2. Is your advertising campaign fit for
purpose and why?
I think that my campaign is fit for the purpose because each one is
different in how it gives information and which specific information it
gives. My products get my messages across to the reader simply and gets
straight to the point. My products do this by highlighting certain parts of
the text to make them stand out more, and by having different fonts for
certain parts of the text. My colour scheme helps with a clear and easy to
read copy, as the grey and green I have used for my text work well against
the white background and it makes the text easier to read. Making sure
that what I am trying to get across to the audience is clear is important as
this is the obvious aim of the products I have created for the campaign. I
have also made a set of 3 posters which each have the same information
on, only with different pictures. All of my products follow the colour
scheme of SASH and I managed to find fonts that linked in well to the
fonts they are already using, including one font that is a slightly new style
but still works with the campaign.
3. Does it communicate your message
clearly and why?
My campaign communicates my message well because on every product I have made
there are basic things, like the SASH logo which gives an immediate answer to which
charity the product is advertising. The majority of my products ask rhetorical
questions, or questions which include the reader. This helps my message get across to
the audience because it asks them personally if they would like to help a homeless
teen. Asking questions like this makes the reader think and makes them feel obliged to
help. In most of my products, especially my posters, I have used images of regular
young people who other homeless people, as well as the general public, can relate to.
Using these images can let young homeless people know that they are not alone and
that there are others like them. It lets them know that they can get help if they need
it. Seeing regular teenagers on my products will make the public realise that the
typical stereotype of homeless people is not particularly true. Letting them know that
the majority of homeless young people aren’t dirty or smelly will hopefully open their
eyes so that they will know not to judge someone who may be homeless. Also, crucial
information like the contact details for the charity are found on all of my
products, giving the reader a way to get in touch with SASH as soon as they see the
product which is perfect for young people who are in need of help urgently.
4. Is it appropriate for your target
audience and why?
My products are appropriate for my target audience because they are not childish but
they also do not give the impression that they are very formal, which may put some
people off. Without being formal, my products are informative which benefits young
homeless people and the general public. The colour scheme I have used gives a calm
and friendly appearance to my products. I have used the same light green as the SASH
logo, meaning that not only is my colour scheme consistent, but the overall tone of
the products are welcoming. A welcoming and friendly feel is a good way to draw
people in, whether they be homeless or not. A young homeless person would be more
likely to feel reassured and more comfortable and confident in seeking help with this
colour scheme, rather than if I used more negative colours like red, black, and any
other dark colours. The language I have used in my products is mature but does not
use any complicated vocabulary. It simply gets the message across and gives enough
information for the reader to understand the charity and contact them if needed. I
have used images of young people so that homeless teens can relate to the people on
my products. I have used examples of peoples stories that SASH have helped to show
exactly what they can do and the ways in which they can improve young people’s lives.
The content in my products ranges from just the contact details to a fully informative
piece of text, telling the reader what SASH does and how they can help.
6. TEXT AND SASH
INFORMATION
The first product I made was the
poster on the left. I aimed to
make this poster the closest I
could to my final flat plan and I
think it turned out better than I
expected. I didn’t plan on the
text which is over both of the
images, but I thought it would
make more sense and be more
explanatory if I asked those
questions, so that the reader
could relate to one of the two
people on the poster. Apart
from that, the overall layout
remained the same as the plan.
I made a few changes to this poster before I was completely happy. When I began creating the
poster, I realised that the green and blue borders around the images didn’t look appealing. The
orange banner didn’t work either, as it clashed with the colour of the SASH logo and made it
difficult to see. When I first ‘finished’ the poster the white banner was actually blue - the same
blue as on my flat plan. I thought that this worked well and the logo was visible on the blue
background. As I began creating my other posters I noticed that the colour scheme I had for
them didn’t match the colour scheme I had for this one, so I decided to change the banner to
white so that there was consistancy throughout my products, and it looked much better and
more professional without the banner being blue.
7. TEXT
CONTACT INFORMATION
Once again I planned on having a border around this product, but when I came to produce it I changed
everything about the flat plan, including the green border. I found the image using Google images and it
happened to be in a similar shape to my bus sticker template and it was also of high quality so I knew it
wouldn’t blur when I stretched it to cover the template, so I thought it would be great to use. The boy
being sat to the right meant that I had to have the text on the left so that I didn’t go over him. I realise
now that I could of flipped the image so that I could of kept a similar layout to that of my flat plan but I
think it looks good the way it is. I moved the logo to the bottom left because it fitted between the edge
of the sticker and the boys leg. As with my flat plan I have the general text in a big font size and I have the
contact information in a smaller font size underneath. I wanted the text on the sticker to be big because if
it is being displayed on a bus you would need the text to be readable, and I didn’t use lots of text either
as people may not have enough time to read all of the information.
8. SASH
Here is one of SASH’s bookmarks and my
bookmark. I personally think that the two
bookmarks are quite different, in terms of
layout and information choice. I decided to go
for minimal information on my bookmark as it
made more sense to have the most important
pieces of information on there, like the
contact details, rather than having blocks of
text. On SASH’s bookmark they have included
information about what SASH does and also
offers options as to how the public can help.
My bookmark is more basic in the fact that it
only has SASH’s logo, name and contact
information. I decided to use a big block of
colour to break up the layout and make it less
bland, rather than having all of the
background white. On SASH’s bookmark they
have used the little logo as a way to explain
what the charity does. On mine I have use the
green space to display the name of the
charity and the contact information. I chose
to have the SASH logo at the top of the
bookmark because I thought it’d be a good
idea since the top of the bookmark will be the
part which will be seen the most as it is
sticking out of the top of the book. Doing this
lets people know instantly what charity this
bookmark is advertising.
MINE
9. Here is SASH’s poster and one
of my posters. Similar to
SASH, I have used a different
title font to the body font, as
well as using a larger font size.
This always works well as it is
the first thing you notice on
the poster. Their use of images
are quite small while I have
chosen a large image which
kind of interacts with the rest
of the poster, as I have placed
the text on the piece of board
the boy is holding. Also, SASH
have used the same colour text
throughout their poster. I decided to use both green and grey for my poster because I used the
green text to help make certain parts stand out. I used this technique on the title and the
contact details. I find it to be more appealing to the eye as there is more than one colour
present, so it is more interesting to look at than if all of the text was green or grey. I think the
layout on SASH’s poster isn’t well organised and you can sort of tell that they didn’t have this
one made my professionals. On my poster I have almost moulded the content around the
image, leaving no empty spaces, and I have included lots of text on there to make for a more
interesting and informative poster.
10. Compare and contrast your original
intentions with the outcomes you
arrived at.
All of my products have a consistent colour scheme. I have used the same shade of green as the SASH logo and
I have also kept a simple white background for the majority, unless there is an image as the background. I have
chosen this colour scheme because it is clean and calm, and the green is more appealing than some of the
other colours I first chose as it is welcoming and friendly, which is exactly the kind of impression I want my
products to be giving the audience. The fonts I have used are simple, sans serif fonts which have no flicks on
the letters, making them equally as easy to read which is important as I am trying to get a message across. I
used the fonts Appleberry and Compass for both the title fonts and body fonts. I thought it would be a good
idea to mix them up a bit, instead of having one set for each piece of text. I also chose which font I was going to
use by which I thought would look best on the product. Compass wasn’t originally on my list of fonts that I
gathered, but I tried the rest of the fonts and found that I didn’t like how they looked, and Redring 1969 had
too much of a gap between words and I didn’t think that was appropriate and it didn’t look good. Appleberry
was the first font I added to the list and I like it because it almost looks like it has been written or drawn in chalk
or felt tip pen. I like this effect because it appeals more to young people, as it reminds me of doodling and
writing notes, etc., which is something that the majority of young people would be familiar with. The images I
have used are of regular young people, giving other homeless teenagers someone they can relate to, as I am
showing that they are not alone and other people their age are going through the same situation. Most of the
images I have used show young people who either have an expressionless face or are smiling. Using these
images will encourage more people to seek help with SASH, or will encourage more people to volunteer for the
charity or help in any way they can, as the images on the products are friendly and inviting. I made sure that all
of the images I have used are of high quality so that they are not blurry or pixilated. Most of my images were
found through Flickr which enabled me to find a wider choice of images at a higher quality.
11. How effective are the techniques you
have used and why?
The techniques I have used work well. I haven’t used the same layout for every
product, meaning that my products are different and more interesting than if I used the
same layout, or something similar, throughout all of my products. I have used a technique
with the text and colour scheme – I made some parts of the text grey and some parts of the
text green. Doing this make certain parts of the text stand out above the other. I have used
the green to highlight the text most often, and in some products I have made that part of
the text a larger font size as well, to make it stand out even more. This technique is good for
when you want to push the main bits forward and may save the reader time from scanning
the text to find all the important parts. I have used images of young people to make my
products more relatable to other homeless teenagers. Using these images could also
encourage people to become volunteers as seeing friendly looking teenagers might make
them want to help out, whether it be volunteering to host or fundraising. I have also used
the technique of creating a set of posters. Three of my posters have the same content on
them, but they all have different background images. I thought this would be interesting to
do because they could be displayed around the same, or different areas. In the majority of
my products I have used large images that take up most or all of the background. Doing this
can draw more people in to look at the product closer because in all honesty, images are
more interesting than text, and most of us are more likely to look at the image first and
then the text. I have kept smaller images or minimal imagery for my leaflet and one of my
more informative posters.
12. Is the content effective and why?
I believe the content of my products are effective. I have included the essential contact
details in every product, but the general content varies depending on the product. It is
always important for the contact information to be on the product, which is what I have
made sure I have done. Doing this allows anyone who is in urgent need of help to get in
contact with SASH straight away. For the products with minimal space I have only included
the contact details and sometimes a small piece of text asking a question or two, which will
include the reader. On a few products I have said what SASH does and what SASH actually
is, which is important because the results from my survey said that a large number of
people have never heard of SASH, so educating the reader a little and including an outline
of the charity is always good. My leaflet is the most informative product I have created. It
includes information that can also be found on the website, which shows that details of the
charity, as well as contact, can be accessed through different types of media. I have aimed
to include as much useful information as possible in all of my products. The content of my
posters are effective because it catches the audiences eye better than my other
products, like my leaflet and bookmark, as they have large images. My poster content is
also effective because they give brief yet important pieces of information, and even just
including SASH’s contact details can be very useful to someone. Overall my products give all
the information that is needed and I have made sure that the way I have shown the
information is clear and to the point.
13. What impact do you think your
advertising campaign will have on the
public and why?
I think my advertising campaign will make the public think. Whether they are homeless or not, my
products will make them think about their views on homelessness and also about how they can help.
The majority of the public think that homeless people are smelly and dirty, a typical stereotype. I am
led to believe that people assume that homeless teenagers follow this stereotype as well, which is
most often not the case at all. The majority of them just look like regular teenagers, and can
sometimes be the people whom you would least expect to be homeless. By using images of normal
and ‘regular’ teens/young people, I have taken away that stereotype of homelessness and that will
hopefully make people realise that any teenager can be homeless and still look as average as you or
me. Breaking this stereotype could encourage people to open up and want to help young homeless
people by offering a room in their house, and signing up to become a host for SASH. The impact my
products will have on other young homeless people will be that by seeing a young person just like
them on my campaign will make them feel at ease as they won’t feel like they are alone. They will
know that there is a welcoming place they can go to if they need help, and the images I have used
give off that impression and also gives other homeless teenagers something to relate to in their
situation. The information I have included in all of my products will be useful to both the public and
young homeless people. Including stories of the people SASH have helped will give the public an
insight into the work of SASH and will hopefully encourage them to help out in any way they can.
Also, asking rhetorical questions and including words like ‘you’ include the reader and make it more
personal, which makes them think about the question they are being ‘asked’.
14. What are the technical and aesthetic
qualities of your work?
I think I have used Photoshop well to create my work and put it together, and throughout my work I have used
simple and more complex tools to complete my products. I have moved and placed images and pieces of text to
create layouts that I am happy with and what I think look the best. I have also used the internet efficiently, with
some of my images being taken from Google images and others being taken from Flickr. I changed the settings
on Google so that I could search for higher quality images for my work. With the images I took from these
websites, I then moved and distorted them to the size and placement I wanted. By doing this I was able to work
around the images, or adjust them to fit in with the rest of the layout. In some of my work I have shaped the
text/content around the images so that they come together. I found that doing this made my work look more
professional, rather than just sticking an image onto the document. On one of my posters I had to put a drop
shadow onto the text and use the burn tool on the background, as the image I had used made the text over the
top hard to read. For the aesthetic quality of my work, I would say that some of my products are better than
others. My first poster, in my opinion, doesn’t look as good as the second and third poster I produced. I think
for my first poster the images don’t seem to look appropriate, or they don’t seem to work. Whereas with my
second and third poster I found the images on Flickr, so I knew that they would be of higher quality. I picked
images that I could work the rest of the content around so that the layout looked more professional, and I think
by doing this the majority of my other posters have turned out well. On some of my posters I have used similar
layouts, and on my last three I have made them into a set, as they have the same content but have different
background images. For my leaflet I have made sure to include lots of information about the charity, making it
more professional and accurate. For my bus stickers and my bookmark I have kept the layout simple. I didn’t
want them to have too much going on and be extremely in your face because I wanted to keep the layout
organised and clean. I think that the more products I worked on, the better they turned out when I had
finished. Overall, I think that the majority of my products look professional and they fit the purpose of the
advertising campaign.
