Colour theory/Advertisng etc...

[Toxic Culture]

This is yet another one of those, Im a troubled design student about to start my dissertation threads.. As tedious as they may be, input from a variety of people in or out of the industry is so incredibly valuable to me, so here goes...

Basically, I am hideously stuck as to what to focus my dissertation on and desperately need some clarity.

I am interested in advertsing and the graphic design methods used within this field, for example, use/effects of colour, logo design and branding, typography in logo design, the whole debate on 'what is an author' etc.. and then, the psychology of the consumer; how a brand influences a lifestyle, why consumers are attracted to certain brands but not others and subliminal messages etc...

Initially, this was going to be completely on Advertising and the influences on consumer behaviour but i realised that I am not a business studies student so want to focus more on the design side of advertisng. I really want to learn about colour theory and methods of communication which is why I am forcing myself to work on the above subjects... anyway...

This is disgracefully scattered and I need to narrow it down, so if anyone could give me any guidance on possible questions or ideas I would be ever so grateful. Or even your own thoughts on branding and design, the methods and use of colour in advertsing and packaging would be fantastic.

Thankyou very much for your time

-*Toxic Culture*-

[AlexNJ210]

Well, if you dont want to take an ethical/business approach and instead to remain in the realm of design and graphical subject matter then i suggest focusing on how color, typeface design, branding, and package design appeal to the consumer. And why some designs and brands are more successful and others are not. There is also the question to be asked about whether it is the design/branding that determines the success of the product or the delivery/marketing that has a higher impact. It seems as though you would be more comfortable sticking to the former. So i would begin to study color and typeface design of successful brands, famous product labeling and business logos and find common threads that make these successful with consumers. Be careful not to sound like a text book regurgitating commonly known design theory. I guess it would be best to think about what, design wise, has made these brands so memorable and successful for the given case. There is quite alot of ephemera and resources to find reference. I suggest studying Andy Warhol. You may also want to analyze how different designs work in an appealing way to consumers but also lend themselves to being practical for the applications they serve. Such as the use of less colors to reduce printing costs and time, designs that lend themselves to being packaged uniquely and also transported easily. Package design is as much apart of graphic design as is the letterforms that make the logos printed on the packaging. Summary, take the design/color theory approach because it seems this is where you are more inclined to go. For a dissertation, its important to attack a subject you are strong in and then find a twist or unexplored area and make your mark. Its not going to be published in the all-time greats book of dissertations so dont think it has to be ultra controversial or something completely new and special. BUT it wont hurt to approach in that kind of attitude so you end up with something that contributes new ideas and angles. good luck.

[Toxic Culture]

Thats incredibly insightful, thankyou very much! I think I shall remain focused on colour/design theory as this is also an area I want to become knowledgable about. Its too easy to slip into the 'consumerism is bad, I hate buying stuff...' routine so I think by focusing on creative techniques I'll be able to offer a less biased argument and more factual information... but of course, written in my usual cynical way... (I have things like adbusters to blame for that)

[AlexNJ210]

glad i could help.

[budafist]

Colour in graphic design vs. culture/society?

Different treatments of colour depending on time in history or society.

Culture and colour is such a good one. Example: There is this 1 kind of Chinese biscuit that is always individually wrapped in red and gold packaging. It's a festive biscuit that is only eaten at a certain time of year.

A design company decided to go more modern and they packaged the biscuits in plain black. They thought it was sleek and contemporary. The consumers thought they looked like sanitary pads. Biscuit packaging was considered a failure.

[SurfPark]

http://www.colourlovers.com/
This site can be helpful, especially their blog.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_psychology
This topic might be something to look into.

[cornfed]

I can't let this thread go on any longer without plugging my personal hero, Josef Albers. Albers studied and developed a great deal of color theory at Bauhaus with his instructor Johannes Itten. While the color theories that Albers developed don't specifically spell out how they relate to advertising, he does indepth studies of color relationships and the psychology of color as the brain percieves it. I would recommend you look at some of his works, as well.

[Toxic Culture]

Thats awesome help, thanks so much. I read somewhere about a beer company who manufactured a variety of different cans- all with the exactly the same beer in them, yet the test subjects favoured the red can over the others for taste.. very strange...
I'll look into Josef Albers- seems like an ideal person to study so thanks for that

[AlexNJ210]

That was budwiser. Same is true for coke.

[Fantômas]

I can't let this thread go on any longer without plugging my personal hero, Josef Albers. Albers studied and developed a great deal of color theory at Bauhaus with his instructor Johannes Itten. While the color theories that Albers developed don't specifically spell out how they relate to advertising, he does indepth studies of color relationships and the psychology of color as the brain percieves it. I would recommend you look at some of his works, as well.

:) Seconded. The Josef Albers foundation (http://www.albersfoundation.org/) is located in CT, and I used his work and the foundation's resources for my own thesis. If you're anywhere close to CT, it's worth visiting in person. Take a look at his 'Search vs. Re-Search' lecture transcripts, if you can find them online.

I also think you need to focus on how/why people understand, not just the design aspect itself. I would explore psychology and semiotics (not focus your dissertation on them, but rather use them to help you understand design/advertising). In terms of modern day information, take a look at Richard Saul Wurman and his Information Anxiety (1 & 2) book. 1 is from 1989 and focuses on information organization and processing, while 2 is from 2004/5, and concentrates more on digital media. It'll be a good start.

Take a look at Edward Tufte (http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/) for information layering, processing and understanding. He's one of the 'masters' for information design and understanding. If you can, go to one of his seminars and you'll be blown away. A lot of food for thought, and will def. get your gears turning.

I was in the same spot as you were, and what I started doing is research. Research research and more research! Not blind research, because I had a faint idea of what I wanted to do, which was 'something to do with information understanding'. Vague right? Well by starting to research information in general, I was led in a mulititude of directions, and as i gathered more and more research, one bit of research led to another, and my thesis idea tightened and became really clear. The whole 'snowball' effect could not have been more applicable. I found myself overloaded and lost at some point, so I had to backtrack and understand where I got lost before I continued. If you have a general idea start researching, and you'll find your way. :)

[Toxic Culture]

Thankyou for the names, they're really helping me to gather information. Unfortunately the 'snowball effect' works differently for me, I have a vague idea so research so much, realise didfferent paths i can take, research them and so on until I have completely lost track of where i even started from and I've gone from learning about psychology of colour perception to building a boat in the 1400s!
I think I need to focus this on more about the consumers perception and the pyschology behing the design/brands leading onto successful/unsuccessful brands etc... There's just so much I can do its overwhelming... and i am still stuck for a relevant title!

[AlexNJ210]

the consumers perception of design and the pyschology behind successful/unsuccessful brands


done.

[Toxic Culture]

Woooo!

how did I not see that? Thankyou!

[Fantômas]

done.
Hey I hope you're charging him for that. :D;)

[tZ]

sounds interesting.

good luck.

[AlexNJ210]

i dont know if i could charge for the 3 seconds it took me to see that, but i could charge for intelectual property and unique innovation. :) *hint hint to Toxic*

Man i remember how expensive college could be, all those books, classes, living needs, beer, food, cough papers cough. Those were the days ;)

[Fantômas]

i dont know if i could charge for the 3 seconds it took me to see that, but i could charge for intelectual property and unique innovation. :) *hint hint to Toxic*

Man i remember how expensive college could be, all those books, classes, living needs, beer, food, cough papers cough. Those were the days ;)

And when did YOU graduate? Spring 07? ;)

[AlexNJ210]

spring 06 thank you.

[Fantômas]

spring 06 thank you.

Oh excuse me. :p

Where did you go to school? Did you get a BA/BFA or an MFA?

[Toxic Culture]

As they say Alex.. you'll reap the rewards in the next life :p I mean, the title was my words.. I just didn't see them, however, I'll pay you in letters if you so wish for your much appreciated help. Which is your favourite, personally Im quite fond of k...
Uni is damn expensive, Im paying an extortionate amount and I am only in three hours a week!

[budafist]

3 hours a week!? That doesn't sound right. When I was at Uni I had 30+ hours a week class/tutor time. How do they expect you to learn anything in 3 hours a week?

[Toxic Culture]

I'd be so happy to have 30+ hours a week, honestly. We don't actually get taught.. we get set a project and given say 6 weeks (ridiculous i know) where we meet up for about 2hours a week to discuss our ideas, not acutally learn how to be a designer. B.A courses are so overrated, glad i did other courses ontop of that otherwise I wouldn't have a clue about design...

[budafist]

How are you supposed to learn anything? That is stupid and sounds like a rip off. How much are you paying per hour of teaching time? (divide course price by hours of teaching).

[AlexNJ210]

Oh excuse me. :p

Where did you go to school? Did you get a BA/BFA or an MFA?
BA at Felician College....you never heard of it know. But a BA none the less.

[Toxic Culture]

It is indeed a rip off, my college is a total joke.. My tuition fees are about £1,250 then they throw in hidden costs, like a £100 materials charge (even though my college don't supply us with any art materials we have to get them ourselves) and I am roughly in for (give or take) about 100hours in an academic year. I only learn off my fellow students, no techniques, styles etc have actually been taught, I learn off others techniques and develop my own. I did do a course before the BA which was in Graphic Design and Illustration which was fantastic, a lot of hours and it was purely business based. We got set projects which are realistic to the real world with type of project and a short time in which to produce it... I thought a BA would be like that but instead its mainly self directed... think Im just paying thousands for a piece of paper at the end of it... (am I angry?)

[Toxic Culture]

Also just to et quickly back on topic, does anyone have any more suggested reading on this topic?

Working title is: 'The consumers perception of design and the pyschology behind successful/unsuccessful brands'

I've got people like Rudolf Arnheim, Luscher, Kandinsky, Goethe etc.. if any one can think of any one obvious that I am missing out I'd be really grateful for your help.

Thankyoooou