As a second-year student at Southeast Technical School, I like to review what I’ve learned in my first-year studies. Today, I’ll be revisiting the primary principles of design.
The lack of color variety achieves unity. The ad creates a sense of unity by repeating the chestnut brown hue found on the product’s packaging and repeating it on the model’s hair and makeup.
Variety is achieved by varying the shapes silhouettes associated with the film “The King & I” and therefore creating visual interest. However, the use of Economy of color, typography, and space keeps the ad organized.
Hierarchy is achieved by using the bright pink color to entice initial attention to the ad. The negative white shape draws interest by using a simple Sans Serif typography, which draws readers by asking a question about flexibility. And finally, the view of the ad, reading from top to bottom, is informed of Geico’s “flexible payment plan.”
Dominance is shown through using the elements of color and size. The red color of the tomato dominates the white/neutral remaining space. Also, the scale/size of the tomato, when contrasted with the hands which hold it, reinforces the dominant element of scale and size.
The advertisement is positioned within a vertical rectangle, even though the subject (automobile) is a horizontally shaped object. The advertisement can keep the viewer’s interest through the use of the proportion – moving back to the position of the typographical message (in the upper left corner) and the subject, which appears to be positioned using the “golden rectangle” approximations.
This ad achieves an asymmetrical balance by diving the ad into two sides. Although the sides’ division is not equal in size, balance is obtained by varying elements of color and texture. Although the right side is smaller, it uses the color red to hold the viewer’s interest. In contrast, the larger left side, which is composed of neutral colors, holds the viewer’s interest by the textures and lines of the model’s hair.
