Shelley Davis
Visual Communications
Monday, June 18, 2012

In order to promote goods using visual communications it is important to choose the right methods of communicating your message to your audience. I personally feel that the approaches that are most effective in making these communications a possibility are colors and shapes, cartoons and illustrations, and typography. Visual communication approaches like these make marketing and advertising easier and more competitive. Research has shown that people make judgments subconsciously about all sorts of things. Among these things are people, the environment, or product within ninety seconds of initial viewing and that between sixty two and ninety percent of that assessment is based on color and shapes. Catching the shopper’s eye and conveying information effectively are critical to successful sales. It has also been proven that color increases brand recognition by up to eighty percent. Shapes and colors improve reading and comprehension as well. There are many reasons why businesses use cartoons and illustrations in their marketing and advertising. When using cartoons and illustrations in marketing and advertising the characters and backgrounds are usually simple and use large shapes and contrasting colors so that the reader will capture the story right away without a lot of trouble. The advantage of these simplicities is that your message is identified by the reader very quickly and with little or, sometimes, no effort. Cartoons and illustrations are also an effective way to be used in marketing is because everyone reads them; they are simple and fun to read, and, thus, keep readers and views interested. The consistent use of standard grammar and typography help clarify meaning in marketing ads and advertising. Typography helps infuse your theme and mood in the marketing collateral in an effective way. The use of efficient color, shapes, and images will help boost the desired results. When trying to make an impressive statement bold fonts work wonders. Using these approaches to visual communications greatly benefit marketing and advertising for individuals as well as companies. Colors and shapes, cartoons and illustrations, and typography allow businesses and companies to be more competitive and allows for easier marketing and advertising.

Say you worked for a Coca-Cola company and you were responsible for promoting Coke to a whole new generation of customers. In order to target a new generation of customers, your communication objective would be to persuade your audience to purchase and drink Coke. To achieve your goal it will be very important to visually communicate the idea that drinking Coke is cool, hip, and American in an effort to persuade your young target audience to buy Coke. You will want your audience to associate drinking Coke with experiencing a modern American lifestyle that is characterized by freedom, fun, and romance when they see your message. The message you use to support this idea is probably the most important aspect of the entire project.
“The wild side of Coke” will be your tagline and three different approaches will be used to engage the entrance of a young, middle class target audience. Colors and Shapes will be used along with Cartoons and Illustration, and Typography.
-Colors and Shapes: Bright colors will convey a lighthearted mood and sense of fun in combination with curvy shapes and rounded objects that will give a free flowing fell and a contemporary look.
-Cartoons and Illustrations: Incorporating a serious, corporate message will do no good. Using illustrations of various things will catch the eye of a young person, such as butterflies that are often associated with freedom as well as cartoon-like smiley faces that relate to the interests and lifestyle of a young, hip audience.
-Typography: All of the text should be designed using a consistent theme of various sans-serif typefaces in order to give a clean and modern look to the overall visual message.