Tone of voice

Visual Hierarchy

It is very important when advertising to have all the key elements that draw an audience in. There are different fonts, colours, visuals to take into consideration. You have to be aware of where the audience will look first. 

I feel this does lack a lot of visual hierarchy as they have kept it very simple. By keeping it simple they have been able to make the information much more clear but isn't very pleasing to the eye. You have to take colour, font size, capitalization and imagery into consideration when communication to an audience. The red black and white goes really well together as they work as a contrast. Having Max Payne in a bigger font helps highlight the main selling point of this magazine. It also has to take into consideration its target audience and steer it towards this. Although the word Gaming is in the same sized font as Max Payne it doesn't quite have the same impact because its not in the colour red. Visually it is not that pleasing but does the job. Using a James Bond image and guns connoting danger will draw a lot of people who have these interests in. Overall this lacks a lot of visual hierarchy because of its lack of communication and aesthetics but is still working hard in aiming at its target audience.

Critical commentary on legibility
In visual communication having something that is legible is very important. You have to think very carefully about the lay out of your typography, and if it is readable by the audience. You also have to think about colour and whether certain colours you use go well with the background. An example of this would be not to use a yellow font with a white background as it becomes very hard to read. When creating a piece of advertisment if being on a magazine or book, then you should take into consideration wether the writing is legible, looking at the size of the text.

This example on the left is very hard to read, even though it is black on a white background the choice of font is not clear atall. This shows you have to be very careful when choosing the size and style of the writing you are trying to communicate. These two examples show what you should and shouldn't do when trying to communicate to an audience. The image on your right is clear, with a light background that helps you focus on the writing. The colours also help highlight the letters, as they have chosen vivid colours and a basic font.

What is the role of an audience?

What is the role of an audience?

The audience is a key factor to think about when creating a piece of art. An artist would have to take into consideration whether that audience will be able to engage with the piece and enables the artist to think how we can communicate through visuals. Without an audience we would not have a market for selling, or a particular style you are trying to aim for. As an artist you have to live up to the expectations and standards that have been set. An understanding of an audience can enhance the communication between them and the piece they are looking at. Once you have gained knowledge of this you are able to relate to your target audience. Its about how the audience reads the message within the visual. 

New art is being created on a daily basis, not because we necessarily need it, but because people are evolving everyday. Art only reflects the issues and emotions of our era and this then changes as the audience change. The artist initiates the conversation with the audience as it is important to be able to relate to them.


Why is research important?
Through the visual practice of observation, collecting, studying and exploring, illustration can contribute to a deeper understanding of the subject. When looking in-depth into something you want to communicate to others the best way of going about this would to be thorough in your research. Always looking into different ways of getting things across the best you can. Exploring and experimenting with different media can help as you start to work within the medium you feel most comfortable with, which then can improve the way you work as a whole. Observing what is going on around you is also very important as you gain a greater understanding of life, which will help you communicate this in the form of illustration. It gives you a deeper understanding of the subject when you know what you are trying to communicate to others. 

A good example of this would be illustrator Paul Davis who is very passionate about experimenting and writing down ideas in his sketch books "Notebook after notebook after notebook because I feel sick when I forget a potential idea". Paul Davis develops language and reflects himself in his quotes. His sketchbook work consists of  lots of observational drawings, documentation and experimentation. Research plays a big part in how you, as an artist, works.Collecting something small could be the start and inspiration to create something big

notions of originality

Notions of originality
Is there such thing as originality?Without knowing the history of art how do we know what is original and what has been manipulated to become more contemporary. Unknown artist - Gabrielle d'Estrées - c.1594 this painting was recreated several times. Melanie Manchot – The Fontainebleau Series – 2001, using different style, photography. using different genres, more sexual. Looking at when this painting was first made, had a different impact to society than it would now.

A traditional painting from 1594 would have been painted for personal use. whereas the other images are much more contemporary, they would be seen in everyday magazines, aiming at a different type of audience. Visual elements such as the two ladies being naked has a very big impact, especially in the era it was painted. The nipple tweaking is supposed to represent Gabrielle’s pregnancy with the King’s baby and is symbolic of her fertility. The context of this image has completely changed as it is now being used to advertise perfume. Sorrenti has used a photograph to make this famous image become much more contemporary. Having the man topless but Kate Moss still having her top on leaves a lot to the audiences imagination, which in this case works well as a selling point. The audience it is targeting is also very different, as the piece has been commercialised. By using Kate Moss we now know this has been carefully thought out to engage its audience. Using a man and a woman also makes the image more sexual and shows how open people are about sex in our society now than in 1594, has a deeper meaning behind it. shows how shallow society is now, using sex to sell a product. Also using Kate Moss as the main selling point to pull the audience in.


Can recontexualised ideas be contemporary?
To keep artwork fresh and contemporary you have to keep up with society. To make a piece contemporary you have to be thorough in your research, this anables the audience to relate to it. You have to know what is relevant at that time to be able to communicate to the audience. The concept is very important as it had to be able to reach a certain audience and genre.

An example would be this piece by Peter Kennard - The Haywain. Here you can see he is manipulated the image to replace what was a very tradictional painting into something that is relevant to now. Here Peter Kennard combines two exsisting images to create a critical new meaning. He takes John Constables painting The Hay Wain (1821), an idyllic image of East Anglian countryside, and places three nuclear warheads on the haywagon. This completely changes the concept of this image and it becomes iconic in a different way. There is such a strong contrast in this image which enables the message, Peter Kennard is trying to put across, to stand out.