Analysis | claudia

Shepard Fairey

Purpose

The purpose of this Barack Obama "Hope" poster is to represent his 2008 presidential campaign. Fairey distributed 300,000 stickers and 500,000 posters during the campaign in order to persuade people to vote for Barack Obama.

Format

The format of this poster is an advertisment which would be in leaflet or poster form to be handed out to people or pinned onto buildings to promote Barack Obama's presidential position. This poster would be printed not painted because the purpose of the poster is to persuade so therefore to persuade the public it must be as appealing as possible. Printing it would give a much more clean and slick finish consequently attracting the audience.

Content

The colours used on this poster are red, white and blue to represent the American Flag and Barack Obama's pride and "Hope" for America. The simple block font written for "Hope" gives the impression to the readers that voting for him will be simple and voting for him will bring hope. The white space used in this poster gives focus and emphasis to Barack Obama and therefore draws the reader with this iconic picture. Finally, the picture used of Barack Obama is very effective as it shows him looking slightly upward and out into the distance representing him looking into a bright and hopeful future.

Style&Layout

The style of this print looks like Pop art due to the simple, bold colours and shapes. Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid-1950s in Britain and the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art may have been used on this print as it is very popular in America so appealing to a large audience. The layout of this print is clear, attractive and unique.

Target Audience

The audience for this print is aimed at both genders and over 18's because it is about voting and you are only aloud to vote if you are over 18. Also, this is aimed at the American public due to the poster being an American presidential election.

J Howard Miller

Purpose

This "We Can Do It!" poster is an American wartime poster to encourage women in WW1 to go and work and get jobs while their husbands went to fight to support America and its economy at a time of crisis. Therefore, the main purpose of this poster is to persuade.

Format

The format of this poster is an advertisment which would be in a poster form to be handed to people or pinned onto buildings to help recruit women to join the work force.

Content

The colours used on this poster are bright primary colours to create an eye-catching effect. They also bring about a positive and powerful feel rather than using dull, bland colours that would not draw a reader's attention. The simple, block font suggests to women that the task is possible and it is achievable. The picture of Geraldine Doyle, a war factory worker is used to promote feminism and other political issues in the 1980s. This picture provides a lot of encouragment and inspiring message to women showing them that they can do it.

Style&Layout

This print is a painting painted by J Howard Miller. It is a retro look due to the era the painting was created and so it uses bold, bright primary colours which creates an eye-catching effect.

Target Audience

The audience for this print is aimed at middle-aged women because it is a poster encouraging women to work. Also, this is aimed at American women due to the poster wanting them to go and work to support America while its at its crisis.

Regulatory Bodies

The regulatory bodies for this poster is The Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. Its principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anticompetitive business practices, such as coercive monopoly.

FTC guidelines:

. Truth in Advertising and Marketing Claims - Must not be deceptive

. Industry Guides - Ranchises, real estate, clothing manufacturers all have rules and guidelines with laws that could affect the industry or business type.

. Telemarketing - National Do Not Call Registry and other laws impact telemarketing efforts

. Email SPAM – The law is very specific on what email that can be sent and to whom.

The poster is simple and therefore was not difficult to get permission to relase the poster. Fairey needed permission from his client, the industry body (ASA) and most importantly the law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission

Whether or not he obeyed these rules is up to him as graffity is against the law which can resort in a fine between $10-$117 or even even imprisonment in the USA, this means it is up to him to admit and take the offence as he is a Grafitti artist.