Conceptual Representation

With the knowledge that the project is now conceptual, I need to ensure that the portrayal of my design and concept is achieving its potential. For this to become a reality, I have researched how successful mobile products are marketed and presented.

The recent launch of the new iPhone 6 and 6+ came with a new wave of promotional material for the iconic mobile brand. Given the international scope of Apple, their advertising campaigns are curated for specific locations. The following advert I have chosen to pick apart for the project is from the US campaign, entitled 'Duo'. 

The advert stars Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake, with their unique spin on the famous 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'. The audio for the ad is quirky and silly, utilising the fame of its stars to validate the product. Whilst celebrity endorsement isn't something I have access to, the concept of having a fun and lighthearted audio for the conceptual promotion is certainly in vogue when promoting online material. I will address mobile advertising audio in more detail later. 

As you can see from the advert, the visual theme is incredibly minimal, with a pure white finish, almost sterile in appearance. This complete lack of any background, not even gradient, ensures the focus of the viewer is entirely framed on the important imagery of the phone and the screen. When the device is not being directly interacted with, the fingers and hands of those holding the phone do not obscure the view in any way, making sure there is no way to miss anything the screen may be showing. 

From a design perspective, the clocks and times displayed on the phone in every shot is continuous, always displaying 9:41 am. The phones are almost always being held perfectly horizontal or vertical, there is no deviation, giving the ad an air of perfection and clinical excellence. Maintaining an easily visible and stable presentation of your product is key when promoting smaller technical products. 

Moving on from Apple iPhones; Tile. 

Tile is an app created to help its user find lost items. Placing a small tile on your belongings means their location can be tracked from the companion app, ensuring users can locate misplaced items. Utilising cloud technology, other users of the app can help locate items that may have been stolen, or when they are out of the range of the owner. 

Whilst the premise of the product is interesting, it's the presentation of the product and its ancillary devices that I am most interested in.

Again we see a very clinically designed website (thetileapp.com), much akin to the nextr website, in a single column format. The website features a number of sections each with a different focus of information regarding the products, with further information available on subsequent pages. The following screenshot summarises the design ethic that has been applied to the products physical design, but also its promotional media.

Given these prime examples, both strongly utilising minimal design with the popular whitewash theme, it seems like there is a dominant design style when it comes to promoting products within a screen based medium.