Elements of an Effective Layout

    Separate from the Democracy of Goods analytical tool, this analytical tool focuses on the technicalities of an advertisement when analyzing it. The analytical tool focuses on the "art" of the advertisement, breaking it down to different elements to judge its effectiveness : balance, proportion, movement, clarity, utility and emphasis. Summed up, it says that judging these different elements individually, then as a whole, will tell you how effective an ad is. This is different from the Democracy of Goods analytical tool, whereas that appeal focused on the method of "wooing" the customer by portraying a product in a certain light. The elements of an effective layout presents a tool that allows you to break an advertisement down into different aspects, analyze them on an individual basis, then decide if all of the elements work together well and effective create an attention-grabbing advertisement.
    After taking an art class and mass media class the previous school year, they help me put these elements into context. However, a couple of these elements are closely related and can be difficult to completley distinguish without a little more research or reading. One of the most important elements must be unity; without every element working together to create one unified advertisement, the advertisement will completley lose effectiveness. It would seem scattered and not flow well, so any consumer would lose interest. The least important element could potentially be proportion. While reading, it just seemed to be something that as a consumer, I wouldn't pay much attention to. However, now that I've read these, I will not be able to look at advertisements without analyzing their elements and affectiveness. How fun.