This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.
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I’ve not talked much about my slight obsession with crisp, clean design. But since I received this nice little piece in my email box, I thought I’d use it to start a new thread.
This came to me today, compliments of Media Post, which offers a decent media directory if you’re looking for PR contacts or magazines to send article queries.
This is crisp, clean design. Note the bold, black headline (MAGAZINE RACK) with the red subhead below, off-center. This is a powerful color combination that’s hard to make look bad. The fonts are simple. Minimalist. Very Zen. A style I tend to appreciate. And the red bar across the top adds a nice barrier for the page, while contrasting nicely with the black headline and charcoal gray background.
Note the faded background behind the headline area. This adds a trendy, professional feel without cluttering that area of the page, which may have been the case had the fade-out not been done.
The page layout is clean. Well organized. Each section of the piece occupies its own area of the page. Like a perfectly organized closet. Shirts hanging neatly. Shoes there. Pants here. Umbrella tucked neatly in the corner. You get the sense that each distinct area of the page could stand alone, but looks so much better in concert with the others.
The banner ad to the right seems at home where it is. It adds to the overall professional feel of the page. Not obtrusive or loud as some ads can be. Further, it limits the amount of left to right scanning one must do to read the copy. I hate to see an entire web page filled with text from left to right.
Finally, the magazine cover (PLENTY), although a completely different color combination, adds just enough pizazz and wow factor to the page, without clashing or seeming out of place.
How I do enjoy receiving stuff like this in my email. Just to appreciate the artistic value. The copy and sales message? Well, that’s a-whole-nother-issue. Later.