OUGD401 - Task 2

Task 2 - Looking at the college prospectus

Today we had a two hour seminar with our CP group. To start with we reviewed our 'Love/hate' work and then proceeded to move on to our next task. This required looking at the Leeds College of Art prospectus and writing down in small groups the strengths and weaknesses of it whilst taking into account the following:

• The choice and organisation of font(s) and over aesthetic
• The purpose and the meaning of the publication
• The target/audience
• The social or political contents
• Does the design solution ultimately solve the problem set

Our group came up with the following opinions:

• Front layout is badly designed and looks like a powerpoint
• Within the prospectus there is use of a sophisticated font as well as another font, combined they don't compliment each other
• Bad layout of text
• Poor use of images
• Overwhelming use of text
• Subheading type works well
• The paper is fairly good quality however the expensive finish with the text doesn't work
• Needs to be a better balance of image and type
• Doesn't say Leeds College of Art on the front, making it hard to actually know what the prospectus is for
• The logo is on the back but isn't central so it looks like it has been rushed
• The sudden change of black paper with white text half way through doesn't work
• The change of paper throughout is unnecessary
• Should be more image based
• Not visual enough for an arts college
• Text placed over some images is hard to read as it is in the same colour
• Images are randomly placed which makes it visually unsettling
• Doesn't portray an arts college as it looks too corporate
• Bad ordering
• Generic images are not particularly related to art
• Titles aren't clear or big enough

Having spoken as a class and agreeing on all of the same reasons for why it is successful and how it could be improved, we were then asked to go away and write a short constructive criticism of the 2012/2013 prospectus identifying at least 5 features that we think are either successful or unsuccessful. Ensuring that we provide a rationale for our judgements.

Below is my constructive criticism:

Having looked through the 2012/2013 Leeds College of Art prospectus it is apparent that there are several flaws which should be reviewed and overcome before designing next year's edition. My initial reaction when I picked the prospectus up was that the text on the front wasn't clearly legible and as an outsider I wouldn't have known the purpose for the booklet as the Leeds College of Art logo wasn't on the front. The shade of blue was fairly generic and the red lettering didn't really compliment it very well. My concern is that it lacks initial clarity and even when I opened it up to the first page I was surprised by the poor quality of design. The choice of typeface and the layout of the page was very much like a powerpoint, and didn't give me a feeling of excitement and an urge to read on. I did however like the choice of font for the subheadings but it didn't work well in conjunction with the other chosen font. I thought it was unfortunate that the paper lacked in quality when the finish was applied to the text on the front. I also felt it was unnecessary to have a variety of types of paper throughout, with a mixture of white and black pages, I didn't understand the relevance of this. There were a lot of images used within the booklet, however many of them were irrelevant and badly composed. This is a shame because if they were presented in the right way, it would have made the prospectus look much more professional and it would have been more visually captivating and as a result more appealing to potential future art students.


Task 2 - Image Analysis

Our next task was to look at two images in the same groups as before and write down our responses to each one while considering:

• The choice and organisation of font and style of illustration
• The purpose and meaning of the image
• The target/potential audience of the image
• The social and historical contexts relevant to the production of the image

Image 1



'The Uncle Sam Range (1876) Advertising Image by Schumacher & Ettlinger, New York'

As a small group we came up with the following opinions on this image:

• Patriotic - Very American
• Advertising ovens
• Colours all represent America
• Representation of wealth
• Western style type
• Painted image
• Dixie, West and England have some strong relevance
• Bright colours
• Advertisers are trying to draw attention to the oven called the Uncle Sam Range

Image 2



'Poster by Savile Lumley (1915)'



 As a group we came up with the following opinions of this image:

• 1915 - After WW1 
• Very British
• Very focused on the Father
• Propaganda
• Type stands out more because it is white
• Traditional
• Wealth - Wealthy attire
• Rich colours
• More subtly British in comparison to the other one
• Serious/stern expression on the man's face
• Girl looking at Father with admiration
• The canon is pointing at the one soldier - Perhaps this implies that the Father killed someone?

We then had a discussion with everyone else and reviewed what we had found:

Studio discussion list - Image 1

• The oven is being sold through lifestyle connotations
• There is a lot of American symbolism such as:

- The bald eagle
- The black slave in the corner
- Wealth is portrayed as only the affluent had slaves
- The clock represents independence from Britain (100 years of America's birth - Illustrates celebration and pride)

• Centenery Hall in Philidelphia is illustrated in the background was built for celebrations
• The spherical image - trying to sell the oven to everyone as it represents the globe
• In the grand scheme of things (the image) the world is not represented equally, this reflects what America thought about themselves, very big headed and proud
• The list of food could be seen as stereotypical/racist
• The image makes fun of everyone else
• American nation is superior
• Symbolises cultural sophistication
• The typeface used represents the Wild West
• The typeface is similar to the 'WANTED' posters
• It is designed in gold - This could represent wealth and the American dream.
• The advert itself is marketed at Americans
• It is also marketed at men specifically as the man in the image is the centre of attention
• We could argue that the image is aimed at middle class
• Cliche - Would American (wealthy) buy into this
• Dixie (on the child) - Represents Southern America, the slave trade and cotton industry
• West - Wild West
• England - Immigrants from New England
• Face is not sympathetic - Could this represent American views of black people at the same?

Studio discussion list - Image 2

• Propaganda - To make men feel guilty
• 1915 - Made in middle of WW1
• Projected future after WW1
• Making them feel guilty
• Girl pointing to the her storybook asking her Father what he did
• He looks slightly ashamed because he didn't have an input in the war
• Implies that it was expected by the male figure of the household
• Implies that Britain won the war
• The girl's book is about the war
• The boy is reenacting what happened
• Affluence
• Construction of the sentence - highlights the poster with a question - targets the audience
• Italicised - Intimate speech
• 'Great War' - Expecting they had won the war
• Not just any war
• Aimed at the middle class as the working class are already at war

Similarities between two images

• Patriotic
• Aspirational lifestyles
• Strongly portray the American/British cultures - reflective of cultural differences?

Having analysed both images as much as possible we were then asked to complete a 500 word comparative essay between the 2 images while comparing and contrasting them in relation to:

• The choice and organisation of font and style of illustration
• The purpose and meaning of the image
• The target/potential audience of the image
• The social and historical contexts relevant to the production of the image

Advertising is such an important form of communication which is why it is so interesting and so important to be able to compare and contrast two examples from different eras, to discover similarities and differences between the two.
Both images are patriotic and are examples of propaganda, very obviously representing either America or Britain. They also portray very aspirational lifestyles consisting of wealth. At the same time however they differ quite dramatically when we consider cultural differences. This is demonstrated through the use of brash bold colours taken from the American flag in the first example, and the use of more subtle, warmer tones in the second. Perhaps this implies that America is much less modest than Britain.
In opposition to this however, one could argue that Britain isn't necessarily modest as the poster was produced before the war had even ended in 1915, and it implies that they had won the war. It is quite contradictory though, because the Father's ashamed expression suggests he had no input in the war and therefore hadn't stepped forward to defend his own country, giving no reason to be feeling proud.
Both examples could be aimed at upper/middle class citizens. Arguably, the American advert could be aimed at people who aspire to have a higher quality of life and be able to afford an 'Uncle Sam Range' oven or alternatively could be aimed at those who are wealthy enough to own one already. Similarly, the British advert could be aimed at the upper class to make them feel guilty for lack of participation in the war, or middle class who should be persuaded to join.
Within each example there is a lot of symbolism used, some more obvious and some subtly hidden. In the American advert there is a bald eagle, which was chosen as the emblam of the United States of America as it represents strength and long life. Wealth and slavery are portrayed via the imagery of a black slave in the corner. This, along with the spherical image on the right handside, which represents the globe, illustrates the American views of black people at the time (as the face of the globe is covering the mass of Africa). The clock is also included in the image to depict the 100 years of America's pride since independence from Britain, illustrating celebration and pride.
In the second image, representing Britain, the little girl reading and pointed to her book and asking her Father what he did in the 'Great War' symbolises how Britain had expected to win the war, and there had been books documenting what happened. The text has also been italicised, creating a certain intimacy with the audience. Whilst the little boy playing with his toys could represent his thoughts of his Father killing people in the war, as there is a soldier positioned directly infront of the canon. This also indirectly implies how his Father is too embarrassed to admit his lack of involvement in the war, giving the child the wrong impression.
Both examples successfully portray both 1876 America and 1915 Britain in an accurate light. They resemble opinions from the time and allow the audience to retain a truthful whilst slightly biased taste for what life was like.