Project 2 for my computer illustration class involved redesigning an existing advertisement. I found this Bookmans ad in The New Times. Bookmans is my favorite bookstore in the area, so I thought I could do better.

Project requirements:
Use a sample you really hate and make it better.

Here is the original piece:

Notes:
I wouldn’t say that I really “hate” the original ad, but I certainly find it lacking. The original ad was promoting a “green” message in the copy, but the design wasn’t supporting that message. I addressed this in my redesign with a green and blue color scheme, and a Photoshop composite of a tree growing out of a book.

I searched for other designs with a “green” message, and found that most used clean san serif typefaces. I checked the Bookmans website and found that it mostly uses Myriad Pro, so I selected that as my primary typeface. I considered Helvetica, but decided it looked too “corporate” to fit with the culture of Bookmans.

Here is the redesign that I turned in:

Positives:
I think the colors used in the spheres behind the text go well with the tree, and I like the repetition of the logo. I think the concept of the tree growing out of the book is a good one, though it might have been a little more effective with a higher quality tree image.

Negatives:
I think the Photoshop composite came out OK, but I think the photo of the tree is a little blurry. It works OK for this ad, but it would have worked better with a sharper picture. I would have taken my own photo, but searching out a single tree in an empty field wouldn’t have been practical. Overall I think the composition may be a little too busy. Subtracting one of the “bubbles” or perhaps making an illustrated version of the tree/book image might have solved this. However, I don’t know that an illustration of this image would have been quite as compelling.

Teacher’s feedback:

Nice rework. I would suggest distinguishing “Bookmans” in the logo with another color – it’s getting lost in the sea of green.

For the final version I changed the logo lettering to white:

Filed under: Design by Ed 3 Comments »

Topics: Photoshop, School