The Foundation for a Better Life is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose primary focus is encouraging others to do good by promoting positive values. Their public service “Pass It On” campaigns are centered around promoting values that have the power to make a positive impact in communities. The foundation uses various forms of media to get its point across including theater ads, TV commercials, movie screens, and where I became acquainted with them, billboards. The billboard advertisements can be seen all across America including on Lincoln Blvd. in Venice, California. In their ad campaigns, they use a simple inspirational quote and pair them with celebrities, historical figures and/or moments, or in some cases “ordinary people” who have made a difference by doing extraordinary things.
The billboard I chose to critique shows the image of the celebrity singer Dolly Parton. The words are simple yet poignant, “Find the good in everybody”. The value it is promoting is Kindness and it concludes with the campaign tagline “Pass It On”. The campaign is using her celebrity status to help promote their campaign. In addition to being a famous country-Western singer, actress, and songwriter, Dolly Parton is also known for her charitable and philanthropic activities. She has quietly donated to numerous causes including “Imagination Library”, numerous disaster relief efforts over the years, and most recently, COVID-19 vaccine research. The billboard campaign combines her reputation for philanthropy and generosity with her celebrity to make an effective iconic and symbolic advertisement. The billboard utilizes hierarchy in its font choices with simple clean sans-serif lettering. It allows the phrase, “Find the good in everybody” to be the focal point along with the image of Dolly Parton who is known for her compassion and generosity. The virtue promoted in this billboard, “Kindness” is highlighted in red to ensure the message is received. The ad effectively uses repetition as the words are all colored in white to create a sense of unity and coherence while viewing. The ad makes excellent use of balance as with each succeeding section of words, the font size gets smaller but the message is readable and impactful.
I love this billboard and the ad campaign in general. I was unaware of this ad campaign before seeing it on the billboard in Venice, CA., but now I notice it everywhere. I have subscribed to their Instagram page and feel inspired by the positive messages and values the ads promote. My only criticism is that I would like to see more ads, billboards, and TV spots.
Project Life’s webpage is filled with colors and imagery that is pleasing to the eye. It utilizes the principles of similarity, repetition, and balance in its font selection, shapes, and colors. The focal point of the page, the heading tag, answers the question that many people might have when visiting the product page, “What is Project Life?” The web page then answers the question in two short sentences directly underneath the question. The images on the page portray individuals using the product in all forms currently available for download and purchase. Repetition is utilized on the page with shapes, fonts, and colors. For example, the rectangular shapes are all similar in width but vary in height. The layout is balanced due to the usage of whitespace, font alignment, and color. It is an effective use of symmetry. Further down on the page, there are also short videos on the most often-asked questions when using the App. You can click on links contained on the homepage which will take you to the appropriate web pages addressing your topic. There is also an abundance of information available on the Project Life homepage but it doesn’t look overcrowded or imbalanced.
I like the design of the Project Life homepage. It is welcoming and contains imagery that puts the user at ease. The design is relaxed, yet colorful with visuals showing exactly how to use the product. The pictures show individuals smiling while using the product, except for one video story image at the bottom of the page explaining how and why to delete a Project Life app page. The only thing I would change about the overall design is to add more diverse imagery to the page including older people and persons of diverse backgrounds. I am familiar with the Becky Higgins Brand and her story so I know the pictures are of her and her creative team but other visitors/potential customers might be first-time viewers and might feel as if the product was not intended for them.