WSNYE 4-5

Reading Summary:
Chapter 4 details 13 layout sins to avoid when designing and ad. The first sin is blinking/looping visuals that don’t stop. They become an eyesore and are less likely to be effective. Sin 2 is about resizing photos. Instead of stretching a photo to fit the screen, keep in mind the proportions of a photo in order to keep it looking good. Sin 3 is about photos with no borders. You should add borders to photos that begin or end abruptly. Sin 4 is having borders that are too large or unsightly. There is a middle ground that you must strive for. Sin 5 is cheating margins. You need to make sure your text/image is in line with the margins and not the page itself. Otherwise it will look incorrect. Sin 6 is centering everything. Centered layouts make information hard to search for compared to right or left alignments that keep everything in a straight line. Sin 7 is cluttered corners. Keep your corners open to balance the ad and make it less cramped. Sin 8 is trapped negative space. You should avoid large areas of white space within the ad because it looks bad. 9- busy backgrounds. Keep your backgrounds simple. No unnecessary clutter, no blinking animations. 10- tacky type. Keep your text simple and easy to read. Effects may be used sometimes, but the more you use, the more confusing it is for the reader. 11- Bad bullets. Make sure you use the correct bullets for your type of ad and make sure that they are properly aligned. 12- Widows and orphans. Avoid isolated words and phrases as they can direct attention away from your main message. 13- Justified rivers. Don’t fully justify blocks of text because there might be large white spaces in between words. Increase the column size or reduce the font size to fix this.
Chapter 5 discusses the 7 elements of design and the 7 principles of good design. Element 1 is space. You must have adequate space to fill with your message. E2- Line. Lines are used to break up space and denote distinct areas of space. E3- Shape. Shapes have meaning and can influence our thoughts about an ad. E4- Size. Size is important because it can emphasize or draw attention away from different elements of an ad. E5- Pattern. Patterns create familiarity and order within an ad. E6-Texture. Texture refers to the tangibility of the ad and its layout and can elicit different feelings depending on the texture. E7- Value. Value is light and dark tones that compose an ad. Value is important because different values convey different emotions and tones. Principle 1- Focal point. Your ad should have a focal point that draws attention and shows what it is you’re advertising. P2- Contrast. Contrast helps to avoid visual boredom. P3- Balance. Balance can be either radial, symmetrical, or asymmetrical, and each carries their own weight and can be incorporated in many ways. P4- Movement. Being able to control the direction of attention through your ad shows a mastery of design. P5- Rhythm. Repeating visual and literary devices so as to familiarize your reader with the work. P6- Perspective. An ad can achieve perspective through the creative use of a horizon line, relative scale and size, linear perspective, and atmospheric perspective. P7- Unity. Unity means all parts are working together, and it should be your goal when making an ad.

Example:
I was immediately reminded of Gordon Ramsay’s How To videos on Youtube. They are videos of Gordon demonstrating basic and advanced cooking skills, typically filmed during shows like Master Chef or in his own home. Here, Gordon shows how to cook a perfect scrambled egg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLkgILAkqVI

Reading Connection:
Cooking is similar to advertising because there are specific elements and sins that you must be aware of when you cook. In the video Gordon defines certain sins like overcooking the food and adding seasonings too early, but he also gives examples of what good cooking elements look like. Like advertising, there are certain steps you must follow if you want to make an appealing product for your audience.
These videos also serve as an advertisement themselves for Gordon’s brand. They depict him as an expert chef with abundant cooking knowledge. This makes him seem credible, which helps him to sell cookbooks and advertise his shows and restaurants.