I have never met a Target I didn’t like. Although, I will admit that finding a Super Target while traveling in a different city feels like hitting the jackpot. I was recently looking at digital and print advertisements produced by Target. I must say it seems as though they hit the bullseye on almost every design. I focused my attention on the design techniques that were used to make it an effective advertisement and was fascinated by how much thought went into each one.
by Oxo & Target
I found a copy of this advertisement on a Google Images search and loved that it was two advertisements in one. Oxo specializes in kitchen gadgets and home organization and Target sells the products online and in-store.
As I mentioned earlier, I really picked apart this advertisement! For the remainder of this post, I will be telling you what I thought to be the most eye-catching design elements. I found a copy of this advertisement on a Google Images search and loved that it was two advertisements in one. Oxo specializes in kitchen gadgets and home organization and Target sells its products online and in-store.
Contrast:
The first element of this design that caught my eye was the stark contrast of the phrase, “measure happiness.” The bolded red word next to the thin black word grabs the viewer’s attention. Font choice must be thoughtfully considered in every design. The fonts used here are great for adding contrast, and they follow the general style of the advertisement. I can not imagine a cursive font had been used instead, it would have negatively thrown off the contrast!
Repetition:
How many sprinkles do you think the creator used to finally achieve the look they were aiming for? The sprinkles are a repetitive element. They are included on the white frosted cupcake and spilling out of the blue beaker.
The second repetitive element that I liked was the four beakers. Even though they are different sizes and colors they each have a similar shape. This creates visual consistency and provides familiarity in the advertisement.
Alignment:
The alignment of text and objects is important because it guides the eye and establishes balance. The first thing that we see is the words,” measure happiness that is centered in the middle of the page. Even though each word is a different thickness, in the end, they are still the same size and match up lengthwise.
The Oxo logo is centered under the words. The logo is placed in a good place. Imagine if it was moved to the left under the “h” of happiness. It would appear misplaced and unbalanced.
orrectly, it can appear as though it was copied directly from a word document. Luckily in this design, the left aligned works great because it lines up with the Target logo and is still equal with the middle of the page. Rather than the text feel odd or out of place, it is expected.
Proximity:
Proximity establishes connection and depth in a design. When looking at the beakers, they are all very close together but not stacked on top of each other. There is enough white space in between that it feels breathable while also establishing a visual line.
The sprinkles that are spilling out of the blue beaker are also closeby because it is clear that they spilled. If the small mess was moved further away from the lip of the beaker it could run the risk of looking out of place or fake.
Color:
White backgrounds often help a design appear clean and make the colors pop.
Red is always a very eye-catching color, especially here. It is used strongly four times and then minorly used in the sprinkles and the price at the bottom of the left-aligned text.
The rubber on the bottom of each beaker is also very bright and catches the viewer’s attention. I think the bright colors make it quite a desirable product.
Lastly, we can’t forget the effect the sprinkles add. The colors of the sprinkles complement the rest of the design; while adding an element of fun that takes it to the next level
Overall, this design is very professional and playful. Bright colors are used, all the elements are visually aligned, and the style remains consistent. Target and Oxo successfully portrayed the message that these kitchen beakers are great for playful and sophisticated recipes. They are currently available for purchase here at oxo.com. Don’t miss out!
