Ad & Graphic Design Through School
While attending the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee to get my B.A. in Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies, I took many classes that gave me experience in creating different types of advertisements and graphics. I used Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to complete these projects.
Ehlers-Danlos Society.
In this project I had to create a campaign with a variety of styles of advertisement for a non-profit organization. I chose the Ehlers-Danlos Society because I understand the importance of this group. I have been diagnosed with Hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), and I have struggled for years to get a diagnosis and support. This organization is here to support those looking for answers, those who are diagnosed, and to educate people about this auto-immune disease across the world.
Campbell’s.
In this project I created an advertisement campaign that would target younger people and get them to think of soup as more than just a meal you eat while you are sick. The campaign focuses on the idea the Campbell’s is a real meal.
Volkswagen Rebrand.
I decided to take this certain approach while creating my ad because I wanted to emphasize the green energy that Volkswagen is conforming to. In our creative brief we emphasized the importance of the new electric cars that Volkswagen is producing, and Volkswagen is trying to change their message and brand image. We wanted to show our target audience that VW cares about the environment, especially after their pervious scandal. Not only did we want to emphasize green energy, but we wanted to gain the trust back of our customers and build a successful brand once again. Since VW is changing their brand and what they want to be known for, I thought it was important to capture that inside of this ad. By focusing on a positive and a new bright future, it will hopefully gain trust back.
Clean energy was an especially important segment of my ad, including the new Volkswagen car with other representations of clean energy is a way to relate that. In my ad it shows lots of greenery, along with wind-powered energy sources, two environmentally friendly representations. Placing my car alongside these other representations helps put in consumers' minds that Volkswagen is indeed supporting clean energy. Most clean energy cars are expensive, and most people cannot afford them. I am hoping that by providing the link and having a call to action to Volkswagen's website it will encourage consumers to research more about the message Volkswagen is trying to send. If they visit the website, they will see that this car is affordable for most people. Overall, I hope that my ad sparks trust and realization that Volkswagen is trying to change their brand image. By showing images that people find important and combining that with the VW car will hopefully draw back the consumers that were once lost before.
Art and Copy.
My ad is copy focused. The copy of my ad is the most important because it gets my PSA (Public Service Announcements) out, the image just happened to fit and support my copy. My copy supports the idea that there are many people out there who look normal but, are battling a hidden illness, like myself. I also chose to have the message being supported by the society that represents my medical condition, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. This syndrome is considered a hidden illness and most people are surprised to learn about all the health struggles I go through because I look normal and healthy.
I decided to create my ad under the influence of the iPod ad in the documentary Art and Copy. Even though that ad was image focused and only had the brand logo on it, I enjoyed the simplicity of the image and the use of brighter colors. My ad is supported nicely by the image I chose showing the meaning of my copy. For a PSA type of ad, I thought it would be better for the words of the ad to have a more powerful meaning because I could be direct with the message and not leave people interpreting it unintentionally different.
Disney Brand Analysis
• Attribute – its defining characteristic Disney is all about magic and nostalgia. They are the gold standard and the original for big fairytales and make believe. Through their products and services, they aim to deliver stories that evoke a sense of childlike fantasy and nostalgia for a past time. Their parks, films, and products include intricate details and nods to previous works that work together to create a consistent and cohesive experience for everyone who visits, watches, or purchases. They hide their soaring prices and overcharging behind the power of magic and nostalgia. They want people to feel the magic and emersion and to feel this, visitors must purchase everything to fit in. It is hidden, but it is an elite club. You must buy your way in to enjoy the experience. Disney charges for everything no matter how small it is. Disney is money hungry.
• Essence or Promise – what it promises to deliver, in the simplest terms As mentioned above Disney is dedicated to their promise of ‘delivering happiness through magical experiences.’ They have been making good on this promise through many of their business ventures like Disney World and Disneyland. They emphasize that the parks are the Happiest Places on Earth. This puts the idea of happiness and fun times in visitors’ minds before they even step foot in the park. Disney is all about leaving reality. They want their visitors to feel like they have stepped into a new and exciting world where they can release their inner child.
• Benefit (could be any or all – functional, social and/or emotional) – what is it supposed to do? Their benefit is to take people out of their monotonous daily life into a fantasy world full of childlike fantasies and disbelief. Whether it’s their movies, products, or locations, they aim to provide a fun, lively experience that allows people of all ages to feel like a kid again. There are coined “Disney Adults” who religiously visit their parks for the emotional benefits that they receive. These are the feelings of being in a magical world outside of reality, engaging with childhood heroes, and expiring the magic that is Disney. Disney also offers everything you can think of regarding their parks. In Orlando, Florida they offer a free shuttle from the airport to their hotels. Then from the hotels they offer shuttles to and from the parks and shopping points. They offer multiple restaurants and food choices around the resorts, parks and in the parks.
• What is the brand proposition? - The Disney brand will continuously and consistently deliver on the stories they tell. They create a world in which these stories exist and allow people to be an active part of. They want visitors to release their inner child. They want everyone to feel like they are a kid again, enjoying the essence of magic and childhood while they immerse themselves in these worlds.
Spontaneous Composition.
Magazine: The magazine we chose to create an advertisement for is Essence Magazine. Essence is “the home for global black women” and curates content to cater to the needs and interests of young black women across the world. Essence is the leading media company in creating content specifically for a black and female audience. The outlet boasts a circulation of 6.8 million and its content features a distinctly vibrant, modern, and authentic tone.
Special Topic: The special topic within the area of issues covered by Essence that we chose to focus on is Essence’ partnership with the Movement for Black Lives. After the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 and a countless number of other cases, the movement to increase awareness for black victims of police brutality and calls for justice gained global attention and significance. Although outrage was felt by many different people of diverse backgrounds and ideologies, the rally cry “Black Lives Matter” was widely adopted to highlight the ways non-whites are undervalued in American society. Groups, companies, and institutions ranging from the NBA to Twitter utilized their platforms to promote and raise awareness for the cause. One of these companies who stepped up to spread the message of the Black Lives Matter movement was Essence, who officially partnered with the Movement for Black Lives. The Black Lives Matter movement and ideology still remain strong, in many ways due to partnerships and promotions with the aforementioned groups, and it is still the go-to phrase of the undervalued and unseen in American society.
Advertisement: When we starting creating the ad, we set out to create a design which fit the message of both the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the Essence magazine. We also wanted it to fit with the vibrant, youthful aesthetic of the magazine. Starting with the background, we opted for a paint splatter pattern with bright pastel colors. This effectively captures the youthful, vibrant, and feminine focus of the publication. As for the image on the top of the design, we utilized four women, standing with their fists raised in the air facing away from the camera. Each woman has the Black Lives Matter slogan on the back of their shirt and each woman is of a different ethnicity. We used the imagery of the raised fist to show the power of protest, and used women of different ethnicities to show the power in support and cooperation between all people. The slogan on their backs is used to quickly show what they stand for. As for the copy for the ad, we used a color scheme of black and purple, specifically the color of the Essence logo. This adds a great visual contrast between the bright background and dark text and creates unity between the ad and the brand image. We used the title of the magazine as a play on words within our copy, “The Essence of who we are is in the black empowerment stories we tell.” This was a unique way for us to integrate the name of the publication into out advertisement while having it be center-stage in the middle of the design. The copy additionally gives a great overview of what a reader can expect to find within the magazine and directly addresses the example of black empowerment we used as an image above. The words “Black Empowerment” are also underlined in a bold, purple paint brush to highlight that this is the purpose of both the advertisement and the magazine. Finally, we concluded the ad with a call to action, directing viewers to “support our cause” by visiting the Essence website. Overall, we created a visually appealing and impactful advertisement that highlights the Essence magazine itself as well as specifically focusing on the special topic we selected.
Milwaukee Press Club (MPC) Endowment Rebrand.
In this project I created an idea for a rebrand of the logo for the MPC Endowment. I wanted to create a logo that keeps a reference of the previous logo cat, Anubis, without showing him. I wanted to also add a more embellished looked to the logo.