Page 150 - DMGT507_SALES AND PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT

Sales and Promotions Management

Notes
Example: Layout of Gillette Advertisement

Design Principles

Ads must be designed to attract consumer attention immediately as the advertiser has only a
second or two to capture the reader's attention. Good design not only commands attention but
also holds it and communicates as much information as possible in the shortest amount of time
and makes the message easier to understand. The basic design rules include the following:
1. Unity: Unity is considered as the most important design principle. All creative advertising
has a unified design. The complete layout (copy, visual, headline, logo etc.) should appear
as a single unified composition. If the ad does not have unity, it falls apart and becomes a
visual confusion. Unity contributes orderliness to elements.
2. Balance: There is a belief among many designers that balance is a fundamental law of
nature. Balance means controlling the size, tone, weight, and position of the elements in
the ad. It occurs when equal weights or forces are equidistant from a reference point,
which is the imaginary vertical line drawn from the centre of the advertisement.
3. Contrast: Contrast means variety. It imparts life to a layout and adds emphasis to selected
elements. Variations in the size, shape, and colour of layout elements create contrast.
Altering type to bold or italic brings attention to a word or phrase and creates contrast
between type elements.
4. Sequence or eye movement: The ad should be arranged in an orderly manner so that
consumers can read it from left to right and top to bottom. Arrangement of elements in a
sequence helps direct the reader's eye in a structural motion. The elements should be
placed in a manner that the eye starts where the advertiser wants it to start and traverses
its course throughout the ad. The more common arrangements are "Z" and "S."

5. Emphasis or proportion: Emphasis refers to division of space among layout elements.
That is, accentuating or focusing on an element or group of elements so that they stand out
among elements of layout for pleasing optical effect. The designer decides whether to put
more stress on illustration, headline, the logo, or the copy. If all the elements get equal
emphasis, the ad ends up with no emphasis at all.

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