McDonald’s has proven to excel at a minimalistic design in this particular ad, emphasizing the importance of negative space. In this blog post, I will evaluate why the design principles in this McDonald’s ad ultimately make for a good marketing tool, because of its minimalism, and therefore the loud and clear message of the product being sold.
The entire print consists of a solid, bright red background, with just a few french fries in the shape of a wifi signal. The red negative space creates a stark contrast with the yellow fries, which is not only visually appealing, but also places a huge emphasis on the main product of the ad.
The use of color here is crucial to the ad, because the colors are so iconic to McDonald’s, they are instantly recognizable by the public. Golombisky and Hagen state that culture plays into the use of color, which is very effective in this print design in particular. In our culture, we immediately associate the colors seen in the ad with McDonald’s food.
The colors are symbolic of McDonald’s, and therefore very easily recognizable, making the ad clear and directly to the point. The clever visual also makes strong use of iconization by capitalizing on the chain’s iconic french fries in order to highlight its locations’ wifi offering.
It is also important to point out that the fries are the focal point of the ad, as there is nothing else on it. In Hagen and Golombisky’s White Space is Not Your Enemy, they describe that the focal point of print ads are always very important because it is necessary for the audience’s eyes to go directly to the key part of the ad in order for it to be most effective.
Because of the minimalistic design, the ad calls for seamless eye flow directly to the product, ultimately making the audience want to go buy products from McDonald’s, particularly their most popular food, fries.
The call to action is seen clearly in the bottom right corner. There is no question what it is- to go try out the wifi while buying food. The print’s minimalism also calls attention to the only other thing on the print, that being the golden arches of the McDonald’s M.
There is a good use of visual balance in the design, as it does not center everything, and the focal point is not necessarily directly in the middle, but rather more toward the top of the print. Golombisky and Hagen emphasize the importance of balance in print advertisements, especially because of the rule of thirds, and how the human eye naturally flows on a page.
The ad follows most if not all the basic rules of good design principles, and therefore is very effective in its marketing. In this ad, we see that less really is more, as there is so little on the page, yet it is so recognizable, that the message is loud and clear.
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