Need feedback for my assignment

Student Forum
#1

Hello, I joined this forum so that I could get some critical feedback. My assignment is very lacking and I would love to hear what you all have to say so that I can improve. There are two designs that need to be assessed by the questions following. These are the questions I was told to ask all you lovely people:

Does the design meet the objectives of the design brief?
Does the size and position of each element achieve balance and focus on the advertisement?
Does the typeface selected suit the product and the objectives of the brief?
Does the design of the advertisement attract the reader to the focal point and is it easy to read?
Does the advertisement meet legal and ethical requirements?

Below is the assignment brief and the photos:

We are relaunching our range of cheese burgers in Australia. We are seeking to commission a graphic designer to develop new PRINT ADVERTISING for our CHEESE BURGER RANGE . The advertisement will appear on the back cover of national magazines.

The advertisement should reflect the affordability of the cheese burger and that there are healthy options that can be chosen such as salads or smoothies to accompany the burger. As well the advertisement should emphasise the legendary combination of the beef, onion, pickle, tomato sauce, mustard and cheese that is always so popular.

The specifications of the advertisement and mandatory requirements are as follows:

McDonalds logo must be present

McDonalds Australia website

CMYK colour space

300 dpi

5mm bleed

Design 1:
Final_Design_PNG

Design 2:
Concept_Design_PNG

#2

number 1 rule in product advertising, LIE!
hamburger must be bigger, bigger and bigger with some health lettuce, a crips tomato and refreshment. fries and happyness! “eat our foodstuff and you will be greatness!”
the red is strong and takes away from the subject on image 2, and the product need to be stronger, not that limp, and no napkins, silk or fine china will improve that hamburger a lot.

jeez, if was assigned that, i would have horsemeat-glottony and major profits galore, and of course a monopoly game piece on the side.

#3

The top one…That’s a tinyburger. They sell 3 of those little things over here together and call em sliders. The text is fuzzy, not at all sharp. If you have to add an outline to make it legible, ask yourself what else you could have done that would be better. And you’ve missed on the Yellow color completely. It’s Pantone 123c for the arches. 485c for the red. Not the washed out look you have. They do use a secondary yellow that is close to that, but not for primary text.

The second ad is not at all appetizing. You’ve hidden the dry looking meat with the cheese and the bun is flat.

Food photography is an art, using stuff that would make the food inedible to make it look good. And it is, quite often, all about the lie. Glycerine on the burger. Shellac on a bun (your top ad has a better looking burger but out of proportion to the hands holding it.

“Cheaper” is not often a word used to describe a product. It makes the product come across as cheap in quality.

Did you do any research into McD’s brand guidelines? I don’t think they allow the arches to be jammed up like that in a little tiny box. It’s called “The Token” Logo and requires much more clear space around the arches. And the ® symbol. Do NOT forget the ® symbol. They are rabid about their ® symbol. Ask me how I know this…:upside_down_face:
Looks like you have an older skinnier version of the arches too unless for some reason that is what they are using in Australia these days.

2 Likes
#4

DESIGN 1

Does the design meet the objectives of the design brief?

No, it does not. The brief talked about healthy options. They are no where present. The brief also talked about the components that make up the burger. They are not prominent at all.

Does the size and position of each element achieve balance and focus on the advertisement?

No. The various graphic elements are placed awkwardly. The burger, which should be the star, looks tiny. The background is distracting.It looks like an Instagram post from an account you don’t want to follow. Sorry to be harsh, but that’s a terrible photo. Look at McDonald’s advertising. You won’t see anything like that.

Does the typeface selected suit the product and the objectives of the brief?

No. The font is off brand.

Does the design of the advertisement attract the reader to the focal point and is it easy to read?

Yes, it is easy to read. My eye goes to the logo, the headline, and the hamburger. So, in that respect, it works. But the design / aesthetics is still way off.

Does the advertisement meet legal and ethical requirements?

Legal? I don’t know. I don’t do much food / hospitality work. Ethical? Well, the photo looks like an actual burger you’d unwrap. So, yes.

DESIGN 2

Does the design meet the objectives of the design brief?

Same comment as design 1 applies here.

Does the size and position of each element achieve balance and focus on the advertisement?

It’s better than design 1, that’s for sure. But the balance within the ad is still off. And the photo is pretty unappetizing. On the plus side, you have a strong, red background that looks more like McDonald’s print ads (search for them). On the down side, you have these two horizontal elements (headline type and burger photo) in a strong vertical space. So it feels off.

Does the typeface selected suit the product and the objectives of the brief?

The type is off. It’s better than design 1, but it’s still off. The long first line is too wide for the space. You could do something much more interesting.

Does the design of the advertisement attract the reader to the focal point and is it easy to read?

Yes, it is easy to read. The type and photo are better than design 1. Not saying they’re great, just better than design 1.

Does the advertisement meet legal and ethical requirements?

Is it actually cheaper? Is it actually thicker? Is it actually cheesier? If not, then, no.

2 Likes
#5

Thank you for answering so honestly. I just have another question. I forgot to add this to the post, but are you a graphic design practitioner? This was one of the project requirements.

#6

Er … Design 2: Your table/counter is not level. Check your punctuation. The burger does not look thicker.

#7

Yes. For almost 30 years.

#8

Okay, thank you so much for your creative feedback! Would it be alright if I ask you any more questions in the future?

#9

By all means. This is what this forum is for.

#10

Okay, so I got in touch with my supervisor. The only thing I require for me to show that you’re a credited designer is your name and profession. I cannot send DMs quite yet. I do not know if this is the same vice versa but if it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle, would you send me those details (name and profession) through a private message?

#11

I like to keep some anonymity. My first name is indeed Steve. Feel free to make up a last name – hopefully, your professor will not know the difference. I am a graphic designer. If it helps build credibility, you can add that I’ve been self-employed for 28 years.

#12

Okay, I will let them know about your wish to stay anonymous. Thank you so much for your help!