Essay 2

Visual Analysis

 In Barbra Kruger’s work ‘I shop therefore I am” the colour used is very limited, and just uses red, black and white. This means the image is very striking and eye catching due to the the high contrast and block colour. Limited colour means that the bright red stands out and draws your eye to the typography. The overall colours give an element of importance to the image. The typography is Bold in order to stand out from the rest of the image. There is emphasis on ‘I shop’ and ‘I am’ to tell the viewer that the statement is very definite. Use of the first person shows greed and the thought of power. The typography is at the front as it is the main part of the image, it is centred so it is the first thing you look at. Dragging the typography into the background, there is a hand that looks as if it is holding the typography as if it is a material object. The hand looks like it is reaching out and grabbing it. It is quite a fat and greedy looking hand which emphasises the message given from the typography. 

Barbra Kruger made the work in 1987 in New York City. The 80’s, similar to today had consumer based society where brands are status symbols, Society has not changed much since then hence why the image is still so striking and thought provoking today. The image was a visual art protest and was also ironically printed onto consumer goods like shopping bags and t-shirts, Kruger had a history in advertising and branding so her work does almost seem like an advertising campaign. 

The image is aimed to protest the consumer society we live in. Its is directed at consumers to make them realise the society they live in and what impacts that has. Also the image is directed at big corporations. It is part of popular culture nowadays, we live in a consumerist society run by capitalist companies.

“I shop therefore I am” basically states that a person is defined not by what they think but what they own. Shopping has turned into a lifestyle. People want to show they have the latest brands as a sign of wealth and power. Through consumerism brands are taking over our life and becoming more than just a desire but a need to have a certain logo. “life becomes a matter of what you consume” Nigel Whitely, 1993, Design for Society, London, Reaktion Books.

The typography of  ‘Just Do It’ and the Nike logo is plain white, it is ‘to the point’, it also pairs nicely with the monochrome image behind it. The typography uses capital letters and a bold font to give the order ‘Just Do It’ to to the viewer. There is a full stop at the end for emphasis of the phrase. The type is centred in the middle of the image, the type is all in one line on the page in oder to keep it short and straight to the point. The Nike logo sits just below the slogan to subtly introduce the brand. Behind the typography is an image of Michael Jordan an influential athlete, this subject will help to inspire people and make them think that if they buy the product they could be like their idol. The message of the campaign is short and sweet but encapsulated everything people felt when exercising, it was a phrase to push peoples limits. The campaign used role models in sport but also had a fashion element, as these people were looked up to and what they wore was looked up on.

The ‘Just Do It’ campaign started in 1988 in America and spread worldwide when there was a fitness boom in the 80’s. It took the sports fashion industry by storm and became less about the sport and more about the fashion statement. The campaign catered to everyone from teens to males and females up to around the age of 40. Nike trainers catered to the masses but the brand became desired so was status symbol. The campaign went on merchandise, billboards and print media.Nike is a big Multinational company that has a history for not following moral principles, they are know to manufacture their products using sweatshops and low pay. The company is just looking for profit. The design of the advertising campaign profited the company greatly as a good design that targets the audience directly to make them think they need the product. We live in a brand obsessed society and if the advertising campaign can make the brand desired and a status symbol then the products will fly off the shelf. “Pushing consumerism to the ultimate, Nike offers us not just the good life but meaning and transcendence, thus embodying capitalism's thrust to omnipotence, over the economy and also over personhood, identity, society.” 

The Marlboro Man campaign has a country western theme so the colours used are ambers, browns, blues and reds. The colours match the packaging of the cigarettes. This means that the brand is linked and easily recognisable. The typography in the picture is a simple slogan ‘come to where the flavour is’ using the same typography as the marlboro logo for brand association. The typography is white contrasting to the dark background and drawing the viewers eye towards it. In the left of the image is the slogan and an image of the cigarettes and on the other side is the Marlboro man, a cowboy, relaxing and smoking a cigarette, this advertisement glamourises the act of smoking a cigarette. With this advert Marlboro were trying to disassociate the female branding of the product so made a masculine advert. The campaign helped to popularise filtered cigarettes. using cowboys in the campaign showed where the brand comes from and it is a glamorous subject matter. The Marlboro Man campaign started in 1954 and was a worldwide advertising campaign to change the view of smoking filtered cigarettes. Marlboro wanted to try and attract men because the product was considered feminine. Advertising cigarettes to fit with the smoking culture of the time, the health affects of smoking were being found out so marlboro popularised filtered cigarettes for the masses. The advertising campaign glamourised marlboro cigarettes and catered to a wide audience making it a wanted material object, popularising smoking. The campaign made Marlboro big profits completely turning the brand around. It is now still one of the most successful cigarette brands.