Backwell Agency
P1 - Analysis
Shepard Fairey
Frank Shepard Fairey was born on February 15th 1970.
He is an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer activist and illustrator. He was first knowen for his skateboarding sceneand know he is known for his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (…OBEY…) sticker campaign.
He is now thought to be one of the most influential streetartest in America today.
To find out more about his life and art work please click on the link below:
Sheapard Fairey Analysis
PURPOSE
Shapard Fariey created this print image to promote Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, this image of America’s first African American president represents Shapard Fairy's idea of how far America has come from their promise of equality as oppotunity.
CONTENT
The colours used are the traditional Red, white and blues as this represents the American flag and how Obama is proud to be part of the America and how he can make a difference. The simple capital lettering at the bottom shows how ‘Hope’ can be achieved in a simple step by voting for him. As it isn't a formal and realistic picture of Barack Obama this may suggest that he isn't a really serious president maybe he is more fun and a bit different than the other real serious precidence. There is also sketched patterns and symbols in the background, they look like compasses and stars.
FORMAT
The format of this print advertisement would be in poster form or flyer form as these would be handed out to people to try and promote Barack Obama and how America is changing for the better, it would be printed rather than painted to show a clean crisp finish to provide the public with a level of formality that will come when voting for Obama, maybe on A5 as a flyer as this will be easier to hand out but on A4-A3 posters as people need to see these from a distance. It would be on flyers and people would keep them as a reminder and it would be on posters to keep it in their minds to vote for him.
STYLE
The style seems to be Pop Art as the simple colours and simple shapes seem to support that, this mid-1950s style was created in America which embloys aspects of mass culture from adverisment Pop art was seen as a way to express yourself not through art itself but the attitudes towards it and Shapard Fairey took this idea and presented the public that it is their attitudes towards Obama that will make the change not anyone else. Also this is usually a well used design in America for politicians as this shows a ‘quirky’ side to them. It is very formal and simplistic and the style shows how he is a simple person with a simple goal. The style of the red, white and blue doesn't just show his love for the flag but connotates the passion he has for his conutry (Red), the purity and equality of his actions (White) and the calm and sophisticated side to him (Blue).
LAYOUT
The layout is simple and easy to understand. This is helpful for people who just take a quick glance as they will remember the poster and the colours. The bold heading at the bottom stands out and is eye catching as this will be the rememberable word that Obama and Shapad Fairey would like the public to remember. The eyes of Barrack Obama seems like he is staring into the future of America, the blend of colours also shows a simple layout. The poster is a traditional portrait just like a traditional president.
TARGET AUDIENCE
People who want a change for the better for their country. They will probably simple normal people with steady lives but they will be over 18 as they are the only people allowed to vote. I don’t think it is just for people who want a change in race but for people who want change for the better. It would be any gender but they are more than likely to live in America as this is more for them to vote in a new leader. The audience may not be well educated as Barack Obama wants to appeal for everyone in America so the simple word 'hope' is reconised by everyone.
REGULATORY BODIES
FTC resources and guides:
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Truth in Advertising and Marketing Claims - Must be truthful and not deceptive.
-
Industry Guides – The FTC has some rules and compliance guides for specific industries including franchises, real estate, clothing manufacturers, and others. Information on laws that could affect your 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.
Or
The Federal Trade Commission (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. Trusts and trust-busting were significant political concerns during the Progressive Era. Over time, the FTC has been delegated the enforcement of additional business regulation statutes and has promulgated a number of regulations (codified in Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations).
Sources can be found on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission
Whether or not he obeyed to these rules is up to him as graffity is agaianst the law and which can resort in a fine between $10-$117 in The USA and even imprisoment, this means it is all up to him to admit and take the offence as he is a Grafitti artist.
PURPOSE
“I originally made the Star Icon in January 1996 as I was transitioning into a period of my work inspired by Russian Constuctivist Propaganda posters. I had made a simplified illustration of the Giant face I called the Icon and I decided I wanted to make a star iteration. I cut a star shaped window out and played with cropping until I was happy. The print below was the first print I made using the star image. I only made an edition of 90 of them and probably only sold a small percentage of the 90. The rest went up on the street or were damaged. The Obey Star has been a crucial element in my work ever since so I decided to make a letterpress variation on the 1996 O.G. Obey Star. I’m very happy with how it turned out.” -Shepard Fairey
LAYOUT
The layout is simple and easy to understand. This is helpful for people who just take a quick glance as they will remember the poster an the colours. The bold edgy title at the bottom seems to have strong corners and points this could convey how strong his message is towards his target audience. The star in the middle reflects with the font of the “Obey” title. As the main image is in the middle your eye is draw to it first before the title this could suggest the image is what Shepard wanted you to remember.
CONTENT
He only uses two main colours in the whole poster, red and black. These two colours both work together and stand out together. The use of the colour red does not only correspond to the colour on the Russian flag but the word red means ‘happy’ in Russian so this must be some happy news that people need to be aware of. The ‘O’ in Obey has a line over it this is called a Macron, which means a long vowel sound which seems to be sort of ‘hypnotising’ for the audience to remember that word and repeat it over again to remember it. As the star already contains one of Shepard’s earlier art work this already makes this a well known poster that people may recognised. This might also be a follow up poster showing more information than just “Obey” from the original. The statement at the bottom might refer to the man behind the “Obey” but also conveys to the target audience they need to think bigger an better for their country.
STYLE
The style seems to be Retro Style as the simple colours and simple shapes seem to support that Retro style changes due to attitudes and trends of the past, which shows that Shapard Fairey using the 'Obey' style of art to create a new hype for his old work. It is also kind of a Western poster as the paper it is printed on seems to be of a ‘wanted poster’ theme, this could link to content as the ‘Obey Man’ Is a wanted guy.
FORMAT
The format of this print advertisement would be in poster form as these would be the cheaper and easier way to publicise what Shepard Fairey was trying to advertise. As it was published in 1996 he would probably placed these posets on a train as these would get the advertisement around to the rural areas of Russia.
TARGET AUDIENCE
People want a change for the better for their country. They are going to be Russian people as this is targeted for propaganda in Russia at the time. I guess it would be designed for any age or gender as it is designed to use art for a social purpose, the Russian revolution has been and gone but they are still fighting for equality so maybe the poster is telling us to stop obeying the pollutions and obey ourselves and believe in what we stand for.
REGULATORY BODIES
FTC resources and guides:
-
Truth in Advertising and Marketing Claims - Must be truthful and not deceptive.
-
Industry Guides – The FTC has some rules and compliance guides for specific industries including franchises, real estate, clothing manufacturers, and others. Information on laws that could affect your 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.
Or
The Federal Trade Commission (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. Trusts and trust-busting were significant political concerns during the Progressive Era. Over time, the FTC has been delegated the enforcement of additional business regulation statutes and has promulgated a number of regulations (codified in Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations).
Sources can be found on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission
Whether or not he obeyed to these rules is up to him as graffity is agaianst the law and which can resort in a fine between $10-$117 in The USA and even imprisoment, this means it is all up to him to admit and take the offence as he is a Grafitti artist.