Question

Topic: Branding

Boxes, Borders, Boundaries: Convey A Wrong Message

Posted by Anonymous on 2/5/2014 at 5:50 PM ET 250 Points
I apologize if this is the wrong forum, move topic if necessary.

Please set me straight if I'm crazy. BTW, the audience for which the graphics & messaging is aimed are marketing & creative agencies that may look to us as a supplier or service provider.

In my opinion, a graphic design style which uses confining elements like keyline boxes, borders, circles, etc. may portray a company as "older", more conservative, pragmatic, confined creativity, and less receptive to newer ideas, contemporary or forward thinking.

Contrast a more "open" or freely flowing style, liberal white or negative space, fewer or no confining elements unless necessary. To me, this might show a company is a different light; leadership, progressive, not afraid of "getting out there" a little bit, open to new ideas as they become available or created.

If you have not figured it out by now, I am definitely not a designer; this concept generally seems to be valid to me.

Maybe I am over-thinking this a bit...



To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by mgoodman on 2/5/2014 at 6:05 PM Accepted
    Perhaps boxes and borders do connote more conservative/traditional, but that is a dangerous generalization. I can imagine exceptions in both directions. There are other factors that may be just as important -- colors, logos, taglines, typography, etc. I wouldn't fixate on boxes, borders and boundaries as the most telling factors.

    I'm not a graphic designer either, but I've been dealing with graphic designers for a long time, and they've taught me to look at the "whole design," not just a single factor. What matters is what you communicate to the target audience. That's the way to judge this sort of thing, not with a hard-and-fast [and subjective] "rule" of design.

    That's why it's important to start with a tight Creative Brief and use it to evaluate the creative submission.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/5/2014 at 9:53 PM Member
    It's not what you think about styles. It's what your client thinks. You can position yourself as a "hip" provider or as a "flexible" one. What your prospective clients care about is your portfolio (and how your artwork has made a difference for your previous clients).
  • Posted by saul.dobney on 2/6/2014 at 3:36 AM Accepted
    Some customers want tried and tested and pragmatic for some of the products they buy (eg banking, finance), but maybe the same customers want something more free flowing for products that are designed to express their self-expression - eg lipstick, styling gel. The designer needs to know and be able to adjust to the brief at hand, not sell one type of design to anyone.
  • Posted on 2/13/2014 at 9:11 AM Author
    I apologize for the delay in getting back on this subject. I do appreciate your answers very much. Kinda ironic though; looks like I was the person thinking narrowly within the box!
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 2/13/2014 at 9:48 AM Accepted
    Call outs, highlights, and other visual elements all help direct the eye and progress the viewer logically from point to point. A well formatted direct mail piece will out rank and out perform a poorly formatted one. Consider the needs of your audience and the order in which you want them to progress through your message. Also consider that there are several kinds of readers: skimmers, sound bite seekers, headline hoppers, image and caption hunters, and top to bottom readers.
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Branding)