CCT356+Online+Ad+Design

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**ABOUT THIS PROJECT ** //Don't like reading reflections? Scroll down to go straight to the actual project.//

This project required the creation of **three online advertisements** which were all part of the same campaign, for a certain client (either real or imaginary). The client I chose was ** a newly launched webcomic site **. The challenging part for me was coming up with a theme or concept that was creative and would grab the target audience's attention. Since the campaign was **not really about selling any certain product**, I was **unsure about what angle I should take** in the creation of this campaign. I felt that the subject I was working with - a bunch of webcomics - was pretty broad, and I found it **hard to narrow it down and find one aspect or notion of the website to focus on**, that was something which I could sell/advertise. I did however enjoy this project because it allowed me to take a nice break from the theoretical side of Communications which I am usually dealing with for my academic work in university - such as analyzing designs, or writing essays on Communications-related topics. This project **let me create my own designs**, and **gave me certain limitations to work with** - such as sticking to standard banner sizes and keeping a consistent theme among the three advertisements. I felt these limitations gave me the opportunity to **deal with issues that I would have to deal with were I designing something for a real client**. One shortcoming my advertising campaign had was that they were all Flash banners. I've learned that as technologies such as mobile phones with Internet access that are not able to display Flash designs properly are becoming more widely used, it is important for web designers to consider audiences across all platforms, and try their best to make designs **platform-independent, OS-independent and cross-browser compatible**. This was a valuable lesson to learn and I was inspired to **build my design skills and knowledge**, and learn more about how to **ensure this level of compatibility** is met in my future designs.

**AD DESIGNS **
 * media type="custom" key="8532268" ||
 * Figure 1 | Leaderboard Banner Ad (728 x 90) ||

Ad (160 x 600) ||
 * < media type="custom" key="8521918" align="right" ||
 * < Figure 2 | Wide Skyscraper

Button Ad (125 x 125) ||
 * media type="custom" key="8521950" ||
 * Figure 3 | Square

What is Waftures?
Waftures.com is a webcomic site launched in August 2010 by Jun, Rain and Sapphire - two University of Toronto students and a high-school student. Aside from comics, the website also features some hand-drawn e-cards, and downloadable wallpapers. Waftures gets an average of 200 unique visitors per month. Their main business plan was to rely on word-of-mouth advertising, but recently, the founders have decided to try to advertise their site more actively, to a larger audience, to gain more recognition and build their online presence.

About this campaign
This campaign features three advertising banners: a leaderboard banner (728 x 90 pixels; Fig. 1), a wide skyscraper (160 x 600 pixels; Fig. 2), and a square button ad (125 x 125 pixels; Fig. 3). The purpose of this campaign is simply to let more people know about Waftures (since most people have not heard of it), and consequently gain more returning visitors for the site. Each of the banners have standard sizes which makes them suitable for most web sites. The difference in the sizes of each of the banners allows the client to choose the size that is suitable to place on a certain site, depending on the cost and availability of ad space on that site.

Strategies used
- The catch phrases "Have you ever felt like an outcast?" and "Have you ever felt like you just don't fit in?" are meant to initially grab the attention of viewers by presenting a topic which most people can relate to. Trying to find a place to belong, and often feeling like an outcast in the process, is a concept which many can connect with. Since people tend to be interested in things which have some sort of a connection or relevance to them, the purpose of these phrases are just to get the viewer interested in the ad, as well as create an emotional association between the viewer and the site being advertised.

- The use of specific characters with names - such as "Big-head boy" and "Egg-head" - is based off of the advertising technique of building a brand character which represents a brand's personality through visual symbols. Having a cute-looking character represent the site adds a more personal/human dimension to the ad. Instead of just stating //what// the site has, this ad shows //who// the site is about.

- The ad is somewhat subtle about what Waftures.com actually contains, but gives some information about it's general theme and visual aspects. This is to spark some curiosity in the viewer about the site.

- In the larger banners, the snippets shown from some of the comics is meant to add a "story-like" dimension to the ads, by making the featured characters seem as though they are a part of a story. The slogan "where the outcasts are the stars" is meant to have the same effect. The theme of outcasts becoming stars is a common feel-good theme, and the bright colours and simple drawings in the ads are meant to enhance the theme of "feeling good" and "cheerfulness". The purpose of creating the feeling of being a part of a story is to convince the viewer to click on the ad, to find out what the "story" is about.

//Downloadable versions of the ads// (Please open using Flash viewer [ and not in Internet Browser window ] in order to maintain the correct dimension//s)://
[|Leaderboard Banner Ad] (728 x 90) [|Wide Skyscraper Ad] (160 x 600) [|Square Button Ad] (125 x 125)

Sources 1. //Waftures | Comics, Greeting Cards and More//. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. . 2. //Ad Cracker | Brand Character.// Web. 07 Mar 2011. .