GQ is Driven to Succeed in the Advertising World

https://stevebains.co.uk/GQ-Magazine

Introduction

This magazine spread comes from the very famous and critically acclaimed, GQ! GQ has featured so many amazing fashion icons including Kourtney Kardashian, Harry Styles, David Beckham, Bella Hadid, Ed Westwick, and Frank Ocean.

The author of the article, Driven to Succeed is Naomi Campbell and David Bailey did the photography. I got the link from Steve Bains website, who is a layout designer. All of his personal work is placed there in a portfolio.

Photography

rule of thirds.jpg

This image is captivating, especially in the black and white. It makes the red pop as a contrasting color. The designer did a good job keeping the piece simple, yet eye catching. Also, the black and white shows the serious tone of trying to succeed and being determined to get there. Just his face indicates that this article is featuring him as someone who has succeeded.

Typography

The first main font is slab serif. You can tell because of the strong header and the strong visible serifs. The other in the body text is sans serif because there are no serifs! It is a good choice for body text because it is simple and readable. I also like the boldness of the red font and it makes the text pop, leading your eye to what the one in red is saying without overpowering it.

My Images

Rule of Thirds: I took this on my flight home! It is rule of thirds because the airplane wing is on the left side of the image. Sometimes, in rule of thirds, there can be dead space but I like how the sun and lake are there to add detail.

Shallow Depth of Field: This image is one of my favorites. Me and my roommates explored Jackson Hole, Wyoming! This picture represents shallow depth of field because she is in focus and the rest of the background is slightly blurred.

Deep depth of field: I also took this one in Jackson Hole. It is a deep depth of field because you can see all the details of the trees, snow, and cute building.

I feel like all three of these images could portray willing to succeed. They would just have to change the color scheme. Also it was hard because the article was about a certain person in mind. I have not met him so it would be hard to submit pictures for it.

Our Ocean, Our Choices

6fb2e37fc32e9aa34ee53a1b0e00fa1b — found at Surfrider.org

https://www.surfrider.org/psa/entry/rap-sushi

On the Surfrider website, the opening quote reads, “Our ocean, waves, and beaches belong to all of us and it is our job to protect it.” Since I lived a majority of my life in Orange County, California, the beach is my home and I want to do what I can to protect it. I love this advertisement because it shows how plastic is impacting not only the ocean, but ourselves. This raises awareness and hopefully can cause a change in the way we think of plastic.

Color

This advertisement is very simplistic with the color choices, but they do stand out and make a difference. There is a cool toned feel to the ad, with the main colors being blue, gray, and brown. I like how the blue tone appears in the logo, font, and on the bag. Also, I feel like it is very appropriate since we are talking about saving the ocean. Most people associate blue with water or the sea so it all works well together!

Proximity

Every little detail on this ad looks like it has a purpose. The logos on the lower right hand side are close together showing that these two organizations are working together. The sushi on the top are leaned against each other rather than on polar opposite parts of the page. Also, the heading and caption are very close together while the bottom copyright text is in a light color all the way at the bottom of the page. Lastly, the chopsticks are next to each other, but not touching. When you hold chopsticks, they don’t touch, just like in this ad.

Alignment

Alignment plays a big part in this ad. The text is all lined up together and flushed to the left, along the margin line. The chopsticks on the right are not lined up which makes it seem casual and that the people just casually placed there. The top chopstick is lined with the sushi roll on the right.

Repetion

There are two sushi rolls and two chopsticks. Also, the font is the same on the header and caption. The blue color is not only just on the blue text, but also on the logo and sushi rolls.

Contrast

The biggest contrast is the colors. The white background makes the blue really pop! On the logo, the font is also white around the small water bottle, making it connect it to the outer rim. Also, there are shadows around the edge of the sushi roll and chopsticks which indicates that this is a dimensional picture and gives depth.

This ad is very eye-catching and professional. If I saw this in the real world, whether it be a magazine or billboard or something, it would really make me think. I like the idea of the plastic around the sushi because no one wants plastic in their food, right? So we need to do our part to make sure that doesn’t happen.