well together and the page margins are inconsistent, this combined with the mass of white space makes it as un-designed as Baines and Haslam's "Four broad approaches to design" describes.

Posters: Antony and the Johnson's / Apricots.
Written by Adrian John Ross Moore
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When considering the structure of information in graphic design, there are two approaches available to designers that are able to convey depth and sophistication within their particular medium: a conceptual approach and an expressive approach.

A conceptual approach is seen in the poster designed by Jason Munn for the band ‘Antony and the Johnsons’, where Munn has successfully developed a conceptual start point of lyrical content, album inspiration and philosophical beliefs, into a communicative piece that symbolises the very nature of the band. This poster illustrates this visual metaphor that successfully uses a strong reading line, alongside a harmonious visual hierarchy to guide the audiences’ attention to the information that is the band’s concert date.

The second entitled ‘Apricot’ is a poster for a film showing at the Chauvel Cinema, which has been designed to immediately draw an emotional response from the viewer, known as an expressive approach. The result of such an approach communicates the depth of the film through the development an emotive use of visual hierarchy that creates a link between the warmth and innocence of the image and the elegant hand treatment of the type in the films title.

Both posters communicate the necessary information for which they were designed however through two ultimately different approaches they are able to illustrate a sense of depth that intrigues the audience into further interactivity.

'The Abuse You Yell at Your Kids...'

& 'Global Emissions'

The Abuse You Yell at Your Kids Stays in the Family for Generations

Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand, 1995

The 1995 Saatchi & Saatchi ‘The Abuse You Yell at Your Kids Stays in the Family for Generations’ campaign is consistent with Haslam’s conceptual approach to design. The mimetic poster is a candid example of encapsulating a complicated and sensitive message in a reductive design; here, demonstrated by the perpetuity of the screaming mouths, which heighten the emotional volume of the message (Heller and Ilić, 2007, p. 31). The poster references a popular Surrealist hierarchic theme, the diminishing horizon line, suggesting the perennial nature of abuse in the family. Meanwhile, the vernacular arrangement of the lettering serves to increase the implied violence of the message by challenging the viewer that what they may perceive as normal or acceptable behaviour may be immediately abusive.

Global Emissions

Collaboration between GOOD and Lamosca, 2009

[click here for larger view]

GOOD and Lamosca’s Global Emissions infographic was conceived in preparation for the 2009 COP15 Climate Change Conference. The graphic furnishes an analytical presentation of the biggest CO₂ emitters in each region of the world between 2006 and 2007, which is easily distinguished by the size of circles that contain the countries’ rankings. A colour and pictorial key expands on this information regarding the increase or decrease in emissions and the consequent change in emissions rankings from 2006 to 2007. This key is accompanied by statistics, which although improve the quality of information presented to the audience, are superfluous for the purposes of this infographic. Consequently, the table is discreetly placed at the bottom of the page, alongside the key, with the graphic dissection of world emitters dominating the layout. Hierarchy is also represented literally, by plotting the emitting countries geographically onto a world map, serving to graphically chastise or praise those countries accordingly.

References

Heller, S., & Ilić, M. (2007). The Anatomy of Design. Uncovering the Influences and Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design. Massachusetts: Rockport.