The Design Process Of Creating A $40,000 Creative Newspaper Advertisement
Written by Jacob Cass on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 – 9:00 pm
This semester at University I am studying ‘Design For Advertising’ and the first project we received was based around how to professionally design a creative newspaper ad. I am going to go through the process I used to create one along with some tips on the way.
The Brief
In short, we were to design a creative newspaper advertisement / campaign for the factitious chocolate company sweets2u.com and the purpose of the campaign was to create awareness of the new and exciting chocolate delivery dot-com.
The sweets2u service is based on chocolates arriving the next day anywhere in the country, along with a personalised message printed on a personally selected decorative card.
We were asked to find an interesting way to advertise this service to the nation.
We were given no other information (not even a budget) and we had to find out what would be the best way to raise awareness of this new business so this meant we had to research the size, the number and where to place the advertisements.
Research
Where to advertise?
Before we even began on trying to come up with an idea we had to try to figure out the best place to advertise in a newspaper and for the best price that would be within the budget of this dot-com company. We researched newspaper demographics, prices, sizes and distribution numbers and finally came down to choosing to advertise in the Weekend Australian newspaper.
We chose this paper because it suited our target market of high socio-economic business people, mainly 25-60 year olds who would be more likely to send chocolate via the internet and had the money to do so.
What size to advertise?
After knowing what paper to advertise in, we had to choose the size and where to advertise in the paper and also compare prices with other newspapers. We did this by looking at newspaper advertising rate charts and by making calls to the advertising departments which proved to be a lot easier than working it out ourselves from the website rate chart. We had to take into considerations things such as colour loading (30% more to use colour) and what side of the paper to put the ad on which some papers charged more for.
We finally chose to advertise on page 3, on the bottom right side of the paper which you can see in the diagram to the right. The actual size was 20cm by 10 columns which is 20cm X 37.6cm in this particular paper. The cost for this would be AUD$40,368 inc GST for a full colour ad and that would be distributed to 305,000+ people.
What is the Unique Selling Point (USP)?
After we had decided on what paper and size to use, we could now begin creating an ad. The easiest way to sell a product is to find a unique selling point and after a bit of brainstorming and discussion we came down to these USPs for sweets2u.com; They delivered chocolate conveniently via the use of the internet and they offered personalised messages, something that you don’t get when you buy chocolate any other way. These were the USPs we focused on.
Brainstorming
After choosing the USP’s I brainstormed ideas of which you can see one of my very messy mind maps below. I generally go pretty crazy with these things and jot down as many words that come to mind within a space of about 5 minutes - this is just a method that works with me. There are many other methods on how to be creative.
After I brainstormed, I did many rough (emphasise on the rough) sketches and came up with about 70 different ideas. Below you can see a few based around the same ‘Chocolate Delivered’ theme.
I didn’t think the ‘chocolate being delivered’ theme was working too well as the ideas were too basic so I then started thinking about ideas on the USP of the service being personalised. I came up with quite a few ideas however the one idea that I ended up using actually came to me while I was trying to get to sleep… is anyone else like that?
Execution
After I had the idea firmly envisioned in my head I finally started on the execution of the ad. Below you can see my original rough (again, rough being emphasised) sketch of the proposed ad. It depicts a pair of briefs, chocolate and socks hanging on a clothes line with the tag line “Very Personal”.
The body copy underneath will read;
Choosing a present is never easy but don’t resort to socks or undies this time, instead let us do the work for you.
We will deliver chocolate anywhere in Australia overnight guaranteed…
…all you need to do is log onto www.sweets2u.com and write a personalised message to go with it! You don’t even have to leave your house.
I then went down to the shops bought some chocolate (mmm) came back, grabbed my camera, some of my undies (sorry you had to see them) and socks and went outside, pegged up the items on the clothes line and shot my scene. I experimented with different shots, combinations and lighting and after about 50 shots came back and reviewed them. You can see 4 variations below and the chosen image below it.
After choosing the shot above, I clipped out the background to simplify the scene.
I then added a nice blue cloudy background to set the scene a bit more.
I then played around with the text, body copy and positioning logo until I was happy. Below you can see the final design - you will have to click on it to be able to read the body copy. The fonts I used were Franklin Gothic Demi for the body copy and Salamander for the heading. (If you have read the post 30 fonts graphic designers must know and own you would know that the font Franklin Gothic is great for newspapers!)
And upon completing the advertisement I got to eat the chocolate! It was a sweet reward.
Mistakes To Avoid When Designing For Newspapers
Here are some mistakes to avoid when designing for newspapers along with some other tips.
Too much clutter – Don’t forget the importance of white space. If you can’t fit in all the information you had hoped to, consider going with a larger sized ad, or editing down your information to a more manageable amount or get creative… how can you say your whole message in just a few words or a picture?
Unclear message – Make sure you know what you are trying to get your reader to do before you start to design your ad. Keep this objective in mind at all times and review your ad when you are done to make sure this has been accomplished.
Errors – Even though it may seem easy to proofread such a small set of type, sometimes errors show up and are glossed over no matter how many times you read it. To be safe, have someone else review your ad for you also… this goes with almost all graphic design work. This is actually one of the top 15 mistakes designers make.
Lack of contact information – This common error is particularly frustrating for readers. You may have convinced your reader to contact you or purchase your products, but if they can’t easily find contact information, they will probably not bother to look much further. Always have a call to action.
AIDA - Try to remember this acronym… AIDA. Attention, Information, Desire, Action. Get the consumers attention, give them the information and desire for your product, then give them a call to action.
One More Tip - Another thing I noticed while researching effective newspaper ads was that any ad that had a solid block of colour as its background (with a lot of white space) really grabbed your attention straight away… you couldn’t turn the page without looking at it. This was one of the reasons I simplified my advertisement by removing the white background and adding the blue sky.
On another note, if you like creative advertising, you must check out out this list of 192 creative advertisements.
Hope you enjoyed reading through my design process and as always, constructive criticism is welcome, as well as any comments or questions. How was my copy writing? Could I improve on it?
Graphic Design Tips (Submit Your Own & Win $50)
Written by Jacob Cass on Monday, August 4, 2008 – 10:30 pm
Below are some graphic design tips that were submitted by JCD readers earlier this week as part of our 5000+ subscribers celebration. Read more »
Want to know how to design? Learn The Basics.
Written by Jacob Cass on Friday, June 13, 2008 – 10:00 pm
Want to know how to design? Then you should learn the basics of design. The basic elements of design include colour, line, shape, scale, space, texture and value and these are the fundamental pieces that make up any piece of work. If you ever start a design course this will be the very first thing that you are taught, guaranteed.
But what if you’re not a student? What if you’re not self-taught? What if you are a looking for ways to enhance your design skills? Then this is the guide for you.
Note from Jacob Cass: This is a guest article written by Lauren Marie who is a graphic designer in corporate America during the day and a blogger via night. I have been reading her blog for some time now and it is a great resource, which is currently undergoing a redesign.
Colour
Colour has a huge impact on the mood of the design. A predominantly red colour usually represents strong emotions—love, anger, passion—while blue can make the design feel calm, cool and peaceful. Color contributes to the unity of a series of flyers, emphasizes important information and leads the eye through a design.
Select articles on color:
- Using Colour: Real World Examples
- The Colour Wheel and Color Theory
- Pantone Swatches on Squidoo
- Colour: Meaning, Symbolism and Psychology on Squidoo
- The Best Colour Tools Online
Line
Are your lines straight and slim, or thick and squiggly? The quality of the line (hand drawn to precise) can say a lot about the mood you are setting with your design. Hand drawn or thick lines tend towards juvenile themes, where as straight and thin lines are more refined, corporate or intelligent.
How lines interact with each other is important, too. If they are straight, thin lines, but are colliding at all sorts of crazy angles, that is going to be chaotic. If they have a hand drawn quality to them but are more or less straight and orderly, this can give a much needed personal appeal to a design.
Select articles on line:
- Using Line: Real World Examples
- Artist’s Toolkit: Line
- Introduction to the Elements of Design: Point and Line
Shape
Did you know that shapes can convey a mood just like any other element of design? Angular shapes like squares and triangles tend to indicate masculinity, while smooth and curving shapes like circles are more feminine. Squares are very familiar to us (think of your monitor, a piece of paper or the TV screen), so they are secure, trustworthy and stable. Circles very pleasing to the eye and are organic, whole, peaceful and exude unity.
Select articles on shape:
Using Shape: Real World Examples
Scale and Size
Bring balance, proportion and contrast to your designs with scale and size. Just for reference, size is the actual dimensions of an element on the page, scale is the element’s relation to its original (like putting a person on a billboard—it’s going to be “larger than life”) and proportion is the relation of all the elements on the page in terms of size and scale. Use scale and proportion to indicate the actual size of an object or to emphasize the difference in the sizes of two objects (a child’s hand against its mother’s is a common use of size).
Select articles on scale/size:
Using Scale: Real World Examples
Space
Space is often referred to as white space, and gives the design some breathing room and the eye a place to rest. An ill use of space (or perhaps a very well planned out use) can make the design feel crowded and claustrophobic. Too much space, however, and the design can seem unfinished, like it’s missing something. Once you know the rules (for any of these elements, really), you can also experiment with breaking them in order to push a different emotional response.
Select articles on space:
Using Space: Real World Examples
A List Apart: Whitespace
Texture
Texture is a fun element to experiment with and use to bring realism to your designs. It can be effectively used to add visual interest and it really helps make a design unique. Textures are not just applied in the computer; you can take into consideration the materials used in the final printed pieces, too.
Select articles on line:
Using Texture: Real World Examples
Value
Value can really add unity to your designs if you pay attention to this neglected element. It is also a great way to create a focal point and guide the viewer’s eye through the layout. This little element can bring together parts of the design to make them balanced; using elements similar in a high intensity value (light, towards the white end of the spectrum) can create a subdued tone, where values lower in intensity (darker, towards black) can be ominous and foreboding. Using values on either extreme of the spectrum has a very dramatic effect.
Select articles on value:
ArtLex: Value
The Purpose of Graphic Design
The purpose of graphic design is communication. As you go through each stage of your design process, ask yourself how you are using each of these elements of design to enhance the delivery of the message, affect the mood of the piece and relate the product or message to the target audience. Remember that these elements apply to everything in the layout, from composition, to photos, to typography.
2008 Semi-Permanent Design Conference Review
Written by Jacob Cass on Sunday, April 6, 2008 – 1:03 am
Here is some graphic design news… On the weekend I went to the well respected two day design conference ‘Semi-Permanent‘ that was held here in Sydney, Australia. I am going to give a short review / summary as well as some interesting information about the conference.
Sorry there are not many pictures in this post… I would have liked to have showed more of the artist’s work however I went over my download limit and my net is at 56k now so hope you can understand. Only 10 more days till I get my full speed back… I must remember patience is a virtue. I couldn’t stand it so I upgraded my plan.
There is some pictures on Flickr of the actual conference.
So what is Semi Permanent?
In my words… two days of inspiration and industry insight (and envy).
From the Semi Permanent website… “To put it simply Semi-Permanent is a design event. It consists of a conference and side events which include exhibitions, competitions, workshops and parties. It’s a week long celebration of all things design. Graphic Design, Film, Art, Illustration, Web Design, Photography, Visual Effects, Animation, Graffiti, Motion Graphics, Stop Motion; all these things and more. Semi-Permanent explores the diverse and exciting design world bringing together exceptionally talented artists and designers to speak at the event.”
The entry was AUD$100 for the two days as I am a student however for non students it was AUD$280.
Why did I attend?
Semi-Permanent is an excellent source of inspiration. The speakers are at the top of their respective fields and they share with us, their experience and expertise that they have gained getting to that position - something that is invaluable as a young designer and student. By seeing these presentations it gives me an invaluable insight into the industry… showing me new styles and techniques that can push myself and my work in new directions.
Day 1
Who spoke on day 1 of the conference?
For short bios, links to their website and some of their work you can check out the Semi Permanent site or I have provided links to their websites below.
- LifeLounge; Jamie Driver and Luke Lucas (Graphic Design)
- Ben Frost (Graffiti / Painter / Graphic Artist)
- Debaser; David Homer & Aaron Hayward (Graphic Design)
- The Directors Bureau; Lana Kim (Video + Advertising)
- Sixty40; Matt Taylor and Mark Simpson (Animation + Advertsing)
- Spencer Platt (Photo Journalist) You can see his 3 most famous pictures below.
What did they speak about?
Mostly how they went about doing their work, the thought processes behind their work and showcases of their work and then some. But to sum up an 7 hour conference into a paragraph or two is not quite sufficient nor fair but I will mention this one philosophy that Life Lounge mentioned…
When trying to price a job use the Cheap/Good/Fast pricing structure. Choose only two of the three things mentioned and that is how you should price your job based on those things.
eg. If a client wants a good product fast, obviously you will charge a lot more. If a client wants a good product for cheap, chances are it’s not going to be fast. If a client wants a fast product for cheap then chances are it is not going to be good. You should base your prices around this.
Try to get your head around that, it’ll probably take a few reads.
Day 2
Who spoke on day 2 of the conference?
For short bios, links to their website and some of their work you can check out the Semi Permanent site or I have provided links to their websites below.
- Alex Trochut (Typographer / Graphic Artist) - Some of his work can be seen below.
- Anthony Lister (Painter)
- Superfad (Animation)
- Amy Sol (Fine Art Painter)
- North Kingdom (Web Designers)
- Pixar (Animation)
What did they speak about?
In general what I mentioned above… how they went about doing their work, the thought processes behind their work and showcases of their work and then some. I will outline one of speakers that really stood out…
Anthony Lister (a talented American painter/artist who paints superheroes) was hilarious and down right original (yet scary). First he came out on stage with another guy dressed as spider man and then Anthony with a pop gun, shot him down - a very strange intro. Spiderman stayed dead on stage for the full hour.
Then Lister just said “I am not really good at presentations”, sat down and put up a photo slideshow of him and his friends smoking bongs and partying. People thought it was a joke however it went on for about 45mins of the full hour, with him pretty much just blubbering on about nothing, mumbling and saying random hilarious things (pretty sure he was high)…
About a quarter of 2500 people in the audience actually stood up and left with disgust after 15 minutes of his ‘presentation’ but for the ones who stayed it was hilarious. It was, by far, the least serious talk of the 2 days but the most entertaining - that is for sure. For example, someone in the audience asked Lister the question “Why do you paint?” and he replied in a slow, slurred and thoughtful tone of voice “Why do you brush your teeth? …long pause… to keep your teeth from rotting and falling out… long pause… that is why I paint. Yeah that is why I paint.” Maybe not so funny in writing but the crowd found it pretty hilarious.
He is one hell of a character that is for sure. You can check out some videos of him and his crazy personality and his awesome work on You Tube.
Conclusion
About 10 of the 12 speakers really struck a chord with me as they were truly inspirational. Their work was extremely inspiring and it was very hard to choose my favourite speaker so I have narrowed it down to LifeLounge, Sixty40 and Alex Trochut. All three were extremely entertaining and just totally unreal and inspirational.
I would give day the 2 day conference a good 8/10 and without a doubt I will be going again next year. I would highly highly recommend it to all students studying design as well as professionals. There is actually a similar 4 day conference in Melbourne, Australia by the name of AGideas which is being held at the end of April. Don’t miss out, get tickets now.
Oh and I forgot to mention… as an added bonus, everyone who went also received an awesome goody bag with free design magazines and books (300+ pages) along with other random design paraphernalia such as mouse pads, industry news and promo material. Quite a treat. 
Anyway hope this has encouraged you to get out there and be active in the design community. To find out about future events and graphic design news check out websites such as Dexigner or stay subscribed here on Just Creative Design.
How & Where To Get Paid Freelance Work While You’re Still A Design Student
Written by Jacob Cass on Thursday, March 27, 2008 – 6:07 pm 
This was an article that I wrote last month on Freelance Folder and it received quite a stir so I thought I would share it with you and add it to the archives here on Just Creative Design. I have also added to the article quite a bit since then so that’s another bonus.
As some of you may know I am a second year graphic design student and an active freelancer so I am going to share my tips on how and where to get freelance design jobs while you are still a graphic design student.
For most 1st, 2nd or 3rd year students, finding a part time or even casual job in the design industry is quite frustrating and nearly impossible and most resort to working at their local store, however, there is hope - I am living proof that a design student can get a job in design while still studying, here are my tips… Read more »
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