Brand: Practice

Brand Practice

 In this blog I will be writing about my final design that I will be using for my Brand photo shoot. Shown in a previous blog and here is my final design inspired by my brand M.A.C and my inspirational word 'fill'. To quote what I wrote about my design was 'In this design I have gone back to the theme of block colour and fill. I have create a band of colours across the eyes but with squares of orange around both eyes and above along the eyebrows. I have used the same colours on the lips but used the orange as an highlight and to finish off the look a white eyeliner.' Therefore to continue this design I have practiced it on my model to make sure I liked the outcome and to practice it method of application. 

Method:

Kit:
- Foundation and foundation brush
- False eyelashes and glue (primark Lashes)
- Supercolour Pallet
- flat brush 
To start off this look my model was already wearing her foundation and had filled in her eyebrows. Therefore to start the look I first took the flat brush and the red supercolour and drew a straight line above the eyebrows and around the tip of the nose, creating a rectangled on the face. I then used the red supercolour to draw out the outline of a square around the eyes to later fill in with orange supercolour. I then filled in the appropriate area with red and then the squares of the eyes with orange. Moving to the lips I used the red supercolour and applied this all over the lips and then taking the orange supercolour I applied this to the center of the lips and making my model rub her lips together this created a highlight of orange in the middle of the lip. To finish this look I applied my bold false lashes to the top of the lashes only and then added mascara as normal over the top to blend in the natural lashes with the fake ones. However to improve on this practice I will using to as a guideline next time to insure that all my lines are straight in which making this look more professional and lastly I will include a white eyeliner cat eye which I believe will make the eyes pop and look must more bold.  

 

Editorial: Photoshoot Research

Editorial Photoshoot

In this blog I will be continuing from the ideas of the word 'Fill' but it will be interpretative through a Editorial Photoshoot. Editorial photography give a person much more freedom with its creativity it sells more of a lifestyle and creates a narrative to tell the audience who views it. Compared to my brand design the editorial design can be more ex stream and out there as its not really used to sell a product. As my word is 'fill' I need my Editorial Shoot to represent my word as well as creating an interesting image that is catching to the eye. Referring back to my original mood board that I created to represent my first thoughts on my word 'fill' I found many different sources of images that can interpret the word in many ways, e.g. fillings in food, glitter filled balloons, paint filled tins etc. As I researched perilously I really wanted to work with the concept of paint filling things up and un-filling, as I believe the texture works as an interesting concept. For the brand shoot I went more down the road of block bold colours inspired by paint but the block colour more represented my brand (M.A.C) and my word. However, now I can be more creative with this photoshoot making it more bold and wacky in a way that appears beautiful and relates to my word.   

 Therefore as looking back on my first reference images of my inspirational word I defiantly want to use the concept of paint to represent my word. As I made this decision I then wanted to go further into my research and thought it would be appropriate to research into more inspiration of the idea of paint and understand the texture better. In the mood Board created below we can see that paint can be used in many forms and ways to different textures and colours. I really love the idea of a mixture of colours that fade into each other while having strong drips that are visible to the viewer. Therefore as I decided I wanted bold colours and seeing drips I decided to research into make-up looks that have used the concept of paint in there artwork. 

 Shown in the mood board below there is a collection of reference images of make-up editorials look that have related to paint. As I don't want to want to get away from my inspirational word 'fill' I believe the look should cover all elements that are shown on camera meaning it fills up the whole body that is shown. Out of these reference images I really liked the images that showed the use of strokes in them and covered most of the face while still looking beautiful with the use of similar colours. Therefore when I draw up my designs for this look I will consider a paint look that; covers all body parts, represents 'fill', the colours complement each other and include drips. 

 Design Ideas:

In this design I wanted to create a sleek design while using the element of paint. I have created a strong, sharp line across the forehead which create the start of my smears of paint that follow underneath, creating a mask like effect (filling up half the face). I am wanting to use paint on the skin to create this look with a dark blue on the base and then building up the colours on top, getting lighter. I would used child friendly paint as this is safe for the skin, I would also take this colouring and technique of paint back into the hair making it slicked back. I really like this look but on the other hand I don't think it represents my word the best and I believe it could appear more like it represents water due to the texture and look. 


In this design (which has been used in my brand ideas) I thought it would be more appropriate for this style of design and brief. I like how this design has a gradient to the look and that it is done through blocks of dripping colours which I would achieve with the paints again. However again as much as I like this look I believe a look that fills most of the face or body would be more appropriate for my inspirational word.



In design it is very similar to the second design but does have a gradient of a different kind. The colours would sit on top of each other masking the upper second face which I would also bring into the hair again using the child friendly paints. However like both the previous design I believe the designs need to cover most of the body.   

In my final design I have created a mix of light and dark blues that cover all areas of skin that are exposed using the child friendly paints. I wanted to create a mis-match of textures on the face while using a white in certain areas (like the t-zone) to highlight the face. Then while running these colours through the hair I would drip colours down the face to relate to other textures of paint used. Using black paint and a brissle brush I would run this along some edges of the face like shown in the design to give the look more demention and defintion. To finally finish the look I may place white eyelashes to really make the eyes pop against all the colours on the body.  

Brand Photoshoot: Research

Brand Photoshoot: 'FILL'

In this blog I will be writing about the plans and ideas for my final Brand photoshoot based on my previous research on my inspirational word 'Fill'. To recap from my previous research when I started researching into the word 'Fill' I started by collecting reference images that related to this word. These images represented just the word how it is, e.g.: filled donuts, glitter filled balloons, negative space images, paint filled items and much more. From this research I found that I really like the idea of paint and block bold colours as this filled in big areas of the face relating to the word really well. From this I researched into the kind of textures that I would like to create with this word, I really like the idea of dripping paints, the mixtures of colours together and blocks of bold colours. For my brand M.A.C it represents the idea of being different and unique which is mainly represented through one of their main campaigns 'Viva Glam' and as the brand needs to sell a product while still representing the meaning of the brand I have decided to go with the idea of block colours. As I wanted to represent a block coloured theme I had also researched into fashion/runways which showed block colours and styles that would help me inspire my designs. The runways images showed dresses of blocked colours and bold lines which had a 'stand out' style. To finish my research within my word 'fill' I collected images together of previous paint and block colour look that would help me inspire my designs for my brand photoshoot. 

When having collected all this information and knowing I wanted to create a block coloured theme for my designs I researched into my brand so I would have a better understand of what the brand represents and how I could create my own image that represents the brand as best as I could. As mentioned previously the brand represents and honors 'Individuality and self-expression' meaning all products are meant for anyone and everyone in any style and any self expression the customer feels. To carry on the research I created three other storyboards which would help me design the layouts of my photoshoot while still relating it too my word and my brand. I started by looking at poses that where suitable to my brand and word by looking at poses from my brand. I looked at two types of poses; one being close-up images of the facial features which took up all space of the images which relates to my word but the make-up would relate to the brand. The second pose, where side on poses where the model looked into the distanced which I thought gave a dramatic look which I thought represented the brand and its meaning really well. The second aspect I looked at was the 'lighting' I found reference images of model poses with dark lighting that surrounded the faces making the contrast of the image very interesting. I really like this kind of lighting as it relates to both aspects. The word fill as the image would be completely full and the brand as its dramatic and bold. Lastly, I research even more make-up looked that related to all my research and I stilled wanted to create a block colour look but now with a close-up of all features, including dark lighting. The designs and previous photos that inspired by to create these further designs where inspired by these images.

     

Designs: 

In this design I have taken the idea of shapes and I have coloured and areas of the main features of the face and drawn a shape around it. Some of the colour over spills out of the outline relating to my word fill which it could also become full.




In this design it is very similar to the first design but I have kept all the shapes square as too match. The blocks of colour match the theme I wanted to represent while still representing my word fill and the brand as it includes bold colours.  

In this design it is more complex than the others. The design is made up of all different bold colours and blocks but also link with another theme of dripping paint. I really like this design as the top of the design has a straight line to it and makes it neat and bold but with the use of colour and shape it again relates to the brand and word. I have design also has a gradient effect to it which I really like also as it make the design more interesting but this design may be more suitable for an editorial shoot rather than Brand. 


In this design I have gone back to the theme of block colour and fill. I have create a band of colours across the eyes but with squares of orange around both eyes and above along the eyebrows. I have used the same colours on the lips but used the orange as an highlight and to finish off the look a white eyeliner. 

Practice:

In practice I chose the last design look as I thought it is the most suitable look for the brand and my word fill. The look is quite simple only including too colours I believe it really stands out and makes a statement relating to the brand. I had adapted the design while in practice by making the red band higher rather than including the two orange square above the eyebrow as I believe having just two of each colour makes it match more and looks more appealing to the eye. The word 'fill' fits in well as I have used blocks of colour on the face without shading which makes it straight to the point and relates well to my inspirational word. I added extra eyelashes to this look which adds drama which again relates to my brand. To improve on this look I need to make the lines and squares as straight as possible therefore I will used tape to map out the look and make sure the shapes are as perfect as possible. Also I need to add in the white eyeliner as I believe this will make the eyes pop against the bold colours on the face.   

Beauty Brands

How Beauty Brands Seduce you with Emotional Design

In this lecture we were talking about how beauty brands present themselves to the general public using colour, its authenticity and target audience. Some brands project different meanings through these elements to sell their products to their targeted audience. We have looked at many famous brands and shown example of how they sell to their customers and what techniques they have use.

Olay is an example that has sold over 382 billion products and continues to grow as the highest selling brand of all time , which makes it the number one 'legacy brand'. As this brand has been around for a long time people are known this brand and trust it therefore people are happy to buy from it as its a trusted business. On the other hand, other brands wish to connect with the general public on a emotional level using colour and imagery. Other imagery used in ad's sometimes portray a sexual vibe to us, as stated by 'Freud' sex is something that everyone desires even if we do not relise it is in our subconcious and this help brand sell to us and buy their products. The images are made with elements like this to make it desirable as it creates emotions and sell to the public. An example of a brand that does this is L'oreal, as it uses sexy celebrities to draw you into the image. The brands saying is ' because your worth it making the customer feel about of the brand and making them feel like the celebrities in the photos. As everyone want to have the lifestyles like within the adverts by having this saying and having a chance to buy the products that are used in them makes the public be able to be a little bit like the celebrities.'dove' is quite the opposite to L'oreal as it does not judge the beauty and states that everyone is beautiful in their own way. They use soft colours within their adverts which are represented in their products and brand. 'Clinique' also has a clean and natural finish to their brand products which again they wish to show in their products. As shown in  all of these brands they all consist of elements that they have to include to help them sell.

Colour:

They are associated with emotions but the colours represent the brand. 

Authenticity:

How beauty is projected to people and how this makes them feel.

Customer:

Its all about the customer and showing through the adverts what they want. Always think about the target audience.       

M.A.C Storyboard

Storyboard Ideas: M.A.C

In this blog I will be continuing from my ideas for my own advertisement and the ideas that went with it. As my word is 'Fill' and I have created a concept of using paint or block filled in areas of the face as my main concept. To further plan into my ideas for my design work I was then given the brand that I would have to advertise for with my idea, which was M.A.C cosmetics. I was really happy with this brand as I believe that my concept can really represent the brand well as the brand is known for it 'out there' beauty concepts and bright/bold colours in their beauty range. As I have this added information for my design concept I now have something extra to work around and I now need to create a story board of ideas that will include; make-up looks, model poses, lighting, props, costumes etc. To first start the research I thought it would be appropriate to research into the background and history of my brand so I know exactly what I need to inspire from. 

M.A.C History:

M.A.C was founded by artist and photographer, Frank Toskan and beauty salon owner Frank Angelo. As they were both annoyed by the lack of colour within photography and they wanted to create a brand that would produce this. To start their dream they for their new beauty brand they starting making cosmetics themselves and then selling it on in their salon to make-up artists, models, photographer etc. By the year 1984 they had launched there first counter in a department store in Toronto. There products where known as being quite chic to the public coming in small black pots and a product that was very popular was a mac red lipstick called 'Madonna' which was used on the red carpet wearing a M.A.C T-shirt and then they were noticed. There products from then on became very popular selling a blend of street savvy and glamour. It was the first beauty company in history to educate and train its staff in make-up and to give the customer's point-of-sale experience which made the company very unique to many others. This brought sells right up and other extras came to the business like sample testing, gifts with products. The company became especially unique due to its liking to outrageous and unusual within make-up, the company houred individuality and self-expression. This sense brought in the themes of drag and theater into the sleek M.A.C stores and counters. Relating to the events in 1994 when AIDS where a big problem as it was spreading the globe, M.A.C wanted to do something to help. Therefore they produced a HIV/AIDS organization and the M.A.C AID's fund was born. The organization helped by creating such campaigns as 'Viva Glam' which involved celebrities that are different and unquie promoting their products which a percentage of the money would be donated towards the charity, they made 'Kids helping Kids, Greeting Card' and celebrity spokespeople. In 1995, the Estee Lauder company purchased a percentage of M.A.C which extended it range of products over the globe. In 1998, Estee Lauder acquired the remaining shares of M.A.C and then John Demsey was named the president of M.A.C and then the links between fashion, beauty and culture were strengthened within the business and also with certain film festivals. The company was also inspired by the world of pop and the M.A.C aids fund has also encouraged the sponsorship of concert tours for such Viva Glam spokespeople as Mary J Blige and Missy Elliot. Moving to today M.A.C is continuing to  develop new products and new categories for customers and make-up artists. It continues to build on it worldwide sells and growth and also its involvements in charities . Apart from its AIDS fund it is now also trying to support the animal-free testing and continues to work on improving through the years.

Story Board: 

To continue with the planning process of my inspirational word and the link of my new brand M.A.C I have needed to produced a story board to show my development within my brand and how I could incorporate this style into my word. I was not to sure as what a story board for a beauty brand may incorporate so I researched into how designers used story board to inspire them within there work. I found this website called 'How to create a story board for a photo shoot' and it was really helpful to explain the background work in developing ideas and concepts for a final photo shoot.

As I gathered from the video I found that knowing the right; lighting, model poses and make-up style is very important when developing ideas within the design process. To start my research I wanted to research first about into the history of the brand and one of the first editorial photography that they had. As mentioned within the history of the M.A.C brand its first campaign was Viva Glam to raise money for AIDS.

Viva Glam:

This is a board of most of the viva glam images which are meant to represent and celebrate the best of the quirky and unusual to make to the public inspiring images. The campaign does also represent the brand as the make-up is bold and bright and represents many styles and gives anyone the chance to enhance the personality they wish to have. I need to remember to incorporate this meaning of the business into the brand.

Poses:

In this board I have continued researching into the M.A.C brand by collecting images from the brand that I believe included suitable poses for my advert. I have two types of poses that I have collected one being extreme close-up of parts of the face meaning that it takes up the whole image, I believe this would also suit my brand as my word is fill and the pose fills up the whole image. The second poses all include a side way pose which I like due to its dramatic emotion and I would like to portray this through my photograph and as well as giving a strong emotions to the image I believe this kind of pose can show of the make-up very well.

Lighting: 

In continue to this research I have researched next into lighting that have been used in M.A.C campaigns. Again to follow my theme of filling up the image I believe having most of the image filled with shadow and the main part of the image the face/make-up I believe this create a great link and also a contrast to the image. If I where to put this with the up-close images this really creates a mood of contrast, drama and relates to fill therefore including lots of elements to the image making it more interesting. 

Make-Up:

I then researched into different make-up look done by M.A.C that may relate to my word. My final ideas for make-up in my other blog where paint or blocks of make-up therefore I found some other inspiration from the brand that could give me ideas to incorporate into my designs. Other ideas that I have found are paints smears and not being perfect with the make-up which can still look beautiful.  

Reflect:

Overall, in my presentation on how M.A.C relates to my inspiration word 'fill' I have gathered a better understanding of my brand, I know that the brand stands for being unique and different while owning your own style to therefore be accepted by anyone. Knowing this information and connecting it within my word I had research into certain elements that I needed to know for my photo-shoot e.g. poses, lighting and the make-up. I had decided to create an up-close look of the main features of the face with a dark lighting that almost acted like an outline for my model. I was commented that this look was appropriate for my word as both of these lighting and poses fill up the image which again relates to my word and as the poses where dramatic and bold this reflects the meaning of the brand. On the other hand, the make-up look that I have chosen does relate to my word as it fills up elements of the face with bright, bold colour which relates to the brand but however the bold, blocks of colour my be quite hard to produce to such an up-close shot. I was commented that this look may be difficult to do to such as high standard as I would have to use a macro lens to take the image it would capture every element of the look and if there were any mistakes it would be noticed. 

  

Composition:

Composition and Go-Bo

 In this lesson we were learning about the practical skills of creating different filters and compositions in our images using different techniques to create a perfect image for our adverts. We were first shown some overlays (which can be created on 'CaptureOne') that are we will be using to overlay our final image, however we were shown them at this stage as we could practice taking photos and see them straight away with the overlay. This will help with getting the right composition for my image. To create filters we were taught to use a Machine called a 'GoBo' to help with creating different filters which would help with the mood of the images.

 

what is a GoBo?:

A Gobo is a physical stencil or template which gets slotted inside (or in front of) a lighting source of course. The Gobo is used to control the shapes that are projected onto the background or model. It has mainly been used in theaters and can create spotlights or the filters can be used to create different settings or moods e.g. windows. Therefore linked in this video is some information about gobo's and how they can be used.

We set up the studio to start practicing with the gobo with two back lights to light up the back set, the model central to the set, two black boards either side to create shadow, an overhead light and finally the gobo in the potion you wish to have on the model or in the background. Making sure that the camera has all the correct settings we tested out the gobo and first found that a dark background does not work.Therefore we had to changed the set-up of the photo-shoot to be able to create a clear filter for the photo shoot. 

  

In the new diagram above the black boards have been brought closer together by doing this it creates are darker set and more of a shadow making the overall back of the set darker meaning that when shining the gobo back on this made the image stand out more. Another tip for brightening the image is to make the ISO higher or even open the apatcher. We practice the look with the filter behind which in some ways could be quite interesting as we created a window filter but to make the look more intersting we brought the filters in front of the face. Referring back to the overlay if the text was white we were taught that you can use something as simple as your hand in front of the light to create a shadow on the image which can be quite effected. We continued this practice throughout the lesson and practiced different creating different shadow which can be effective depending mostly on the model and then the style of the image you wish to create. 

Digital Production: Beauty Brands

How to Identify a Beauty Brand?

Seven Brands That Changed the Face of Beauty Marketing?:

1. Estee Lauder:

Was the founder of Estee Lauder herself and started her business with only four skin care products with the dream to sell them to women all over the world to make all women beautiful. She was a very passionate women and had a strong drive to achieve her dream and she changed the face of the cosmetics world. She was first inspired by her uncle who created skin cream in a lab therefore she decided to start selling skin care products in a local salon demonstrating them to customers while they had there hair done. As she had such a passion for it her and her husband opened there own company and by the end of the year they sold over $800 worth to 'Saks Fifth Avenue'. Her secret to selling was to be interactive with the customer and show them the results on there own skin while explaining the products. This created the companies 'High-Touch Service'. The brand then began well known for its 'Bonus Gifts' meaning you would get a free gift when buying another product which gave her more customers. The business did so well due to these elements plus how involved Estee Lauder was, as she would go to every opening of a new store and help the new employees. To expand her business she wanted to advertise it in the newspapers and have a different model represent her brands at any given time. With her products she chose a colour scheme of turquoise as she believed this gave the brand a scene of luxury and match most decor in people's bathrooms. As well as skin products she also expanded into fragences the first one called 'Nose' and insisted all products be made of the highest quality products. The business over time has grown to the greats and she was awarded many honor for it and overall the brand is expanding even more even after her death in 2004.  

2. Clinique:

Was owned by Estee Lauder and the idea around Clinique was so people could have products that improve their skin! Dr Orentriech and Carol Phillips where employed by Estee Lauder as they were convince by the Dr's theories to be able to give women better skin. In 1968 the brand introduced the 'Three step skin Care System' meaning that clients could have a daily cleaning, exfoliating and moisturizing routine. It was the first ever dermatologist being allergy tested and 100% fragrance free. In 1976, it was one of the first brands to regonised the different skin care for both men and women. Clinique has moved forward from when it was created and its aims are to give their client high quality products that they can trust for their skin and enhancing their natural beauty. They want their staff to set an example on the brand as they wear lab coats that represent the company as being related to medical and dermatological communities, making sure the brand shows a scientific purpose, which is also shown through their adverts. 

3. Revlon:

In 1932, Two brothers Charles and Joseph Revson and a chemist CR Lachman, changed the history of the beauty Industry. The brand started with one product, revolutionary nail enamel that came in many different colours, which took off all over the world e.g. vogue. In the 1950's Revlon released an ad that was very much spoken about due to the combo of red lips and nails, representing a women appearing glamorous in an everyday situation making it possible for any women to look glamorous everyday. In the 1960's Revlon wanted the 'American look' anywhere and everywhere making it advertised featuring U.S models. In the 1970's 'New wave Feminism' was a main theme and added new products of eye and face make-up therefore expanding there business. It also stated that it would become the world no.1 seller of perfume and over 40 years later the perfume is still brought by many women. In the 80's it became a mass-market beauty brand and worked with women like; Iman, Claudia, Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington. In the 90's the brand released its 'colourstay' Collection and it became the no.1 long-wear brand (still is today). Finally in the 2000's, Gucci Westman joined as a Global Art Director and pushed the brand to the front of beauty and fashion. The brand was also known for creating the idea of beauty becoming a 'seasonal' wear, changing looks every six months. 

4. Max factor:

Max factor was the founder of the brand and began his journey to try and define glamour with his own hair and beauty goods shop which started in Razan, Russia. In 1914 Max his first motion picture movie and was horrified by the greasepaint that were used on the actors. Therefore he created a flexible greasepaint for films to make them appear more human and beautiful. In 1918, max introduced the colour harmony principle to make-up. This meant that make-up shades were used to try and compliment a women's natural skin tone, eyes and hair. In the 1920's was a very important time as Max introduce the glamorous make-up to the general public making it possible for normal women to look like the Hollywood star. In 1928, Lip Pomade was invented (Lip gloss) which was to provide a glossy look to movie stars on the screen. Later in the same year the famous Jean Harlow who had platinum blonde hair gave Max an idea to create new make-up shades to match this bright shade of hair colour. In 1932, he invents a 'Beauty Calibrator' to measure dimensions of a persons face and structure. This device was created to make it easier to know where to create shadows on the skin and create the 'perfect face'. In 1935, 'Pan-cake Make-up' was created which helped actors meet the standards of the technicolor film and when clients started taking this home Max Factor released this in stores as it was a popular product to make everyone look glamorous. Max factor died sadly in 1938, aged 66 and his son took over his business to keep his fathers memory alive. The brand continued to reach new highs with developing its products and is now one of he biggest beauty brands, while still keeping Max Factor's main intentions of glamorous women.    

5. L'oreal: 

Eugene Schueller was the founder of the brand who first sold hair dyes (Aureole), soaps and shampoo's to Paris hairdressers, he was also known to taste his products to ensure efficacy. In 1953, the brand forms a licence to sell products in the U.S. making the product there called 'L'oreal USA'. Sadly in 1957 Eugene passes away and a man called Francois Dalle takes over release hair care products in the same year and later in 1961 creating a soap business. Continuing in the 60's the company then goes public and even buys the french cosmetics company Lancome. Moving into the 70's it enters into a pharmaceutical business as it buys 'Synthelabo' and Eugene's daughter then trades in almost half of the stock for a 3pc stake with Nestle. The 80's showed a great success for the business as it became world's number one cosmetics. In 1995, it gained two drug companies in Germany and France expanding its sells and became the number two cosmetics brand in the US by buying Maybelline for $758m. Finally in the 2000's it moved together ethnic beauty products, buys 'Colorama' brand from Revlon and now sells in magazines e.g. Lanvin, Marie Claire.

6. Pond's: 

Was invented in the United States as a medicine by Theron T. Pond and Mr.Pond extracted a healing tea from witch Hazel which he discovered could heal small cuts and other ailments, which was later named 'Golden Treasure' and then 'Pond Extract' after Theron's death. In 1886, the company began to advertise nationally under the name of Pond's Healing until 1910. In the twentieth century the company was mainly selling cosmetics products; 'Pond's Vanishing cream' and 'Cold Cream' which lead them into the facial care industry. But today Pond is sold all around the world and largest market is Spain and Asia. In 1910, the companies main focus was on its vanishing cream and it began its ad campaign that involved a lot of celebrities. A lot of the creams on the ad had description of what they were and how to use them  which one included a famous quote saying' Every normal ski needs these two creams'. This Ad increased sales by 60% and gave it a lot of business. In the 1920's the sales had sadly gone down as because the product was affordable it was believed it would not work as well as designer products would. As this happened the company wanted to target people of higher class as to make their product more of a luxury, they did this by printing ad in magazines such as Vogue. After a great review from the Queen Marie the Pond's company began to give out free products in the magazines and characters representing the brand where also created to get the general public to again buy their products. During the 1930's business slowed down again due to the great depression. Pond's company merged with 'Chesebrough Maunfacturing Company' in 1955 which was in facial care field. The products then became available in supermarkets in the United States and the products came in small glass bottles designed with a round cap and was regonised by its bright colours green, blue and white. 

7. Dove: 

The brand was founded by Lever Brothers in 1957 and first starting selling beauty soap bars, which has expanded it market to body wash, deodorants, lotions, facial cleaners, shampoos and conditioners. In the 1950's the brand advertised a dove beauty bar boasting its '1/4 cleaning cream' and that the product 'Creams your skin while you wash'. The ad encouraged the buyer to only wash half their face to see if the products worked. Dove made soaps 'cool' and referred to the soap not as soap but as a 'bath and toilet bar' in their ad's. The series of ad's were always comparing themselves to normal bars stating their moisturizing qualities as shown in picture of cream being poured into the dove bars. In the 1960's the Dove brand concentrated more on women and introduced the pink coloured dove bar which was 'heavenly fragrance'.  In the 70' s an adverts was produced to ask 'what part of you ages first?' and it goes on to advertise its soaps again, taking a side by side comparison again. And also ad's in a scientific approach to why the soap can help stop ageing which is explained in its ad which was more of a positive to buyer. The ad in the 80's challenges women to a seven day trail in their product to swap their old soaps for there dove for seven days as it is 'one thousand times better than soap' and it was to state that you would look prettier due to the moistening to the skin. In the 90's the ad's go towards a focus group of women experimenting with test strips to determine the harshness of the different soaps, making the dove brand stand out as girls stated they would switch brands for dove. The lastest Dove campaigns (2004) advertise change. The campaign is called 'Campaign for Real Beauty' in a effort to widen the definition of beauty and they used non-models but normal women of all shapes, sizes, race and ages to celebrate real beauty.          

Digital Image Production

Advertising Versus Editorial Image : what is the difference ?

What is Fashion?

- A popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration or behavior.- Is about selling a kind of lifestyle through clothes and advertisement. - Fashion is often seen as an inspirational goal to people even if they don't realize it. 
As fashion is stated as sold as a lifestyle through the idea of clothes and make-up we are shown this in many ways of advertisement even when we don't relies it. Beauty editorial are there to show the clothes, make-up and hair but one main purpose is too sell you a lifestyle that you the buyer wish to desire. Therefore by showing you (the public) this through there brand its almost like an insentive to buy there products to become closer to that lifestyle. In this video called 'Italian Vogue, Beauty Edititoal' is a prime example of some of the advertisements that are produced to make everyday people crave the lifestyle that is presented. In this video we are presented with a beautiful young women shown in beautiful outfits with amazing make-up and hair, within glamorous setting all produced together into a montage of clips to show a small glimpse of what we could imagine a 'perfect' lifestyle making us ( the buyer) wanting to buy this lifestyle. This therefore shows the difference between Beauty ads and Editorial ads as beauty sells a product and editorial sells a lifestyle. 

Commercial:

Commercial products is something that is made for its intention to be sold to the public and within commercial photography this intention is the same to sell a product. These adverts and photography are usually very plain looking within plain simple colour of about two or three with a model in a very natural pose. The purpose of the adverts are to convince the buyer that they cannot live without this product and it is a must have to them, persuading them through the advertisement. For example shown in this 'Commercail Beauty' image there are very little colours used but they are bold (black and red) which stand out against each other making the advert very eye-catching and also very smart. The model is wearing very simple make-up apart from the bold red lipstick which is the main focus of the advert and she also appears to be wearing no clothing which I believe give a sexy theme to the ad. Therefore with these combinations of elements it would make the buyer believe they would feel sexy if they were to buy this product shown by the model, making the public craving to buy the product. But with this in mind the main aspect to focus on when selling a product is the target audience as they are your main income and if you produce an advert like this selling for young teen it would be inappropriate as young teens don't want to appear sexy and sophisticated, so the advertising is key for your age group.   

Editorial: 

Editorial adverts are there to of course advertise but at the same time they are more adverts that are attached with a main theme and is followed with a story line or narrative that is suitable to the magazine. It is aim is to cover a wide range of different styles and genres within fashion but in simplistic terms. When we are presented with editorials in magazines we are shown with many styles of images and every picture has been given a lot of thought into it to give it a strong meaning a story to the image to represent the magazine at the time. I believe this element of narrative is what makes these picture so special that you know that a lot of preparation has gone into them and at the end of the day they have no limits to its creativity while commercial ads do because they have to make it clear and to the point. For example in this Editorial shoot the girl appears dainty and innocent due to the natural make-up and the positing of her hand but overall I would believe that the main theme to this would be glow or dew. As her skin appears fresh and dewy along her t-zone and the theme of it being fresh relates to new and being young, for the reason I believe they picked such a young face model. This is how I have interpreted this image and many more tell stories like this through just the use of poses, props, make-up, colour and hair. 

   

Advertorials: 

Advertorials are a combination of adverts and editorials meaning that they are editorial images (sometimes) combined with a beauty advert usually explaining the products and how to use them. These new ideas of adverts are the new 'thing' and they are there to give us tips on the product and instruct us on them. I think they are a great new addition to adverts as most people like to be spoon fed information on how to do things rather then figuring it out for ourselves, ( step by step).  

Comparison's: 

All these styles of adverts are very difference as all of them have in some ways very different purposes which does not depend on whether its a fashion or make-up campaign they will all differ depending on there target audience and price range. For example with these two adverts both based on beauty advertisement you don't even need to know the brands to know that one is more expensive than the other. The 'Channel' brand is seen with colours of pinks and whites to represent a girly and glamorous theme, with a model in the center of the image who have perfect skin and beautiful make-up. This kind of  company would never do a simple advert like 'dove' as the brand is more expensive and it wants to show this through the advert and present a look that you desire to get, but beauty has a high price to look 'perfect'. On the other hand, the 'dove' advert is shown with a non-model on the cover as to represent to there brand that anyone can buy, afford and wear there products. The colours are shown as soft to also represent their products meaning they are soft and gentle also and there main image is that anyone and everyone is beautiful. So over all adverts depending on there brands will differ as at the end of the day they will appeal to different target audiences depending on money, culture and lifestyles, which has to be shown within the ads. 

 

    

Studio Set-Up

Digital Image Production

In this blog I will be explaining some basic set-ups that we have been taught for this semester in Digital Image production. All these skills that we are being taught are too help us to produce the best outcome of images for our advertisements, we will be taught different skills and set ups which may best fit the kind of image I want to produce.

In the first practical lesson for digital image we were reminded and taught how to set up the perfect studio set-up ready to shoot our adverts later in the in the year. In the diagram below I have explained the perfect set-up for an advertising shoot. There are many steps to setting up the perfect studio; First set-up the camera on the trip-pod with a lens of choose ( can be macro for up-close images or 100m for normal shoots) and the camera needs to be in the front of the set-up, two white sheet stands in front of two softs boxes to create a soft back light, two black boards to keep the light in and create shadow and lastly a C-stand with a soft light over head to create light over the top of your model.   

Tips:

- With the white soft boxes and over head lights always keep them at a medium lighting setting as if it is too high then the images will be over exposed. 

- To create different types of lighting on a model you can use a reflector and find out which one suits your shoot better.

- Soft boxes on either side of the photo-shoot can make the images appear softer and less harsh then other lighting. 

There are other set-ups that we tried out like this diagram above, the set-up is the same as the first diagram but instead include dark boards near the front of set-up near the camera. These dark boards can be moved closer together near your model which creates a sharper image and brings out bone structure and shadows in the models face. Below are some examples of the images that we produced through this practice, we also experimented with different lenses. One of the lenses used where the 'Macro' lens which is a lens that can captures high quality up-close images which is perfect for an advertsing unit. As my word is 'fill' and my idea is to fill in parts of the face like lips, eyebrows etc this feature on the camera could work really well for my advert. In the class we exsperimented with different features of the face and also lighting to find what kind worked with different skin tones/features.

Adverts Through The Ages

Beauty Advertising

For this new unit our task is to eventually produce an advertisement based on our inspirational word ‘fill’ which I have explained previously. The idea and concept of Beauty Adverts have been around for a long time explaining and portraying products to the general public. Through this lecture I learnt about the history of the Beauty Advert and how it has developed over time and how it has been adapted through location, time and events. In this blog I will be explaining brief parts of the history of the Beauty Adverts and how it has come to be how it is to the modern day.

Advertising is the activity or profession of producing advertisements for commercial products or services which by having a great image can improve their sells for their products. The companies always want to beat their competitors by making a high standard of product and wanting the buyer to be happy with their product. As stated in the lecture most of the adverts are based around women whether they include beautiful women or attractive women doing a form of housework while being watched over by her adoring husband. Some may agree this can portray women in many ways; one as a sexual object or either as a women of basic house work, making you wonder as a women when we will be shown as powerful. Considering this accusation made I wanted to research further into the idea of sexism in advertising which I found some interesting facts in this article; ‘Women in Advertisements and Body Image’.

The article states that sexism has been around in advertising for a long time portraying women to be expected in certain roles such as; cleaning, cooking and even sex objects. Compared to today we are starting to make this assumption of women disappear and it is usually looked down upon but we need this to change for the adverts of the future. However, in the 1950’s things were very different for women as these kinds of representation were very normal and excepted in the society even if they were very insulting towards women, people excepted this stereotype and found it very normal. It also states that the adverts would include picture of husbands as to highlight that women would need/want to buy these products to impress your husband. The ads would include phrases like; “Don’t worry darling, you didn’t burn the beer!,” “Men are better than women!,” and “Christmas morning: she’ll be happier with a Hoover!” not only created a stigma for women in general, but they were shockingly blunt and irrefutably left no room for interpretation’. As of course these kinds of phrases would not be allowed in ads of today but there is still a subtle hold back in adverts to show women as strong and powerful females.

Throughout the lecture we were taught about the brief history of the ‘beauty adverts’ first starting off around the ‘flapper’ period. Later on in 1909 Gordon Selfridge opened the first ever beauty counters which allowed women to try before they buy which was a massive hit as it like this all over the world. The first styles of adverts were illustrations before photos using famous faces to sell their products but they would usually explain a story also, unlike today. The 1930’s look was based on Hollywood and the current stars of the time, one of the main shared looks where the pencil thin eyebrows and lighter shades compared to the dark shades (1920’s). As time went on new products came around as well including; cream eye-shadow, lip gloss, water soluble make-up and waterproof mascara. In the 1940’s films star of the time would sell their names to adverts to promote their products while also including small writes of their films. Despite the war on women was still wanting to use makeup and to send letters with kiss marks to their loved ones fighting. This kind of statement shows that the time/history does influence the selling of products of the time and it continues to this day. When the 1950’s came around it was the beginning of the ‘Golden Age’ where advertising became big as people where able to buy home TV’s. This elegant eye, pale pinks and powdered look from the 50’s followed into the 60’s also evolving the classic look, the mod and the hippy. A lot of ads in the 1900’s tolled women what was wrong with them therefore for them to buy their products that would supposedly fix ‘all’ their beauty problems. Examples of these would be like ‘assault on the underarm’ telling women that body hair is gross and MUST be removed, skin bleaching, skin lightening, tans, cellulite, un-manicured nails, longer eye lashes etc.

Overall, as we have seen the adverts and style of adverts have changed a lot over time compared too today. Many reasons I believe is through the idea of history, therefore as society changes so does advertisements and the way they are presented. For example the 1950’s women were demined in adverts making them either plain house wives over-hung by women or seen as pretty sex objects, as well as the new advertisements styles of the TV ads when TV’s entered people’s homes. These points prove my reasons but I believe that adverts will changed and eventually women will be shown as powerful figures while still selling on fabulous products.