1. Final Project 1
Final Project
Student
CGD 218: Visual Literacy in Business
Instructor Name
Date
2. Final Project 2
Ever have the urge for something sweet and delicious? Well, I have the perfect
answer for you, Blue Bird snack cakes! There is a cheap thrill in every pack. This is the
message that I am trying to convey to my potential customers, who would be viewing the
visual approaches that I have prepared. The ultimate goal is to buy Blue Bird snack
cakes, namely Blue Bird honey buns. In these three visual approaches; cartoons, signs,
and images, I have employed different kinds of strategies to share my message with the
public.
Let’s take the visual approach, cartoons, into consideration first. Since I have tried
to create these visual approaches entirely through the Microsoft Word program and that I
am no graphic designer, these approaches may fall short of the Coke example. With that
said, there are still basic principles that I have tried to employ in these approaches. I have
tried to employ balance in the picture by placing the characters around the object that I
really want the people to focus on, the honey bun. The balance in the picture is more of
the axial kind, since I have tried to make the objects on the paper equal on both sides
(Berger, 2008, p. 78). The scale of the honey bun has been enlarged, in comparison to the
cartoons, in order to accomplish the honey bun being the focal point of the page.
The choice of cartoons to sponsor the Blue Bird honey bun was to tap into the
huge recognizably factor of the characters. They tend to invoke a strong emotional
response with people, due to the fact that many people have grown up watching them
(Berger, 2008, p.206).
Mickey Mouse is an American icon and the crown jewel of Walt Disney. He is,
perhaps, one the oldest animated characters in the world. I chose this particular image of
Mickey Mouse, because of the pose he is in. He has his arms spread out, as to say, “Tad-
3. Final Project 3
ah! Here it is.” His pose is a perfect way to introduce the honey bun. The second
character is Elmo from Sesame Street. This is a classic example of one of the most well
known characters who had originated from a medium that has been free to the general
public. This underlines the cheap factor of the honey bun, because it is cheap to watch
Elmo. This image also works out well, since his is pointing down to the bun. Bugs Bunny
was chosen along the same lines of Mickey Mouse and his pose of pointing to the bun, as
if to tell the reader to eat it. Thomas the Tank Engine was thrown in there to complete the
balance of the page and he is very popular with my own children, since he is an also a
well known character.
At the bottom of the page, is hopefully the call to action that will send people
running to buy honey buns. Without words, the page seemed empty and lacking. The
cartoon characters are there to initially catch the person’s eye and once that is done, a
message is needed to bring it home. I placed this message on the bottom right hand
corner, to bring unity to the picture, by filling in the hole there and to complete the
picture (Berger, 2008, p.109). The typeface that I used for the words were comic san ms.
This is a more fun font and it supports the other images on the page and reflects the over
all message in a more effective way (p.104). It is also useful to note that the bottom line
is larger and is put in bold in order to highlight the honey bun.
The second visual approach is the one that makes use of signs. After weighing the
options, I had decided to go with an idea of using traffic signs. Most people are familiar
with traffic signs, because they are an essential part of American life. While the last
visual approach would appeal to a younger audience, this approach might appeal to an
4. Final Project 4
older one. The use of signs is to indirectly communicate my message through the use of
these signs (Berger, 2008, p. 49).
Take the stop sign, for instance. The universal sign for stop, and the indirect
message here is, “Stop for the honey bun!” This is also where color is important. It is said
that color effects people’s emotions and feelings in order to shape one’s behavior
(Berger, 2008, p.87-88). The color red in this sign is an example of this. Not only is the
stop sign red, but a traffic light also communicates stopping by using the color red.
The no u-turn sign also uses the color red, in that it tells a person not to turn
around here. This is the kind of message I want to communicate with the public, if you
heading toward the honey bun, don’t turn around. The third traffic sign on this page is a
one way sign, which says that you can only travel in one direction. The indirect message
that I am trying to send is that there is only one way to go for a quality honey bun. The
last image on the bottom right hand side is a sale sign. This is the one image that I had
decided to use that was not a traffic sign. I felt the need to mix it up a little here and
throw in the universal sign for selling items. I chose to put this last because if you were
driving down the road and past all of the previous signs along the way, then you finally
come across a store with the, “for sale” on the window with an image of a tasty honey
bun just above it. This is the image I hoped to create.
Once again I had arranged the images of signs around the box of Blue Bird honey
buns, so I can make the box a focal point of the page. This is the same principle that I use
when I merchandize bread on a store shelf. Always put the oldest bread front and center,
so that the customer will buy it first and lower my costs with stale bread. This does not
mean the oldest bread is bad, it just means that no bread would be wasted. So by putting
5. Final Project 5
the box of honey buns front and center, it might entice the viewer to reach out and grab
one.
My choice in the wording of this page was influenced by the desire to make the
wording look like something you would see in a street sign. So with that in mind, I
decided to go with a more basic, Arial font. I kept the font on the top part of the page
regular and highlighted the bottom half of it for more emphasis on the message that I am
trying to convey. It is assumed that the reader will read the top section first, which will
lead there eye over the images to punch line on the bottom. I felt that I did not have to
actually have to specify Blue Bird honey buns in words, since that message was
communicated by the larger image in the center of the page.
The last visual approach is one that uses the concept of images or group of
images. The major theme of the page is that Blue Bird honey buns can bring happiness,
trills, and make your wallet happy as well. In order to achieve the goal of communicating
my message, I employed a small group of images that just ooze happiness. I believe that
this approach is the most effective, because the images that I had used go a long way to
communicate my message.
The choice of the traditional smiley face is the universal symbol of happiness. The
color of the smiley face also plays a big part it conveying its happiness. Yellow is one of
those colors that just radiate happy.
The next image, which is also the biggest, is the image of the cremey curl honey
bun. As in the other visual examples, I have made this image to be the largest in order to
make it the focal point of the page. By surrounding the cremey curl honey bun with
happy images, the happiness will rub off on the bun. The writing on the package itself
6. Final Project 6
even has a happy feel to it. Like all of the images of various honey bun products, they all
have the Blue Bird symbol with that happy little bird which is winking at you, as if it was
sharing a secret with you. There is also that little happy insect the honey bee, with a wave
of its arm this magically delicious honey bun just seemed to appear.
The last image on the page is the one of two wonderfully happy children. Who
just experienced the wonderful culinary delight of a creamey curl honey bun. Well, not
really. That’s just what I want the reader to believe. If my two wonderful children did just
eat a creamey curl, it would be all over their faces! This is a picture that should melt the
heart of all of those who have had children, especially women, were the appeal should be
greater. This is by trying to strike a responsive chord with people who view this image,
by connecting with the potential happy thoughts of children (Berger, 2008, p. 9).
My choice in font for this page was Lucida calligraphy, which struck me as a
more happy kind of font. I tried to create balance in this page by placing the text and
images in such a way that would make it more visual appealing.
The goal of these visual approaches was to communicate my message, by
utilizing three different visual approaches. The use of cartoons, signs, and happy images
all helped to communicate my message which was, “Blue Bird honey buns, a cheap thrill
in every pack!” Even though the approach of using images was one of the more effective
ways of communicating my message, the other approaches worked as well. The message
was communicated successfully with the choice of pictures used and how they were
arranged on the page, along with the choice of wording to strike the message home. So,
go out and buy a Blue Bird honey bun today!
7. Final Project 7
References
Berger, A. A (2008). Seeing is believing (J. Wetherington, Ed., 3rd ed).
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
8. Final Project 8
They know fun,
Why can’t it be cheap?
Choose Blue Bird and choose the best!
9. Final Project 9
The road to a thrill leads...
To a cheap bun!
10. Final Project 10
Happiness is...
A cheap thrill in every pack!