CASE STUDY 3: COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
BACKGROUND
Graphic design, as an applied discipline, is made up of various components including illustration, typography, and photography, with photography being the “most commonly used means of visual communication today” (Ryan, 2004) and having a large impact on our visual experience. Commercial photography involves taking pictures for commercial use, such as for selling a product, advertising, building brand stories and various other aspects. In today’s digital age, the field of commercial photography represents one way in which hipsterism has seeped into and influenced the digital side of commercial graphic design, where businesses are reacting to the popularity of the hipster trend by adopting its stylistic hallmarks.
THE INFLUENCE OF CONTEMPORARY HIPSTER CULTURE ON COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
1. RISE IN POPULARITY OF FILTERED PHOTOGRAPHS
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An element of vintage photographs that has heavily impacted modern-day commercial photography is its unique coloration, the side-effect of the mechanical workings and exposures of old film and polaroid cameras. While modern cameras are able to capture images that are coloured very realistically and accurately, more and more photographs used for commercial purposes today have colour-filters applied over them to distort their hues, saturations and tones, in a bid to appear as though they have been taken by old film cameras, and have been ravaged by
This essay is an analysis of two advertising posters, one of being a modern piece of media, the other being aimed at the previous generation. I will be reviewing posters from Coca Cola and Benetton, the latter being the modern piece of media in this comparison.
Thomas Frank’s book entitled The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism takes a poignant look at the advertising world of the 1950’s and 1960’s, exploring how advertising played a role in shaping the next generation of consumers. Frank points out that he believes many misunderstand how important the key industries of fashion and advertising were to the shaping of our consumer culture, especially in getting Americans to rethink who they were. The industry of advertising was not conforming to the upcoming generation, instead the new consumer generation was conforming to the ideals of the advertising industry. Frank believes that the advertising and fashion industries were changing, but not to conform to the new generation, instead to shape a new generation of consumers.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is set in London in 2540 C.E.; Huxley’s characters refer to the year as 632 years after the production of the first Ford Model T car or 632 A.F. (after Ford). This concept sets the commercialism and glorification of mass production themes that are woven into the novel, in addition to, the use of technology to control the citizens of the World State and the promotion of shallow relationships and instant gratification. Huxley hated the superficialness of mass popular entertainment and culture of his day, he wrote the Brave New World as satire to ridicule the quest for happiness through the purchase of things (Huxley & Hitchens).
Although today’s trends are evolving, marketing tactics are rolling back into a simpler style— minimalism. The understated art form was first expressed in New York, through paintings and large sculptures as a rebellion against artists’ expectations, such as a plethora of colors and an outburst in emotion. Hence, the controversial matter of large, symmetric, and bland sculptures composed of industrial supplies was scrutinized by the art community. But with gradual appeal to the masses and normalized inclusion in other art forms, the condescending undertones paired with minimalism has gone away. Today, minimalism is applied to fashion, plays, products, and lifestyles. However, the most prominent area affected by minimalism is the advertising
Photography has been around for nearly 200 years and has advanced dramatically with the new technology. In 1826, when the first photograph was taken photography was a very basic art form, but soon after photographers figured out how to manipulate their photos. In today’s society, it is almost unheard of to look at photographs that are raw and unedited, but has it always been this way? Dating back to the first photograph in 1826 by Joseph Nicephore Niepce, photography seemed to be raw, but only a few decades after those photographers discovered they could alter their photos to make them more appealing (“Harry Ransom Center”). Over the past 200 years photos of all different subjects have been manipulated through history and technology seems to be the culprit.
Hipster stereotypes are often associated with artists and other creative individuals in today’s society. As young artists are instructed to be culturally and politically aware of their environment, (as well as refined in their chosen crafts), they are not only skilled, but incredibly educated in a modernized, free-thinking way. This research should support the argument that young visual artists, in particular, are aware of these conventionalized ideals and negative perceptions regarding hipster culture, and accordingly manipulate their identity to transcend these stereotypes, or ignore them completely.
To illustrate, the advertisement says to “tap into 200 of the most reputable magazines in one app.” The audience is familiar with paying a subscription to gain access to magazines, since this advertisement was found in a physical copy of TIME. Thus, Texture conveys the message that they provide a spectacular deal by offering a large number of quality magazines. Furthermore, the collage contains seventy distinct magazine covers on iPhones and iPads depicting climate change, health, Planned Parenthood, and more from magazines like Forbes, Vanity Fair, and more. That this advertisement can be found in a TIME issue implies that the audience seeks knowledge. The diversity of magazine covers implies that Texture’s catalogs cover a myriad of topics--ensuring the audience that they can find what they are interested in in Texture. Since the visual is a collage of phones, the advertisement conveys the message that the magazines can be conveniently accessed anywhere and anytime. Texture appeals to logos by demonstrating the benefits of using
Amos, Silas. "Champions of Designs: MTV." Editorial. Marketing 30 May 2012: 20. Ebscohost.com. Marketingmagazine.co.uk. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.
American economy in 1950s grew by 37%. During this period of time, a heightened economy led Americans to continuously spend more on consumer goods. The formation of Pop Art effectively influenced the greatest consumer economy of the world. The further development of materialism is due to an art movement during this time. The changes in art, especially in the development of modern art, led to the expanding negative impact of materialism in America. Andy Warhol, the leading figure of Pop art culture, portrayed consumerism through his art. Pop art shown in advertisements and comic books helped to create a new definition of materialism. Materialism is now defined as: “a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values” (“Materialism”). Andy Warhol and his artworks were catalysts for the materialistic culture that characterizes contemporary society and continues to influence the world today.
The Hippie Movement changed the politics and the culture in America in the 1960s. When the nineteen fifties turned into the nineteen sixties, not much had changed, people were still extremely patriotic, the society of America seemed to work together, and the youth of America did not have much to worry about, except for how fast their car went or what kind of outfit they should wear to the Prom. After 1963, things started to slowly change in how America viewed its politics, culture, and social beliefs, and the group that was in charge of this change seemed to be the youth of America. The Civil Rights Movement, President Kennedy’s death, new music, the birth control pill, the growing illegal drug market, and the Vietnam War seemed to blend together to form a new counterculture in America, the hippie.
Many do not consider where images they see daily come from. A person can see thousands of different designs in their daily lives; these designs vary on where they are placed. A design on a shirt, an image on a billboard, or even the cover of a magazine all share something in common with one another. These items all had once been on the computer screen or on a piece of paper, designed by an artist known as a graphic designer. Graphic design is a steadily growing occupation in this day as the media has a need for original and creative designs on things like packaging or the covers of magazines. This occupation has grown over the years but still shares the basic components it once started with. Despite these tremendous amounts of growth,
While some people may claim to consider advertising a type of fine art, they seldom actually treat advertisements as such. One would be hard-pressed to find, for example, people at an upscale cocktail party who would rather talk about magazine ads than about Picassos, and while numerous homes have paintings hung over their mantles, I have yet to encounter a homeowner who frames advertisements, however well-done, in his or her living room. Even advertising executives shy away from the thought of calling their works “fine art,” with one advertiser stating in the trade magazine Adweek that he becomes “annoyed when people call [advertising] art […] it’s a very dopey notion to me, [as] you’re there to sell ideas or products” (Melillo). Of course,
The sixties was a decade of liberation and revolution, a time of great change and exciting exploration for the generations to come. It was a time of anti-war protests, free love, sit-ins, naked hippie chicks and mind-altering drugs. In big cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, there was a passionate exchange of ideas, fiery protests against the Vietnam War, and a time for love, peace and equality. The coming together of like-minded people from around the world was spontaneous and unstoppable. This group of people, which included writers, musicians, thinkers and tokers, came to be known as the popular counterculture, better known as hippies. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius in the late sixties was more than just a musical orgy. It was a time of spiritual missions to fight for change and everything they believed in. Freedom, love, justice, equality and peace were at the very forefront of this movement (West, 2008). Some wore beads. Some had long hair. Some wore tie-dye and others wore turtle-neck sweaters. The Hippie generation was a wild bunch, to say the least, that opened the cookie jar of possibilities politically, sexually, spiritually and socially to forever be known as one of the most memorable social movements of all time (Hippie Generation, 2003).
in this segment are often brand conscious and enjoy the latest fads and trends. They...
We see photographs everywhere. It is printed on magazines, newspapers, billboards, brochures, packages, bags, and toys, etc. The world wide web is filled with photographs. Flickr alone holds more than 4 billion photographs. Facebook members upload more than 2 billion photographs per month (Stern, 2011).