Okay, here are some major conclusions I drew from a presentation by the CCT (CSAP Communications Team) at a hip-hop summit, which contained significant research on teen trends and put it into a generational perspective. This is a long one. If I'd known I'd have this long a list, I likely would have made this a 4 part series. Twenty-twenty hindsight. Anyway, these conclusions are couched from a design perspective. And they represent my personal observations and conclusions, and the presentation.
1) Teen trends define popular culture. It’s a given that the teens of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. From that perspective, we can evaluate past social trends which moved from the fringes to the mainstream: rock and roll in the 50’s, the peace movement and student activism of the 60’s, etc. Generations define themselves, by self-identifying themselves as a member of that generation, as opposed to another. The key “generations” identified by CCT were:
• Baby Boomers (1946-1960)
• Generation X (1960-1982)
• Generation Y (1982-2003).
Personally, what I note here is the generality of the groupings. The first is just 14-year block, the next a grouping of 22 years, and the last also 22 years. I think the first block (boomers) is more accurate, and in reality believe we are dealing with 2 demographics within each of the following GenX and GenY groupings. But that’s me.
The design application here is that different imagery, and even color palettes, appeal to these different age groupings (whether they would admit it or not). This is evidenced by aspects such as fashion preferences, colors of clothing and makeup marketed to different age groups within these demos, and a hundred other subtle shifts that marketers identify, but hope the rest of the public won’t. And that designers must.
2) Identifying teen trends provides an avenue to enhanced communication.
This is just common sense; if you can understand the values of an audience (in this context a specific generation), you can more effectively communicate with that audience (generation). In terms of design, this means the type of images you provide, the age ranges, and the looks of that audience.
This is one of the major problems with stock imagery—it’s pretty old in general, and the look of the least expensive imagery is often 10 years old. While this isn’t problematic for younger age groups (kids 7 and under look surprisingly the same in generation after generation, down t the color palette of their clothes), in older age groups and especially in teens, images taken a year ago can already look dated. By the same token, images that try to look too trendy can get outdated even faster. The key here is to go with a timeless feel, but within the context of popular culture. Go for modern hip-hop looks, but not too cutting edge within that look. Allow for the timelessness of Goth, Sk8r dude, and fashionable teens as well as straighter hip-hop looks. And mix and match, with authenticity.
Frankly the best place to tell if you’re hitting the mark in these elements are to tour a local Wal Mart or Target or Kmart, or any of the other stores that try to pull in and appeal to the same demographic. You don’t need to be cutting edge. But you do need to be real.
3) The key features of a generation are always value-based.
This was a key element of the CCT presentation, and I think a truism for any demographic. The key values of a specific demo, once identified and broken down, will always have design applications. Again, core values include:
— Self-reliance (Value independent thinking, do-it-yourself approach)
— Idealism(positive about future, see great future opportunities)
— Activism (support for social issues, see role in improving world)
— Morality/Spirituality (importance of faith, not necessarily linked to formal groups)
— Authenticity (want truths without distortion)
— Identity (tension of conformity and individualism)
4) Longevity of message is achieved by appeal to core values.
Just as formulating effective designed messages relies on identifying and understanding teen trends, effecting change relies on the messages ability to connect with core values.
5) Hip-Hop is a dominant teen trend.
Not necessarily the teen trend, but arguably one of the top five, if not top three. I think this will vary according to what part of the country you travel (or market, or design) to. This was the central assumption of the summit, and is supported by the CCT research package. While it is not the only teen trend, it is defined overwhelmingly as the dominant trend. And, even though it has been a trend for well over a decade, it shows no sign of diminishing or being replaced. From this perspective, it’s a mistake not to look to connecting with this demographic more specifically in any visual
communication.
6) Sincerity in communication is essential.
Insincerity is a killer. Anyone who has ever seen a teen’s reaction to an adult comic trying to rap has an idea of the discomforting squeamishness that’s provoked, much the same discomfort as experienced by any parent seeing a young girl croon a Britney Spears sex ballad. It’s something beyond the singers’ experience, and just plain wrong. Communication with a youth demographic should be painfully sincere, and checked for that sincerity at key points with aspects of the actual demographic, whenever possible.
This isn’t to say that it’s impossible to fake it within design. Some of the most convincing kids artwork I’ve seen was created by adults, mimicking the key aspects of kids art. But it has to be done with real kids art reference on hand, not from “feel.” It needs to be compared to that for authenticity. The same, for another example, with graffiti-style design. It needs to be compared to the realistic context in order to be sure it feels authentic and sincere. I’ve seen both these examples done well and effectively, as well as poorly and insincerely. The key is being able to know the demographic well enough to tell that difference.
Next week: Thoughts on Branding and Identity
Showing posts with label Design "Generation Y" Art Direction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Design "Generation Y" Art Direction. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Designing for Generation Y (2 of 3): Four Ps in a blog
The diagram below is basic to marketing 101: The Four Ps of Social Marketing. Not much here in terms of design (except that it is a nicely designed diagram-for which I can’t take credit), but its core messages of identifying and using the Four Ps of Social Marketing are as essential for Design as they are for Marketing.
Product. You need to know the product to know why and how it appeals to your target, and design it to accentuate that appeal. In comics, I called it the “screaming baby factor.” All comics are arranged on a rack, like a line of screaming babies. You can’t get your baby to scream any louder in order to get picked up. It’s got to scream differently, better, somehow more personally to the target, to get him or her to pick that baby up.
Price. Not in the control of Design, unless we’re talking about how to accentuate the difference (savings) in price from comparable product, and how to position it so that this accentuation isn’t obvious. Like a website that doesn’t easily reveal its navigation system, a package that hides its pricing just annoys.
Promotion. The design element here is mainly in terms of persuasion, and again often in tandem with price.
Place. Design aspects here mainly lie in the contextual text—say how its arranged on a cover so that the key text is revealed on a rack, or how its arranged on a box so that it calls out in its best screaming baby voice amongst all the other products on the shelves.
Of course, using the Four Ps requires understanding the demographic you’re appealing to, and some experience in design language to know what is most appropriate to that segment. But the research is out there. The art is in the interpretation.
Next: Some conclusions
Product. You need to know the product to know why and how it appeals to your target, and design it to accentuate that appeal. In comics, I called it the “screaming baby factor.” All comics are arranged on a rack, like a line of screaming babies. You can’t get your baby to scream any louder in order to get picked up. It’s got to scream differently, better, somehow more personally to the target, to get him or her to pick that baby up.
Price. Not in the control of Design, unless we’re talking about how to accentuate the difference (savings) in price from comparable product, and how to position it so that this accentuation isn’t obvious. Like a website that doesn’t easily reveal its navigation system, a package that hides its pricing just annoys.
Promotion. The design element here is mainly in terms of persuasion, and again often in tandem with price.
Place. Design aspects here mainly lie in the contextual text—say how its arranged on a cover so that the key text is revealed on a rack, or how its arranged on a box so that it calls out in its best screaming baby voice amongst all the other products on the shelves.
Of course, using the Four Ps requires understanding the demographic you’re appealing to, and some experience in design language to know what is most appropriate to that segment. But the research is out there. The art is in the interpretation.
Next: Some conclusions
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Designing for Generation Y (1 of 3)
A couple of years ago I attended a Hip-Hop Conference in Washington DC, with the goal of learning about the specific Hip-Hop demographic, which is not exactly an age group or ethnic demographic. The goal was achieving cultural competence and developing communication strategies with the specific demographic, for me specifically in developing design, imagery and visual identity.
First, I don’t even want to get into the whole Generation Y debate. Generation Y was defined originally as the generation after Generation X, and Generation X as the one after the Baby boomers. If the interpretation of a generation is 10 years, and the baby boomers are retiring , then I should be one of generation Y. But in demographic lexicon, Generation Y has continued to move down as people grow older, and has somehow become synonymous with Teen and, in some cases, PreTeen audiences, in the demo info I’ve reviewed. If someone could explain that to me, I’d appreciate it. Otherwise, I’m just taking it as given.
There were several specific presentations around each element. One I found the most directly useful was presented by CSAP (Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention), specifically by the CSAP Communications Team. The presentation was called Communicating and Working with Generation Y: a Cultural Perspective. I’ve pulled freely from notes on that presentation for this.
It was a trip. The key to the analysis was that it broke down the grouping into shared values, and then analyzed those values. From a reverse-engineering standpoint then, you could approach any message from the values perspective, and communicate your particular message using the value as a conduit for connection. The values were:
Activism, Morality/Spirituality, Authenticity and Identity.
Taken each in turn, I found this the most useful part of the presentation, though it went into much more than just this. These values were identified through manifestations, or observable behaviors, and those behaviors represented the clearest paths to communication—the hook that allowed targeted messaging. And they each had a direct corollary to design, and well as editorial applications. Of course, I was mainly concerned with the design issues. How these apply specifically to design directed at a Teen and PreTeen audience is, of course, a matter of interpretation—and the following is mine. But the fact is that a sensitivity to youth values in design can make the difference in whether the product appeals to the intended target, or whether they feel it applies to their parent, or their younger sibling. The “this is for me” factor is key.
For example, the value of authenticity is extremely important to the teen demo. Translated into design, it’s about the images feeling real, the colors feeling relevant and the organization moving around with a kinetic energy that says “Amusement Park” not “Saturday Evening Post.” And this can mean reflecting looks and attitudes that are real, though not always desirable. Piercing isn’t something that is necessarily desirable to encourage, but showing a model with a piercing gives authenticity. Showing Teens having fun can be a great image, as long as it feels like an authentic good time, not a “posed for the camera” good time. Such difficult to define elements of authenticity vary from group to group, based on life experiences, geographic location, and economic status. But the bottom line in terms of imagery is that the truth may be difficult to identify clearly, but a lie stands out.
Another key value is identity. Identity, which I will go into in a future blog, as it affects branding, is essential to get right for a teen demo, as it is inextricably linked to authenticity. You can’t be real in the message if you don’t know the identity of the recipient of the message. But a level above that is that in Pre-Teen audiences especially, identity is still being formed. Therefore this is a key age for assumptions about identity to be compelling in presentation of identity; to present an aspirational identity of who one wants to be, not necessarily who one is. This may seem contradictory to the value of authenticity, but it’s not. We all want to be more than we are, and one of the key elements in the design communication therefore needs to acknowledge not only where the target is, but where, and who, they want to be.
Next: Social Marketing
First, I don’t even want to get into the whole Generation Y debate. Generation Y was defined originally as the generation after Generation X, and Generation X as the one after the Baby boomers. If the interpretation of a generation is 10 years, and the baby boomers are retiring , then I should be one of generation Y. But in demographic lexicon, Generation Y has continued to move down as people grow older, and has somehow become synonymous with Teen and, in some cases, PreTeen audiences, in the demo info I’ve reviewed. If someone could explain that to me, I’d appreciate it. Otherwise, I’m just taking it as given.
There were several specific presentations around each element. One I found the most directly useful was presented by CSAP (Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention), specifically by the CSAP Communications Team. The presentation was called Communicating and Working with Generation Y: a Cultural Perspective. I’ve pulled freely from notes on that presentation for this.
It was a trip. The key to the analysis was that it broke down the grouping into shared values, and then analyzed those values. From a reverse-engineering standpoint then, you could approach any message from the values perspective, and communicate your particular message using the value as a conduit for connection. The values were:
Activism, Morality/Spirituality, Authenticity and Identity.
Taken each in turn, I found this the most useful part of the presentation, though it went into much more than just this. These values were identified through manifestations, or observable behaviors, and those behaviors represented the clearest paths to communication—the hook that allowed targeted messaging. And they each had a direct corollary to design, and well as editorial applications. Of course, I was mainly concerned with the design issues. How these apply specifically to design directed at a Teen and PreTeen audience is, of course, a matter of interpretation—and the following is mine. But the fact is that a sensitivity to youth values in design can make the difference in whether the product appeals to the intended target, or whether they feel it applies to their parent, or their younger sibling. The “this is for me” factor is key.
For example, the value of authenticity is extremely important to the teen demo. Translated into design, it’s about the images feeling real, the colors feeling relevant and the organization moving around with a kinetic energy that says “Amusement Park” not “Saturday Evening Post.” And this can mean reflecting looks and attitudes that are real, though not always desirable. Piercing isn’t something that is necessarily desirable to encourage, but showing a model with a piercing gives authenticity. Showing Teens having fun can be a great image, as long as it feels like an authentic good time, not a “posed for the camera” good time. Such difficult to define elements of authenticity vary from group to group, based on life experiences, geographic location, and economic status. But the bottom line in terms of imagery is that the truth may be difficult to identify clearly, but a lie stands out.
Another key value is identity. Identity, which I will go into in a future blog, as it affects branding, is essential to get right for a teen demo, as it is inextricably linked to authenticity. You can’t be real in the message if you don’t know the identity of the recipient of the message. But a level above that is that in Pre-Teen audiences especially, identity is still being formed. Therefore this is a key age for assumptions about identity to be compelling in presentation of identity; to present an aspirational identity of who one wants to be, not necessarily who one is. This may seem contradictory to the value of authenticity, but it’s not. We all want to be more than we are, and one of the key elements in the design communication therefore needs to acknowledge not only where the target is, but where, and who, they want to be.
Next: Social Marketing
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