Fashion Design Drawing

LAY-OUTS

One fundamental principle in commercial art work the student must learn early: The commercial artist is not just an artist, but an artist-salesman. However beautiful his work may be from the standpoint of art, it is valueless if it lacks selling quality. It will be obvious, therefore, that the student must study the elements of successful selling and their application to arrangement and design.

In a national advertising campaign four mediums are employed-Magazines, Newspapers, Posters and Display Cards, and Direct-by-Mail, each performing a specific duty and forming a necessary link in the chain.

Magazine advertising is used chiefly for building up prestige and educating the public, and therefore calls for dignified layouts and more extensive copy. The latter may be institutional instead of descriptive.

Newspaper advertising is for immediate sales purposes and is therefore more alive and commanding of attention and action, less conventional in treatment. In the hurried reading of newspapers an advertisement must be unusually arresting to attract the reader. Not infrequently borders are used to combat surrounding competition.

Posters and Store Display Cards, because they appeal to a moving audience, must have a short text, usually just a few words, which can be caught in a flash. They depend upon brilliant contrasting colors, strength, action and simplicity of arrangement to catch attention and convey a message. If car cards are used in a campaign, the problems are much the same as for posters, and frequently the same designs are used for both purposes.

Direct-by-mail advertising is a study in itself and will not be discussed in this book.

The important thing to remember in regard to the various mediums of a campaign is that each is a link in the selling chain, serving a specific purpose and demanding special treatment. In the execution of a layout the artist is at liberty to present it in any form that will accomplish the objective of selling. He must simply bear in mind that an advertisement, to contain selling ammunition, must

1) attract the reader's attention;

2) convey a message;

3) impress the identity of the advertiser or the advertised product on the reader.

ATTENTION is the power in an advertisement to stop the casual reader. It is the spark needed to explode the ammunition of message and identity. It may be gained through the headline, the illustration, or both; but if the advertisement lacks the power to command attention, all the expense and effort of preparing it are wasted.