Redesigning the Simon G. engagement
ring ad was a fun assignment that I learned a lot from. Initially I was worried
about how I was going to accomplish such a big overhaul in only one week. I felt overwhelmed at first but the
redesign paper ended up being a great way for me to learn how to be creative and
analytic at the same time.
I looked through three different
magazines that have mainly female audiences before deciding on the Simon G.
engagement ring advertisement in Cosmopolitan
magazine. A lot of advertisements that I was considering at first were really
well-designed and used all three rhetorical appeals effectively. On the other
hand, the Simon G. advertisement was very simple and direct. As I began to plan
out the project in my head, I came to the conclusion that redesigning a more
complex ad that was effective at selling their product, and used the three
rhetorical appeals well, would be very difficult. I thought I may have a
stronger analysis and an easier time reconstructing the ad if it was basic.
Organization was the most difficult
challenge I faced while writing my essay. Unlike other papers I have written in
the past, it was hard for me to determine what order the paragraphs should go
in. At the time I felt overwhelmed because I had so much information to
include, in specific detail, but the flow of the paper did not come naturally.
To overcome my initial challenges, I visited the Writing Center to get advice
on how to organize my paper in a logical way while using professional language
that would appeal the intended audience of the essay. The writing center was a
helpful tool that allowed me to better grasp the assignment guidelines and see
the organization of the paper objectively.
My favorite part about the
assignment was allowing myself to be creative but analytical at the same time.
I enjoyed the challenge of writing my paper in the third person voice while
explaining what the new advertisement would look like. The extra credit
opportunity, which was also a challenge to begin with, was another fun part of
the assignment. I do not consider myself to be a creative person but I was
surprised and pleased with the redesign that I came up with and was able to
execute using Photoshop.
When we first learned about the
rhetorical appeals as a class I was confused by them and how they are used in
everyday life. It is important for things that I learn to have a logical use
otherwise I lose interest quickly. The advertisement redesign project gave me
an opportunity to better understand the rhetorical appeals and use them to
create my new advertisement. The best thing that came from the redesign paper
was being able to practice applying the rhetorical appeals to something common,
like an advertisement. I was not only able to see the logical use of rhetoric
but I was able to apply my newly learned skills and practice them while I
created a fun new advertisement.
If I was able to rewrite the essay
I would choose a different advertisement. The ad I chose was so simple I ended
up being unable to meet the length requirement. There was little content from
the original advertisement to analyze so I came up short in the end. Although
my analysis was thorough, it was simple like the ad. If I was able to rewrite
the paper, I would surely pick something that had more to analyze and that used
all three rhetorical appeals. Looking back on the assignment it would not have
been more difficult to redesign an advertisement that was already a strong
showcase of the product because the point of the redesign was to gear it
towards a different audience altogether. I am happy with the final result of
both my essay and the redesigned advertisement but in hindsight a more complicated
advertisement would have better suited me.
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