The Brief
Create a print ad for the new Mazda CX-3 Neo Sport (www.mazda.com.au/cars/cx-3/) and redesign it based on differing finish requirements.
Target
Women aged 26 - 35 who want the features of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) (e.g. safety, visibility, space, strength, performance) without the bulky body
SMP
‘All the benefits of an SUV without the bulk’ (CarsGuide.com described it as a Mazda 2 on stilts!)
Mandatories
Hero shot of the car, Mazda logo.
The Solution
"Brilliance, Not Bulk". With the rise of bigger and bigger SUV and 4WD class vehicles in Australia's suburban and city environments, I chose to play on the excessive nature of many other vehicles in the class, showing how the Neo Sport can be just as versatile (and more appropriately sized for urban life).
Redesigned Advertisements
Contrast
In this example, the bright red Mazda is made to stand out in contrast to the lowered vibrancy and contrast background images. The same filter was applied to the large vehicle to the left of the composition which was also made black and white to ensure it is communicated as more of a shape as opposed to the vehicle of focus.
Hierarchy
Hierarchy in this composition is used to create heightened visual emphasis on the hero shit of the Mazda CX-3. This is done by increasing its relative size, centring it completely and pushing the tree and opposing vehicle outwards making it the primary focus of imagery and putting it at the top of the hierarchy.
Proportion and Scale
By reducing the scale of the Mazda CX-3 hero shot and making the tree and vehicle behind disproportionately large relative in the composition the idea of bulk comes to the forefront. Interestingly this format creates a central line from the copy down to the car as they are of relatively equal width, bringing both a sort of compositional connection to the other, which is actually quite an interesting outcome of the compositional adaptation.
Space
In this example, void space was used to assert emphasis on the copy of the headline and the Mazda logo. This allowed for a much higher contrast black on white figure for the headline and reduced visual clutter allowing for the type to communicate in a much more simplified manner.
Proportion and scale - strip horizontal (90mm x 210mm).
In this composition the type was shifted to be on one line, still either side of the central line. The major change is the elimination of the somewhat void space on the top half of the page. The size of the font was slightly reduced but not by anything extreme to avoid taking away visual emphasis on the copy. The size of the Mazda logo was also reduced, however it has been placed centrally on both axis now, meaning it has acquired visual emphasis from position to compensate from what it lost in its size reduction.
Proportion and Scale - Strip vertical (297mm x 100mm)
This reformat required the most compositional change as its relative shape to the original format was considerably different. As a result the solution that was adopted had to take a considerably different approach. In the end segmenting the original format into two halves and adapting the format to communicate with a vertical top down flow was the obvious response. However the actual visual flow of the imagery is left to right, down, left to right, matching the natural process of reading from the eye. The left half of the original imagery is on the top half of the strip and the right on the bottom and the "hero" the Mazda image cuts at the exact same spot on both the top and bottom creating a strong visual link between the images and allowing for a somewhat smooth visual execution of a very different format.
