A Closer Look

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The ever-important “About” page

I think a lot of people may take this page way too seriously. All the ones I have come across and actually resonated with were colourful, fun, witty and short! You want to get straight to the point, no one is looking for a novel starting with your conception. Tell me what makes your product great, how you got to where you are (briefly and hopefully interestingly), and why you’re unique to others doing the same thing. That is pretty much it! 

I also think a problem people run into is trying to sound too smart. If no one can understand what it is you actually do or what you are trying to say, you don’t sound smart. In fact you sound pompous and annoying and I’m most likely not going to buy your products. Although, I may be from a more judgemental realm of people, even people who are open minded may not buy your product if they don’t understand what is going on or what you’re trying to say. Simple writing is always better. 

Here are a couple of examples of pages that I enjoy and the reasons why.

https://corporate.r29.com/about#about-intro - This page is colourful, bright, and full of wonderful information. They have a decent amount of copy at the beginning but actually break it down underneath if you’re feeling like you want to read less. They have great examples of what they do and overall have a beautiful “about” page.

https://josephpayton.com/about/ - I love, love this one. He has two parts to his “About” me page so if you’re only interested in his resume you can go straight to it, but you can also read his story. The thing I really love about this is he showcases his talent right on the page, in a fun way that adds to it. It is also short and sweet!

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Cognitive Ease

Otherwise known as trickery. My first reaction to experiencing the vale behind this term was a little bit of betrayal. The idea that someone, or something, planted an idea in your head to think a certain way or even worse, buy a certain something. 

I think this feeling stemmed from thinking as a designer and always wanting to be truthful, to not really “trick” my viewer. The idea that because you use a bold, clear and legible type making the content seem true even if it isn't, irks me. Maybe it’s because most of the examples I’ve seen were unnecessary lies. 

In a strange way though, I enjoy advertising and the art behind it. Using words and images to persuade someone to buy a product or follow a cause or a magnitude of other things. Even better if you believe in that thing but I think that’s where it’s get blurry. If I go into a job as an advertiser, I will need to work for clients I don’t believe in and maybe even completely disagree with. You can’t pick every client and you can’t turn away every one that you don’t agree with. You will never survive this monetary oriented world.

It is interesting that our minds start to believe something or consider it a good thing the more they see it. We like familiarity. We depend on it. It’s just a little intimidating that people who know of this and use this don’t always have your best interest at heart. It’s a lot of power over a fairly docile society who would rather their brains always be on a coffee break. 

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The Medium is the Message

Take a look at this ad. Would it work the same way if it were just in a magazine? Or on Instagram? No – it needs the real world interaction with the tunnel and the cars to make sense. 

In this case the medium is incredibly important to the message, it not only enhances it but it makes the people who interact with it feel engaged. Perhaps they even feel like they’ve been eaten. I feel this is effective because it usually garners a reaction. A gasp, a laugh, a head shake – all these things are wanted in an advertisement because it usually means the person will remember. It also means when they see something related to your ad, in this case the rest stop, they will think of the ad and feel the same reaction. They may not stop, but I do think it will make someone stop and go in.

There are a lot of ads like this. It’s a cool idea and usually catches a positive reaction, but sometimes people become exhausted with always seeing advertisements. There is always someone trying to sell you something. This is an important thing to consider – how many ads are there like this in the area, how many ads are there in general, is this a place that would be more comfortable without an ad? The reason you should consider this is because it could grab a negative reaction from some, if not all the people who are engaging with your ad. If they have been bombarded with ads all day, it doesn't matter how witty yours is.

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Cosmopolitan: A Look into a Name

Cosmopolitan began as a “first-class” family-oriented magazine for women in the 19th century, something that is completely different from the magazine we know today.

The origin of the word cosmopolitan is related to the word cosmopolite which could be related to Cosmopolitanism, defined as “the ideology that all human beings belong to a single community, based on a shared morality. A person who adheres to the idea of cosmopolitanism in any of its forms is called a cosmopolitan or cosmopolite.” I personally think the original use of the name was very different than the one being used today, however, I do feel this definition fits both versions of the magazine.

They are both about conforming to be a certain type of woman. They are both advocating for very different types of women but they both seem to focus on “how to’s” and the “right way” to do things, or in fact how to be the picturesque embodiment of their type of woman.

The other thing that we associate with the word more recently would of course be the Cosmopolitan cocktail. I feel this association leads us into a higher class feeling. Women feel classy when they drink this pink, aromatic cocktail, or rather I imagine they would. Perhaps that is really what the magazine wants – to make the reader feel they are part of a higher class world. Even looking into the original magazine, this word means higher class and cultured at the time.

I feel in closure the word Cosmopolitan or Cosmo, as it is famously known as now, is really effective in bringing the reader into a “first class” world.