Grade Level: High School - Graphic Design
Overview:
In our day-to-day lives we see advertisements. Some simply promote the product, but others try another tactic by "selling" the product to consumers using idealistic and desirable fantasies. One form of this is the socially damaging stereotyping of females in advertisements.
In this lesson, students will begin by looking at, analyzing, discussing, and sharing some of these types of work. They will first watch an introductory video from PBS called, Consuming Images. They will then look at various famous works of art in which the female form is generalized, stereotyped, or used as an object. They will then take what they have learned and find more current instances in advertising in which this idealism is evident. They will critique these works, and pull apart the messages that the advertisement is trying to say.
After they have critiqued the famous works of art and the advertisements, the students will choose one ad that he or she has found an alternative way to advertise the product. The class will regroup once the revised ads are completed to compare and contrast the old and new ad.
Objectives:
The student will be able to…Knowledge
- Reconstruct a new design concept that avoids the simplifying and stereotyping of people and the values that were portrayed in the original.
- Categorize his/her 3 ads into the given groups on the board.
- Interpret the stereotypes and simplifications of females in the class critique.
- Show the product in the redesigned advertisement.
- Show the original slogan and fine print in the redesigned advertisement.
- Accurately create an 8"x10" ad.
- Prepare a final ad with all printers' markers.
- Prepare a final ad with 1/8" bleed.
- Identify 300 dpi images and use those images in the redesigned ad.
- Reproduces a new design concept in the appropriate Create Suite program suitable for the new design.
- Present his/her redesigned and original ad to the class.
- Discuss the stereotypes and/or simplifications of females in his/her original advertisement.
- Discuss the choices made in the redesigned advertisement that avoid the stereotypes and/or simplifications of the female.
- Practice excellent craftsmanship by using 1/8" bleed, 300 dpi images, and all printers' marks.
Ohio Department of Education Standards:
- Standard 1: Student Choice and Vision - Students' emerging interests are at the core of visual literacy and an arts curriculum that promotes voice and ownership in learning.
- Standard 2: Critical and Creative Thinking – Students coordinate artistic processes to imagine, create, realize and refine ideas in both conventional and innovative ways.
- Standard 3: Authentic Application and Collaboration - Students engage in artistic production individually and collaboratively to address genuine local and global community needs.
Vocabulary:
- Advertisement
- Feminism
- Idealized
- Stereotyped
- Simplified
Materials:
- Computers with Creative Suite, Photoshop, Open Source Photo editing software
- Assortment of magazines, newspapers, ads, etc.
Teaching Instructions:
- Introduction: "I am going to first show you all a video. Make mental notes or write notes of what you find surprising or interesting."
- Show the video, Consuming Images.
- After viewing the video the students will begin sharing what they found surprising or interesting with the class. The teacher will make a list on the board of their reactions. The teacher can add to the list as well.
- Explain how, "advertisements are created and that they are not snapshots of what the people really look like."
- Homework: For a homework assignment have students collect and bring in at least 3 advertisements showing one female selling a product. They can be torn out or printed from the Internet. Indicate the name of the publication and the type of publication it is (Seventeen: a magazine for teenage girls).
- "Let's look at works from various artists like: Vincent can Gogh, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci, and more and see if you can find anything in common." "Direct your analysis towards things that you find similar between these artworks and the images that you brought in of females in magazines."
- Ask students, "What do you see in these images?" "What is similar/different from what we saw in the video?"
- Transition: "Now that we have an understanding of how to interpret the artwork, let's try characterizing the examples you have brought in. To begin I will write categories on the board, and you will bring up your examples and use a magnet to place your under the category you think it belongs."
- Categories for the board: (classic beauty, wholesome/sweet, dreamy/whimsical, seductive, sporty/athletic, self-confidence, controversial, domestic/motherly, friendly, and miscellaneous).
- Once the students have categorized their ads, first ask then to do a walk through to view all of the ads and look at how they have been categorized.
- Ask students, "Do you see any the you feel belong somewhere else?" "Do you think there needs to be another category, or does a categories title need to be change." "Are there any in the miscellaneous that you can place in a category?" "Are there more ads in certain categories than in others?" "Which ones, and why?"
- Conclude this portion of the lesson by asking the students, "What messages and meanings do you think these advertisements in the major categories are trying to deliver?"
- In conclusions of the section tell students, "These types of advertisements carry messages and meanings about who we think we want to be, and are selling dreams more than selling the product for what it is."
- Transition: "Now that you all have deconstructed these stereotypes in advertisements, I want you to become the advertisers for these products and use what you have learned to recreate an advertisement that avoids these stereotypes."
- Ask students, "What might you, the advertising director, do to avoid simplifying and stereotyping people and the values portrayed in the ad?"
- "Your project is to be the advertising director and redesign one of the ads you brought in, but avoiding the simplifying and stereotyping of people and the values portray in the ad? Try to think of another way to deliver the message to the audience."
- The teacher will go over the objectives for the assignment:
- "We will use the Creative Suite to create an 8"x10" magazine ad using the tools we have learned in class thus far."
- "Show the product in the ad."
- "Use the slogan that is in the ad, but redesign the concept."
- "Retype the fine print."
- "You must use 300 dpi images or above."
- "Have a 1/8" bleed."
- "The final printout must have ALL printer marks."
- "Along with the final printout, you must present your redesign to the class and explain your process and how your redesign ad delivers the message to the audience without using stereotypes or simplification of the person."
- Independent practice: The students will begin by choosing the ad they with to redesign.
- They will then make 5 different concept sketches before working on the computer.
Once approved, the student will begin rendering one final concept on the computer using the Creative Suite. - The students will prepare their file for print by exporting the file as a .PDF applying all printers marks, making sure they have used only 300 dpi images (from the internet or original photos), and printing out the .PDF file showing printers marks.
- The students will present their ad to the class and compare and contrast it to the original ad explaining what stereotypes or simplifications are evident in the original and how they removed those stereotypes or simplification in their redesign.
Extensions/Modifications:
- Advanced students can examine other stereotypes in advertising such as males, teenagers, elders, homosexuals, etc.
- Advanced students can create public service campaigns on a chosen stereotype and create an ad campaign.
- To simplify the assignment, the students can hand draw the advertisements and either paint or color it in.
Resources:
Video:- Consuming Images, The Public Mind with Bill Moyers, PBS
- http://gailpellettproductions.com/consuming-images/
- 10 Paintings on Women Immortalized by Famous Artists:
- http://www.culturazzi.org/art/10-paintings-on-women-immortalised-by-famous-artists
