TASK 7- Advertising

Advertising

Advertising is an introduction to consumer and general public of “services and goods”. 
The real role or it`s aim is to make people aware of goods, products or services available under a brand.

We can call it a communication between companies and their costumers.  
In other words, for a successful business, advertising does not mean selling of products or services but helping in increasing the sales, through creating awareness in people.

However, advertising as a highly visible business activity may “fall” (and it often does) in ethical standards which often can be risky for the companies.  
Large companies have set their ethics standards as formalized rules or 
policies to describe their code of ethics.

Some of common examples of ethical issues in the field of advertising are:  

-Vulgarity used to gain consumers attention  
-Use of stereotypes  
-The use of racism, sexism, violence and shock tactics in ad. campaigns  
-Adverting harmful products (unhealthy food, tobacco, alcohol, gambling etc)  
-Misleading information: false claims and lies

In the UK market, I think that advertising tend to be more ethical on its approach because of the higher level of the public conscience and organizations ( ASA-Advertising standards authority) that control ad. industry, which ensure that ads that we see are legal and honest by enforcing their advertising codes of ethics.

Good advertising  

Advertising, in fact, is proper promotion of the products not selling of them. Using its forms organizations can give proper information about their brands to the costumers and consumers. Good advertising facilitates people to buy their proper products. It helps to increase and assist companies in selling services and goods.

 
Advertising  
Everything and everywhere

Ambient media and guerilla marketing are another forms of advertising determined by some as non-traditional or alternative media. The key to a successful ambient media campaign is to choose the best media format available and combined with effective message.

The following are some reasons for the popularity growth of ambient media : A decline in the power of traditional media, a greater demand for point-of-sale communications, its ability to offer precise audience targeting and a higher demand for advertising spaces and methods.

What I like about these forms of experimental communication  is their ability to produce mass attention in centralized locations, or directly interact with consumers during normal every day activities.

Creative advertising

 

Advertising vs. ethics 

UNHATE - UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON.
...couldn`t avoid these samples.

CONTROVERSIAL CONCEPTS
Extreme advertisements -shock tactics 

Ambient media & guerrilla marketing 

 

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REFERENCES

http://hassam.hubpages.com/hub/Importance-Of-Advertising  
http://zestyjill.tumblr.com/  
http://mgm0508.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/dolce-gabbana-unethical-advertising/  
http://weburbanist.com/2007/06/06/15-coolest-craziest-and-most-innovative-guerilla-marketing-campaigns/?ref=search  
http://www.designishistory.com/images/publications/manifesto.jpg

http://www.onextrapixel.com/2010/02/25/80-extreme-advertisements-that-will-challenge-your-mind/

 

TASK 6 - Product packaging

The role of packaging is to protect, promote and facilitate the use of the product. It protects products from transport, physical and barrier protection for instance from germs and other issues; sells the product promoting it and communicating with potential buyers while attracting their attention and being different from competition and also provides important information about the e.g. ingredients, instruction of use etc. facilitating the use of it.

According to various reports packaging has less than three seconds to grab the consumer’s attention and considering that more than 70% of “purchasing decisions” are made at the shelf, that pack has got to work hard. The problem with packaging nowadays is the pollution that it makes and the huge amount of rubbish it generates. The focus for years has been on using sustainable and eco-friendly materials which can be recyclable.

Good packaging designers have two key tools to grab the consumers’ attention, graphics and structure. Designers have to make sure they convey information, about the cost of their product, the ingredients it contains, and whether or not it can be recycled. Packaging graphics must do more than simply look pretty.

About graphics they must think about:

• Color - The first thing you remember about a brand may well be its color.

• Story - Building a story into the packaging of a product. A way to convey brand essence. Doing so allows consumers to connect with the product on an emotional level.

• Illustration - When designing pictures onto a piece of packaging, practical considerations like the printing process and substrate onto which the image is going to be printed must be made to ensure they express the exact mood needed.

The structure of a pack serves for these multiple purposes, like: to create shelf standout and sell the product, protect it, facilitate the use of it etc.

They must also think about how to make the product easier to use and create standout, for instance some products are recognizable simply from the silhouette of their pack. Before 30 years trends were to improve aesthetics and sales of the product, using different materials and most advanced print techniques to make a standout for their product. However, now the trends are to minimize the over use of different non eco-friendly materials towards more simpler and more functional product packaging. Sustainable packaging also considers issues such as carbon footprint, the total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly during production process, transport, sale and consumption usually expressed like (CO2). Some brands and retailers on their packaging carbon labels include information on how to reduce a product's carbon footprint when you use it and in some cases it will tell you how it compares to similar products.
 

Green packaging is a demonstration of commitment to the environment. It is also the growing awareness to the impact that packaging production has to the protection of it, creating packaging products that can be recycled, reduced (materials) and reused. Traffic light labeling is a system for showing the consumers information about their food product and it`s levels of fat, sugars and salt in their product using different color coding to indicate the level of nutrients. 

Mood garden tea 

 

”Being in the right mood at the right time can make a world of difference. Getting in that right mood can sometimes be as simple as a cup of tea. Mood Garden is a tea company that focuses on providing Fair Trade loose leaf tea in the convenience of tea bags. Each tea blend corresponds with a unique color and flower to help visualize these moods. When the tea drinker removes the tea bag from the stick, a prompt followed by a small flower is revealed. Since many tea drinkers read while brewing, the vertical orientation of the stick makes it a very convenient book mark. Designed by Alexander Chin.

Nooka Glueless Packaging  

“Nooka is continuing its tradition of green packaging with the introduction of the Nooka Glue-less custom box. This paper packaging is truly eco-friendly, requiring minimal material, minimal labor and is biodegradable. ” Via Lovely Package

http://ambalaj.se/2012/02/14/nooka-glueless-packaging/

HANGERPAK

This project won First Prize in the D&AD; Student Awards 2007 category 'What else do you do?'. Steve Haslip's HangerPak comes from a slightly different point of view; his packaging design turns in to something you can use with what comes inside. Even if a cardboard hanger has a limited lifetime, it still gets an extra life cycle instead of going straight from package to recycling bin (or, worse, the landfill).
http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/sustainable-product-design/packaging-design-at-its-best/page/4/




References:

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Types-of-design/Packaging-design/Shape/

http://www.illuminatingbrands.com/2012/01/ill-show-you-mine-december-2011/

http://www.sustainablepackaging.org/content/default.aspx?type=5&id=sustainable-packaging-metrics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_packaging

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1083947576&type=RESOURCES

TASK 5 - Ethics and social responsibility

- A group that caught my attention is Zerofee , an ethical design agency which creates visual identity and design for print and digital media, but not for irresponsible brands or companies. Alongside their commercial work, they constantly donate design to financially–challenged charities and good causes. 

Their approach to design and clear profile definition of…not using their skills to support brands and companies that they feel that have a negative impact on the society… makes them very special. They do not accept to work for clients that put profit before people or disregard the environment. They are determined not to help those who they believe do harm and they would rather benefit from them either. 

Their website offers information about their very clear vision and approach to design. Pictures down show one of their projects.

http://www.zerofee.org/ 

 

TRAID education pack. Materials designed for secondary school students to introduce them to the environmental and ethical issues presented by the fashion industry. Subject to careful environmental consideration throughout, right down to the choice of lamination materials, the pack is produced using a mixture of recycled and sustainably sourced components.

Design donation is the term they use for their policies of offering pro–bono design to financially–challenged charities, non–profits or causes they believe to be worthwhile, but disadvantaged. They are committed to providing access to professional design for those who couldn’t otherwise afford it, but would benefit immensely from its application. 

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Bombs Vs. Books

- Other designer that I found interesting for my topic of research is Ian Bonner. His projects show his approach and social responsibility to his design concept work.

 

 

These two images by Ian Bonner were part of his integrated campaign ...to wake people up to the defense budget in this country vs the education budget.The brochure that accompanied these posters, states that the U.S. military ranks #1 in the world with a budget of $595 billion in 2010.In education however, the U.S. ranks 14th in the world. Its budget in 2010 has been crippled by an onslaught of budget cuts in at least 35 of the 50 states...

Ian says: 

Recession+ Military Budget = Education Budget Cuts
Do the Math.

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Recycle

These two pieces are part of a campaign by Ian Bonner to try to shame people into recycling. The printed plastic wraps would be applied to trash containers of people who were determined to be particularly wasteful and unwilling to recycle. 

If incentives don't work, maybe shame would. I had access to his projects while researching about social & environmental issues through Conciousbydesign.

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FREITAG bag
Another example of clever use of recycling (or reusing) is FREITAG bag.

Graphic designer brothers Markus and Daniel Freitag were on the lookout for a messenger bag. The FREITAG brothers wanted a heavy-duty, functional and water-repellent bag to carry their designs. Their personal need turned into a business which now employs more than 120 people. Since their original messenger bag, the FREITAG brothers have developed and marketed several bags for women and men. FREITAG products now sell around the globe, in over 350 shops. They are made in Switzerland.

The Process  
From truck till bag

Depending on weather conditions, truck tarpaulins are replaced every 5 to 8 years. They are a valuable raw material for FREITAG. 

 

Freitag bag

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References:

http://www.freitag.ch/  

http://vimeo.com/30232520  

http://www.zerofee.org/
http://www.consciousbydesign.org/corporate-statements.html  

http://www.consciousbydesign.org/political-statements.html  

http://www.ethicsingraphicdesign.org/?page_id=566  

http://www.designersaccord.org/index.html