Primary Research
So for my primary research, I've headed to town to photograph any posters or adverts that I come across. I've found quite a few that were on phone boxes, billboards and just around town. It wasn't hard to find these posters eventually but when it became a task, suddenly it felt like they're nowhere to be found. Here are the posters/advertisements I've collected:
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| McDonalds |
Here is the first poster. This is a vertical poster from McDonalds promoting their 99p cheese burger from their saver menu. I mean it's pretty self explanatory. Personally, I really like this poster. They've used a white background which is very eye catching. They've put their logo on the top left. Most importantly, they've thrown this extremely nice image of their cheeseburger just below the centre. And lastly, they've used some nice bold typography to specify the product. I think it's a pretty simplistic poster but it's something I get inspired by. I think the use of red is consistent with the logo and the typography so it works nicely and it contrasts well with the white. The typography for the 'saver menu' I think is used very nicely and it reminds me of them shop lights that you see which says 'Open'. I must say, this poster is actually quite nice but I could understand if someone was to think it's boring or basic.
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| PG tips |
This is a vertical poster for PG tips. This is also similar to the McDonalds poster with the use of a white background. After some research on PG tips, they've decided to use their monkey to promote their tea bags. They also have the PG tips mug in the monkey's hand. After doing some more research, I believe the text is actually cup sizes in Starbucks. They've used text in this poster as humour, which is calling them sizes nonsense and you should 'keep it tea' meaning simple in other words. I know this isn't really a place to eat at or take food out but I thought I would include it because of the content with the text.
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| Caffé Nero |
Outside Caffé Nero is this advertisement stand. They've used some cinnamon rolls as the main image which also uses depth of field with the background so it's sharp on the food. They've added some text above to inform us that it's been baked by them and at the bottom in smaller font, it says fresh every day. I like how it's been composed where it's all in the centre. Think the image is quite nice. It has nice lighting because you can see it shining on the front. I can't figure out where it's been captured but it looks like it's placed on this wooden texture. The poster is pretty simple and yet it's quite a good example because the image is eye-catching.
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| McDonalds 2 |
This is another McDonalds poster. It is pretty much similar to the other one so I won't go into too much details. The only difference is that there is more examples of food from their saver menu in this one. The design is exactly the same the elements like the logo and the typography are exactly in the same position. I like how that is done because there's a consistency with their establishment.
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| Subways |
Here is a subway poster that is framed up in the store. The main element in this poster that is the most dominant is the price. They've used the technique of making the price the first noticeable thing to grab the viewers attention. The actual picture of the sub isn't quite big and in my opinion, it isn't a really good poster. The typography isn't really the wow factor either. I only would say the 'Bacon sub & a drink' is probably the only decent font that is used. I think the colours have been chosen well because it links with the Subway logo. I think there is more text in the poster than the actual image so it's not such an ideal poster for food.
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| Greggs |
This is a Greggs advertisement for soup on a phone box. I really like the use of the typography just above the image that says 'We'll warm you up this autumn...'. I think this just addresses the poster directly to the viewer because it mentions the season. I really like the image that is used of the soup. It's been taken at a high angle so you can actually see the soup. They've also included the ingredients around the soup. I think it just works well along with the black background. The ingredients also bring out colour and makes it look appealing. The typography looks nice and matches with these autumn theme. They've used this red background and white text to inform us about the price and I think those two colours compliment each other too. Overall, I think it's a nice advertisement from Greggs and it seems well considered to what they've done and used.
Here are two stands that are advertising food for a pub. You can see how different their style and design looks for a mainstream establishment. I would say there are more better qualities and a lot more happening in these posters whereas the other posters are working around that simplistic look. There is a lot more text in these posters and I think that might make the poster look overcrowded with no empty space. The deli poster I think it quite pleasant. They've used 3 images of pub food and used an appropriate typography where the word deli is big and bold. They've also used bubbles that mentions that they've got a new meal out as you can see. The price seems like they've just added it on with a chalk. Either way, the design on the deli poster ain't bad at all. The chicken club uses this brown font and I think that isn't the best choice because it's quite similar with the background colour so it doesn't stand out much. They've used a fairly large image of a chicken meal and under that they've included some alcohol.
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| Starbucks |
This pumpkin spice latte is a Starbucks advertising stand that sits outside their shop. I like the design on this little advertisement because it's very simplistic. They've originally went for the black background which works nicely for Halloween with the pumpkin theme. It even has a slogan which says Add spice to the season on the top which is very direct for October. I like how they've added their logo in the corner and it's not overly large yet it's quite noticeable enough because of the colour. The colour convention used is black and orange which is nice with the theme. They've used three different typography for each word for the name of their new edition. I think this just makes it stand out because it's not the same. The illustrations in the image is nice of the cup, the pumpkins and the spices. It's pretty straight forward and I really like this example.
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| Clover |
This is a horizontal poster for Clover which is different to my other examples so far. The reason why I had to capture this advert was because of the way the text says nothing artificial gets in and then they've used The Queen's foot guards protecting the tub of butter. It's quite humorous and I thought it was quite cool how they're playing with words. The photograph used is taken perhaps in a kitchen because you can see how it's on a dinner table and the chair and the room layout in the back gives it away. I wouldn't say the typography used is so amazing but I like how they've chosen green which goes with the lid outline and their logo colour.
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| Flirt |
This is one of my favourite posters. This is the poster that will inspire me to make my own like this. I just love the whole graphical element to the design. I'll start of with the logo. This is actually in the centre right on the top. It's got their logo colour box under the text and the text is in white which stands out. They've gone for this orange colour background which works nicely with brown. They used nice typography where they've introduced the product which in this case is the Cookie Crumble. The colour is also selected well with the brown and white. They've selected colours that are already in the poster for example the white is like the whipped cream and the brown is the flake. I like the image that is used along with the chocolate and the oreo behind it. They've edited it where there's a nice use of light flares. I like how they've used this circle with the price inside that sits on the milkshake. Lastly, they've included two social networking logo which means that they're reachable on it. I just love the simplicity and how there's no writing on it apart from the product name. I think in a poster like this, the picture just speaks for itself. All that blank space just draws your attention on to the milkshake.
This is a KFC poster for this caramel latte deluxe on a phone box. I think this is the same technique as the previous poster where there is no details except the establishment and the product. I love the minimalistic details on this poster. They've used a nice image of this latte on a wood table with a black background. Then captured caramel swirling over it. The typography is well suited with the actual look and colour of the latte and I really like the uses of the font. They've used this curly font for the caramel latte and used a different font for the words 'new and deluxe'. I think using different font just draws some attention because we automatically notice they look different. Overall, I must say I really like this and I think this is quite inspirational considering this is a poster that is for KFC - which is mainstream.
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| KFC vs McDonalds |
This is a McDonalds version of a latte poster. It's not a caramel latte like the KFC one therefore I knew they will differ a little. In terms of the design, they both are pretty similar with the minimalistic features. They both include the name of the latte and they both mention that it's new. However in terms of the image, McDonalds went for an actual image in location rather than a blank background. This image uses depth of field where the background is completely out of focus and the latte is very sharp. I really like the typography that is used in this poster because it stands out with that blurred background and the golden yellow colour links with vanilla. In this example, they also added this 'introducing' text which KFC did not do. I think this was a nice touch to have because it emphasises on the latte being new. This poster ain't so bad. Also I've noticed that it's a lot different to their saver menu range. This is more natural and looks like there's a little more work to it in terms of photographing with location.
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| Pizza Hut |
This is actually an advert from Pizza Hut that was on a phone box. I've just zoomed in and cut out the logo which was on the bottom bit. The reason why I was focusing on this closely was because of the use of typography. I love how they've used various fonts and colours for each word/phase. I really liked the font they've used for the word new because it reminds me of lights bulbs and theatres and it's almost broadcasting that it's new. The word menu is also one of my favourite font because it reminds me of them night lights that some shops use to show that they're open. I think it's quite groovy and funky even with the use of the arrow. Moving on to the imagery side of it, I think the shots they've used are great. Instead of going for the ordinary, they've got milkshake that is about to splat and food that looks appetising. The background is black so everything stands out nicely and I really love how it looks overall.
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| Subways 2 |
This is a whole complete story compared to my first subway poster. I would say this is a much better example where the actual food is the main subject. The photograph has been used nicely of the sub on a wooden table and a black backdrop. The typography has been used effectively in this design because it stands out. The word pastrami is red with a white inner shadow and it correlates and works with the meat in the sub. I like the nice graphical touches they've used with the lines and the dots because it just makes you read the text. I like how they've used this mustard bottle and this seasoning jar as additional props to compliment the sandwich. In this example, they've put a Halal sign near the bottom to inform us that the meat they use is halal. So far this is the first poster that has used a Halal sign for the Muslims.
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| Tesco |
This isn't really a poster but I thought I would include it for the design and the typography of it. I really like how the M&M's design is in the shape of a cut out Halloween pumpkin and inside the shapes is the m&m sweets. Looking at the typography in the Halloween Spookfest, I really love the font they've used because it's very suited to the occasion. The colour is also chosen well with orange and white which represents pumpkins and ghosts for example. I love how they've used eye balls as the two OO because it links well with the Halloween theme. The use of purple background is also very traditional for Halloween to represent the night. I think this is a great example of representing the codes and conventions of Halloween.
These are some Subway poster hand outs that I've psychically collected. I won't go over them too much because it's pretty similar to the other Subway posters I've touched on. However I will talk about this coffee and cookie hand out. I think this is actually a decent poster that uses nice imagery. It looks like they've taken this image on the floor because you can see this wood floor texture. Nevertheless, I like how they've broken up the cookie, placed some chocolate chips in front of the coffee and decided to shoot with this dark background. The typography is quite nice because of the ribbon banner style which is quite contemporary. The colour of the typography also matches the coffee cup which works well together. Also the price tag is the same colour so you know there's this consistency. I think it's quite a pleasant advertisement.
Additional
As of last year, I've used M&S as a big influence to my work. In this project, I went browsing for their Food issue magazine for this October month and just had to use it as a reference for posters because it's amazing. I really love their style in the way they've presented their food in their images to the design elements of their posters. I couldn't go into depth for each image so I put them all together. I love how all of the pages here actually link together and there's a consistency with the colours and the typography. In terms of imagery techniques, they've used a lot of birds eye view to make their food stand out, and used the same greyish background for their images. The typography is also mainly white and I just think it looks very elegant with the grey theme. You can really see the company status through their high quality advertisements.
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| Belvita |
This is a poster that I found in a newspaper. I though of using a different source and came across this breakfast biscuit ad. I really like the bright yellow background that has a bright light flare like the sun. This background does link and associate well with early mornings in my opinion. I like the fact that they've used this green coloured text which links with their logo colour. The typography used also works really well with the message for the word softer, they've used this inflated and cuddly style of text which I thought really stood out. The image of the biscuit is okay I would say. They've decided to break it in half and capture it broken. I really love the little additional ingredients they've added which represents the flavour of the biscuit and how they've added some wheat and nuts too which is relevant to the biscuit. They've also used a New tag on the top in a red box, which does stand out because it contrasts easily with the yellow. Overall, I think this is a good poster but I would say the focus is more on the typography than the actual biscuit.
Secondary Research
These are examples that I've found online and decided to use. I've chosen these posters in particular that have a cross-cultural influence because so far I've found posters that didn't have any cultural influences except the Halal Subways poster.
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| ieat |
Here is the first poster for an establishment called ieat. They specialise in ready made meals that are halal for the Muslims demographic. In this poster, they're promoting this Thai curry and there is this offer bubble that mentions the price. In the top left, they've added this white coloured HMC halal logo which Muslims identifies to be informed that the food is halal. I like how it's quite large so it can be seen immediately. The logo is on the left which has this green moon sign, a green letter 'i' and the word 'eat' in white. They've also included the logo of Tesco and Sainsbury's to inform us that this product can be purchased from there. Looking at the imagery, I assume they've used either wood floor or a wooden table as the background and presented the meal on this black plate. There's also some flowers as props to add some design to the image. The offer bubble is this green colour that actually is like the colour of the Thai green chicken curry so I think that linked in well. It's also in a square format which is quite different to what I've seen so far. The image is also using the flat lay technique so you see the top of the plate. Overall, I think the colours and the simplicity makes it a nice advertisement.
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| ieat 2 |
This is another example for ieat. It's pretty much the same in terms of the background, the logo and the halal sign. In this case, I think they've used this close up shot of wood as the background and used Photoshop to put the packaging in over it. This time the Sainsbury's logo is on the bottom and there is no mention of Tesco. They've used some text here which just informs us mainly that it's half price. If you look at the actual packaging, I like how under the logo, they've got the name of the pastry or pie and has a banner across which says 'halalified'. This is where the cross-cultural influences impact on the design process because they specialise in halal food so they've made that bold with the colourful banner. The colours they use for each packaging also dictates the colour of their logo for that packet. I think this is a nice touch. Another thing I've noticed is how they've included the UK flag which informs us that it's been made in the UK. I think this is another impact on the design because of the fact that it's halal, it also mentions where it's been produced. Overall on the design, I like the nice wood touch they've used consistently and think it gives it a nice touch of what you could say is homely food.
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| A Chinese KFC Poster |
After several searches, I've found this KFC poster that is made for China. Now I don't understand a thing it says here but you can see how cross-cultural influences on the design process for many reasons. Firstly, it's not written in English so it's very specific towards the Chinese demographic. They've included a price but in their own currency. Also the style of the poster in generic, it's a lot different to what a UK KFC poster would look like. In the bottom right corner, they've included the KFC logo that we are all familiarised with. The picture of the burger looks nothing like our KFC and even the props they've used is very different like the beans in what I'd say is a milk jar. By looking at the imagery, I would have thought this was a café poster rather than a KFC so it's quite shocking to see such a big difference. Here is the link where I've found this poster:
http://www.kfc.com.cn/kfccda/products_update/2010_Aug/images/sp.jpg
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| Indian Establishment |
Last but not least is a poster of this Indian restaurant. Immediately I can see how the design process is a lot different to other posters I've seen. They've used one image in this example of a curry dish and mainly focused on text. The title is large and the font is this somewhat elegant yet basic. Under the name of the place, it says Contemporary Indian Cuisine so I think this is why they've gone with the typography of looking quite fancy. Majority of the poster is of the red background and this white and red design. The price is sitting on a black box which makes it stand out. For some unknown reason, I think this poster works for a curry place. Like I can't imagine it being all modern hence why they go for this traditional look. This traditional look links with India and some of the beauty that we are all familiarised with because they have this distinctive style of their own. I think this is where the cross-cultural influences kick in and makes an impact to the design process compared to an English establishment.
Overall, I've seen some good and some bad examples of posters in this task. I love how some of the posters really brings out the best in the image and there's some where the typography is the main key factor. I think for my poster, I would want to go for that minimal and simplistic look because I feel like it stands out more than an overworked poster.
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