This project is about learning the 7 creative strategies that help in designing and expressing meaningful ideas using key elements and strategies that make a good design. The seven strategies are: Combination, Juxtaposition, Isolation, Metaphor/Simile, Changing in Context or Environment, Similar Physical Shape, and Change in Material, Swap or Focus. To complete this project, I was to choose one everyday object that is easy to recognize and understand with a specific and useful purpose, then use these 7 creative strategies to produce high-quality images that could be used in a professional advertisement using Photoshop. I began by selecting a flashlight to see if I could employ these 7 different creative strategies or techniques in my poster designs.

1. Combination: This strategy is about bringing together two different or unrelated things to create a new object that still makes some sort of sense to the viewer. 
2. Juxtaposition: This strategy is more about showing contrast between two objects or ideas that catches the viewer’s attention. By placing two or more objects or concepts together you show the differences between two things rather than their similarities.
3. Isolation: This strategy focuses the viewer on one isolated object or element in a composition by separating it visually from its surroundings or other objects. This could be done by placement, size, or by color, making one object standing out differently from the others.
4. Metaphor or Simile: This strategy is focused on a message or meaning the composition portrays of the image, or design created with your object as it relates to something else.
5. Change of Context or Environment: This strategy takes objects and contrasts them with unnatural or uncommon environments to highlight a concept or communicate an idea or message.
6. Physical/Shape Similarity: This strategy uses physical similarities to highlight connections between objects that normally don’t connect or go together. For example, taking two different objects that are the same shape, but have different purposes or functions.
7. Material Change, Swap, or Focus: This strategy swaps a material object that we are accustomed to with a different material or focus that we may not be accustomed to in that setting.

Below I showcased each of my designed posters and explained why they are successful:

This juxtaposition strategy composition was successful because it shows obvious contrast between a city scape and a flashlight that is normally small enough to fit in someone’s hand, but in this composition, it is in the size of a skyscraper. It shows significant contrast between city buildings and a flashlight.

The isolation strategy for this composition was successful because the flashlights are lined up in unity, but the direction of the middle flashlight, it’s color, and light turned on makes it isolated from all the other flashlights. This reason helps the isolated flashlight to stand out from the rest.

This metaphor or simile strategy was successful because the metaphor used is, “A beacon of hope”. The image shows the flashlight as a beacon with rays representing hope the way a lighthouse represents hope for sailors at sea looking for home.

The change of context or environment strategy was successful because people in burning buildings look for light to follow so they can find their way out. Firefighters use firehoses to help rescue those from burning buildings, but since people who are surrounded by smoke tend to look for the light to go to, this firefighter is shining a light to find them and lead them instead of spraying water. It changes the context from putting out fire with water, to shining a light for victims to follow and find their way to safety.

The physical shape similarity strategy was successful because it highlights the connection of a flashlight and microphone that doesn't normally go together. The flashlight was the same shape of a microphone, but has a different purpose. I wanted to make sure the viewer can see the idea of singing into a microphone, but I used a flashlight shining towards her mouth to highlight her singing brighter instead of holding a microphone. Singers are in the spotlight and often told to sing not just louder, but brighter so they don't sound so tired or lazy when they sing. This offered an interesting concept.

The material change, swap, or focus strategy was successful because I didn’t just change the material of the flashlight to sand, I added the light beam on top so the sand castle flashlight was lighting the sky for the kids to play a little longer. Instead of flashlight, it’s a sandlight. This changed the material and focus that normally does not go with the setting of a sandcastle on the beach.

I hope you enjoyed going through my 7 Creative Strategies poster designs. This project was a fun way to explore different ideas and ways to use these strategies. I look forward to designing more projects in the future.