In today's digital environment, where users are exposed to a flood of information, online advertising has become increasingly challenging. The effectiveness of advertisements depends to a large extent on their appearance: graphic elements, including typography, colour schemes, photography, composition and contrast, play an important role in the attractiveness and effectiveness of advertisements.
In the theoretical part, we looked at the history and evolution of online advertising, the key platforms (Facebook and Instagram), the basic principles of graphic design and the psychological effects of typography and colours on people. In the following, contemporary trends in online advertising were analysed. These include personalised, interactive and visually refined ads.
The experimental part focused on the process of preparing the photographs and designing the adverts. Using a professional studio and Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop software, we designed 14 ads with different combinations of graphic elements. The effectiveness and attractiveness of the ads was tested through a survey of 100 female respondents aged 16-30.
The results of the survey confirmed most of the hypotheses. It was shown that the choice of typography plays an important role in the understanding and aesthetics of an advertisement, as well as for its aesthetic appeal; in the case of contrast, higher quality photographs and thoughtful depictions of objects made the advertisements more appealing.
The survey results confirmed most (but not all) of the hypotheses. The choice of typography was shown to have a strong influence on the readability and aesthetic perception of the ad. The thoughtful composition of the object and the use of higher contrast photographs increased the attractiveness of the advertisement. Decorative fonts were judged to be more challenging to read, and colour schemes were key to overall attractiveness. Surprisingly, linear fonts did not achieve the most support, as respondents were more likely to choose ads with serif fonts because they associated this type of font with elegance and prestige.
The thesis has shown that carefully planned visual elements have a significant impact on the success of online advertisements. The findings offer concrete design recommendations for digital advertising practice, especially when addressing a younger female target group.
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