1. What have you learned from
your audience feedback?
By Daisy Whitefield

2. Relying on the response of your audience can be highly beneficial to you as a creative director; the more time that you
spend understanding what you had excelled at and what you could have improved on, the more effective your future
projects are bound to be. In this postmodern, media- saturated world it is no longer acceptable to suggest that there
is only one way of interpreting a text and only one possible audience response. Audiences are not always based on a
mass scale; they are sophisticated in their responses. It is important also to consider the social and cultural experiences
that affect audiences’ responses to a range of texts. They say that it is a type of interaction associated with the use of
audience response systems, to create interactivity between a presenter and their audience. I retrieved my feedback by
recording the gist of conversations that I had with my peers; with a more so developed understanding of the codes
and conventions they would be able to identify whether or not I met the traditional expectations. I would be able to as
a result take on board their criticisms because they would elaborate on these more complex editing processes and
shot technicalities for example. Selecting a target market allows you to craft messages that appeal specifically to them.
Identifying a target market helps your brand to develop effective marketing communication strategies. A target market
is a set of individuals sharing similar needs or characteristics that your company hopes to serve. These individuals are
usually the end users most likely to purchase your product. Responding to their feedback helps you to identify what
aspect of mise en scène you need to better work on. Interestingly, Different people purchase the same items but for a
variety of reasons referred to as necessity, social pressures, family pressures, convenience, inadvertence and economic
reasons. The field of Psychology has provided ample explanations through theories made from researches and studies
to make the understanding of consumer behaviour, and its applications in a variety of ways, what it is today. I also used
questionnaires via Google Forms that were distributed amongst the audience that I was targeting. Using open ended
questions meant that they could openly critique the photography, composition and typography within my front cover.
Open- ended questions cut down on two types of response error; respondents are not likely to forget the answers
they have to choose from if they are given the chance to respond freely, and open- ended questions simply do not
allow respondents to disregard reading the questions and just "fill in" the survey with all the same answers (such as
filling in the "no" box on every question).

3. The feedback that I received on my front cover was largely positive. I learned to accept how different people have different
perspectives and knowledge about the way the world works. Each person brings a unique perspective to the table, and if
we listen and try to understand their perspective, we can apply that perspective to our work to make it better. A comment
on how my photography ‘wouldn't be the main reason for [them] wanting to pick up an issue’ taught me to better research
shot types to use on the front cover of a news publication. Typically they will be well-lit and slightly artistic; which is
something that I attempted to practice for my central imagery. Practice is what will exercise this skill as I grow in
experience, this alludes me to the idea that the rise of digital changed the very nature of photography by moving it from a
fixed image to a fluid one. The swift pace at which we create images is only matched by the pace at which we discard them
and yet, paradoxically, we’ve never been more engaged with images. Photography is less about document or evidence and
more about community and experience. I tend to take photographs in a rather clinical way, it doesn’t necessarily feel
natural to me and I put a lot of pressure on myself to create these shots that are complex. A further comment mentioned
how the advertisement on my front cover appeared ‘a little too busy’ and how I should ‘spend a little more time finalising
the small things’. I found this point interesting because I am usually someone who takes that time to custom design and
craft a product from a design. I take my time to check over those components and I take finalisation processes seriously. So
perhaps I could read up on scientifically proven methods of reviewing your work; when you first get into a brief I think that
it’s easy to become overwhelmed with your instant creative thoughts and ideas as well as the tasks associated with research
and planning. This has taught me that there is no need to create the next life-changing newspaper or product tomorrow. It
is important that my ideas have time to incubate and develop, and give myself time to enjoy the process. In fact, taking my
time and nurturing the creation process will actually make for a better result. In the future I will address those around me
for guidance as I tend to be independent when it comes to such production types, I enjoy investing my energy into the
brief in the hope that it will reach the expectation of industry standards. So you’re asking questions and you’ve got the ball
rolling, but this isn’t an interrogation, and you’re listening for more than what they’re saying. Primarily, you’re concerned
with the pain points, because opportunities for design and innovation come out of real problems and challenges people
are facing. You’ll get your inspiration from paying close attention to them. Design isn’t just about solving problems or
coming up with cool new innovations and then telling people how much they’re going to love them. It’s about asking
questions, listening to the answers, brainstorming piles of solutions and testing over and over again—always with the user
in mind. More than telling, it’s about asking and listening.

4. I was impressed with the feedback that I received of my newspaper article as it was rather balanced and it gave me a clear idea as to what
I must do to progress as a creative director. My article was something that I was largely satisfied with because I was confident not only in
my writing ability, but too my awareness when it came to the layout of a double- page spread. Surprisingly a fellow peer commented on
how my ‘photography was not heavily edited’ which was a convention that I was most apprehensive about. Being a keen writer, I would
say that I invested most of my time in redrafting the actual content of my article than I did editing the photography. I can see how my
photography would appear natural and in line with my article but I disagree that it serves as a positive feature of my production when
looking at the complete product. When I began deconstructing photos I realised they were visual stories structured in the same way as
written stories. As photographers, we do such things as 'finding an angle', 'adding a human element' and 'using exciting copy'... the
parallels are many. I hadn’t really honed in on this sentimental truth; stories have a point– an angle– otherwise it's a boring collection of
words, written or spoken. We see life at eye level, so photographers try as much as possible to find an angle– crouch, sit, and stand on
something– to make the point of view more interesting for the viewer. If you can't move your subject, move yourself. In my opinion I
failed to interact with this burning passion to get a beautiful shot so I find it interesting how all commenters were fond of my skill set.
Perhaps I took on board too much the competition that surrounds the photojournalism scene as many speakers within the industry
appear enthused by the art of taking photos. News stories have quotes. News photos have people. We, as humans, are interested when
we see other humans. Rain pouring from the sky during a downpour can look good but someone running through pouring rain with an
umbrella adds interest. We can empathise because we have all been there and I feel that I should have used more of this. Moreover, the
composition of my article was regarded as ‘consistent’ and was compared to existing products on the market. The first commenter
describes my use of words and symbols as being well thought out which was something that I had consistently aimed to do. There wasn’t
much commentary on the layout of my text which I can only assume to be a positive thing. When looking back over my article however, I
can see that a lot of my text was placed to minimise the amount of negative space; although the discussion was direct and highly
relevant, it appeared to have been more so through a means of filling the page. A response commented on how my columns were ‘even’
on the other hand, suggesting how I had given that additional level of attention to detail. This was something that I subconsciously
prioritised when it came to the design principles of me piece because symmetry can add balance to a design. When elements are the
same on both sides of an axis, the design feels harmonious. If we design a street with five houses on one side and five on the other,
walking down the street would feel comfortable because the arrangement of homes is balanced for example. I wanted this to reflect the
argument within my actual text where I evaluate social issues surrounding homelessness, the stigmatisation of female travel, and mental
health. This relates to how an element will appear more hierarchical if it is larger than other elements in a design. We, as the audience,
naturally look first at the largest element in a design and so if there are five windows on the front of a building, and one is twice the size
of the others, our attention will focus on the biggest window first. The participants of my questionnaire failed to pick up on this area of
focus as scale will tend to be a crucial area amongst designers, when looking over how my components performed, they rested
harmoniously because I used this element of hierarchy.

5. The audience feedback that I received for my radio advert was fairly balanced, in
that the positive comments balanced out the less so positive comments. By
distributing post- it notes and having students from different ethnic backgrounds,
ages, classes and genders anonymously critique my final product, I feel that my
feedback would be more so genuine. I chose this method of research because the
nature of a nameless survey means that respondents can answer freely without fear
of reprisals or embarrassment. Anonymous methods work well for topics that are
deeply personal and allow people to respond openly and honestly which is
something that drew me to the task. A fair few of the comments discussed how I
could have “used more sound effects”. This would have added some sense of
auditory texture and would have made my final draft stand out amongst existing
products. I agree that by neglecting this use of different pitch, tone and tempo, my
product was not as effective as it may have been, given I took a more creative path.
Having a mark scheme that isn’t too lenient however pressured me to design
something that was conventional: so something that read well and clearly
represented the ethos of my newspaper brand. At the other end of the spectrum I
had discussions of how “linear” my radio advert sounded to a member of my target
audience and how “well executed” the script was. This has made me realise that I as
a creative director have a creative side which looks to exercise its gift. At the same
time, I am reminded nearly every day of organisational constraints. It’s important to
remember that, it’s not either or. You should use moment-to-moment interactions
with the specification to balance the tension and make forward progress. From the
beginning, I should have set clear guidelines about what the product should be
able to do, which consumer needs and organisational goals should be met, or
which issues need to be considered. These constraints are more likely to positively
impact creativity because they help define and focus the creative challenge.

6. On the other hand, from reviewing the impression that my billboard made on my target
market, I do have the ability to present something that is of a high standard. Something that I
was conscious of was how people may receive my design as lazy because there was a lot of
negative space. Minimalism is about deciding what the things are that you need the most and
eliminating everything else. Minimalism cannot be clearly defined and it means different things
for different people and I was therefore concerned for those who would not be able to
distinguish between mere laziness and a conscious design effort. Typically, while some minimal
products are blank pages with text, others opt to bring life to the space with a vivid photo
related to the service or product which is something that I decided to pursue as it meant that I
could have as much creative freedom as I liked and could therefore manipulate photography to
my own style. I found that it wasn’t only those with a keen eye for design who could embrace
the style of my billboard, rather a mass audience, those with different regional identities, ages,
genders and classes. The simplicity of my product meant that more people could openly
interpret the message of my brand; whilst some commented on how I preserved this sense of
community through my imagery (the fragmentation of the globe suggested how it is the
smaller interactions that determine that final finish), some commented on how I clearly set to
bring people together. My use of typography, my use of spacing, height and width was
complimentary and people could empathise with my efforts to make it a clean space,
contemporary yet warm to ensure that my components rested harmoniously on the poster. I
have always found it relatively difficult to have that balance when it comes to creating a
product that is of an industry standard. When designing a media text my go to aesthetic will be
sophisticated, a well planned- out colour scheme with a strong use of lines to structure my
form. My audience feedback has however encouraged me to take a step away my comfort
zone as the conversation surrounding my billboard was largely positive. This stripped back
advertisement was a way for me to beyond promote my newspaper, form a relationship with
my target market.

7. In conclusion, from evaluating the feedback at which I received from my audience, I
have become confident in my ability to construct a media product that will appeal to a
particular population of a certain demographic, age and gender. From giving my
audience the opportunity to critique my production, I have found not only what I fall
short of within design processes, but also what I excel at. I was able to gauge what I had
done well and what I perhaps hadn't through their reactions, using open- ended
questions encouraged them to discuss further the points that they would make which
proved to be of greater value to me. I have learned to be more interactive with the
people that I work with, so the people within these creative departments who can
advise me. In my opinion, people with unique personalities who don’t fit into a “normal”
workplace culture can excel if given the freedom to adapt their work environments to
suit their strengths and weaknesses. And, perhaps the greatest strength of independent
workers is their ability to cast off “group think” and present unique solutions. My final
drafts were however critiqued from appearing undeveloped, something that could have
only been achieved by understanding my peers’ individual strengths, weaknesses, and
personality types, where I can create optimal environments for worker satisfaction,
productivity, efficiency, and innovation. Although my products were all well planned for
and a lot of time was spent on researching existing media texts and the codes and
conventions, when working independently, people must embrace an interesting trade-
off. People who like to be alone enjoy a free-flowing work style that requires a higher
amount of motivation, discipline, and self-awareness. No one is working alongside them
(or looking over their shoulder) to make sure they’re on task– and on the right task; this
was something that had stunted how people would interpret my product. At the same
time however, the mark scheme wanted my product to be exclusive to me which is
something that I invested a lot of time in ensuring.