Tips For Final Assignment: 

 

There is still over a week to make your work better. These executional tips can help you improve your work and your grade.

 

STEP IT UP:  Make sure everything is at its peak. Concept, visual, design, layout, typography and executional skills.

Is your idea persuasive? Does it meet the goal and objective indicated in the assignment?

 

The more good work the better. If you have a good campaign idea, add some integrated work that relates to the idea. For example, you have a great print campaign, now how can you leverage the idea and connect to the target digitally--in social media, or online ads, or is there a guerilla advertising or ambient tactic. Or even a pr stunt. Also, if media strengthens the idea, put the ad in that context.

 

LAYOUTS: If doing more than one campaign, no two campaigns should have the same layout. At this point you should be beyond just finding a stock photo and putting a headline on it. As an art director you decide where on the page you want a viewer to look first, second and third. 

 

DESIGN: Analyze your work and see if any of it can benefit from an additional design influence – as long as it’s relevant to the concept. If sticking with your original design, can it be simplified? Is the design complicating the message for the viewer or helping the message? Also, are you using your strengths or passions from other visual areas—illustration, fine art, photography, color, video, motion design, painting, typography, etc. 

 

ART/PHOTOGRAPHY: Make sure you’ve got the best visual for your idea. Art Direction is about choices. Even if it was approved before in class, see if you can find or create a better one. Do not rely on just Google for images. I’ve given out about a dozen other resources. You should be reviewing appx 2-3,000 images to find one. I do at least that many and more.

Also, as art directors you should be able to look at an image and see what tweak you can do to make it more unique— like we did in class. You all did some really cool stuff. Color adjustments, curves, texture, levels, saturation, highlight adjustments etc. Via Photoshop or other image manipulation software or site. Any decision should be in keeping with the tonality of your idea. Retouch out distracting elements of your visuals. Neutralize distracting colors that jump out. Cropping your images for interest or effect can be as important as selecting them. 

 

RESOLUTION: All images must be hi-res enough to print well. For a printer a minimum of 150 dpi (dots per inch) at actual size. If you are blowing the image up 200% then it actually becomes 72dpi which will look pixelated and make any good idea look bad.
Also remember that even if you find a 300dpi image, it’s of no use if the actual image size is 2”. Similarly, if you have an image that is 150 dpi at 4” you can’t just change the resolution in Photoshop to 300, because the dots already exist at a certain size.
If sourcing via google images be sure to drill down to the search tool for images 1600x1200 or above. (1024 x 768 is ok if you are using the image small in layout).

If shooting images yourself, put all of your shots in a folder and we'll review selects together.

 

TYPOGRAPHY:  Type influences. Your font selection, size, placement and design is the voice of your idea. It should relate to your concept and the feeling/tonality of the campaign. Type is its voice. Sure Helvetica is timeless, just don’t use it for everything. Also, think if it’s relevant or not to give your type an effect. Just don’t make it gratuitous or random. Pay attention to kerning and letter spacing. Also consider if your type, headline or tagline is better suited as part of the image rather than placed over the page.

 

ART DIRECTION: Your overall art direction, which includes all of the elements on these pages should be based on your ‘idea.’ It should also get your ad noticed and make people want to stop and read your ad. If you don’t get their attention they can’t be influenced by your idea.

Don’t fall into the trap thinking everyone is interested in your idea because you are. Or that everyone will get it because your advertising peers like it. Draw your prospects in for the right reason and reward them for stopping by.

 

HEADLINES: Double check your words. Are they too ‘headliney’? Do they sound too much like a headline? Can you tweak the language to be more provocative and persuasive? Can it sound more conversational? I know you guys aren’t ‘writers’ and their are some language barriers, so email me if you need help with words or grammar.

 

Extra Credit: You can get extra credit by doing the ’Seeing Things Differently  excercise/assignment again. Take something you see everyday and make one visual change to change its meaning. Then try and repurpose the visual and use it for advertising. 

 

Don’t forget to put work in progress in your class Google drive folder. If needed, here is a link to templates in a shared folder to place your work outdoors, etc. 

Let me know if you have any questions. 

 

Have fun! Push yourself to make it GREAT!