The image below id of a frame for sale in TK-Max and is typical of many photographic frame fillers. The generic 'holiday' images used play on the idea that photo frams are used to save a treasured memory and evoke emotion in doing so. However, because there is no emotional connection between these images and the customer they seem fake and forced which of course they are. Another thing that adds to this effect is the black and white colouring of the photographs. Because we are so used to seeing black and white images that are supposed to be more evocative as a result of their high constrast that in fact we pull in the other direction; disslikeing the farcicle nature of the images we are shown.
The image below is the only completely text frame filler found. it focuses on the object its self not what it will eventualy hold by listing places in the home that the frame could be put. This is much to be preferred over the pictures above because it feels straight to the point and as if the customer is not being decived. Could this be because it focuses on the physical and tangible aspects of the object rather than any emotional value that the eventual owner might apply to it? the important information is in bold and therefore easy to see and the negative spave creates the impression of a more simple design bcause it seems like one shape rather than many.
Although the frame below is of the same brand as the one above, the style could be said to be very different. However, dispite the jump from simple to detailed, the typewriter esque font links to the old fashioned images used in the design below. This is much more to do with the brand identity than the frame its self. The etched style of the illustrations used adds a sense of craftsmenship because o the fine lines used to construct each image, this also suggests something old, established and therfore trustworthy. The use, or suggested use, of old fashioned processes means that these processes are well tested and understood and therefore more trustworthy than new fangled technology. the way the illustrations are layed out in a parallel interlinked fashion suggests acuracy and control (they have not simply been thrown down) and the fact that they are fountain pens and nibs illudes to the idea of something hand crafted (these tools are always used by hand, their precision depending on that of the user.
The next three images are all from Clas Ohlson and as such are all of the same brand, unlike those in TK-Max. They all use photographs with similar colours within each range. Once again below are the typical 'holiday' images but each with coloured backgrounds, this is to show precisely where the borders of the frame lie. The use of generic photographs, although painful, is a practicle use of the space, this way people can glean an idea of what their photos might look like in situ. This is something that I might need to work into my designs; a balance between the practicle and something groundbreaking and interesting.
Once again the photo is very nuetral in colouring, possibly this is to avoid using colours that might not work in context or jar with the colour of the frame. However, it could be said to amplify the clean cut and minimalist nature of the frame arguably helping the customers find exactly the kind of frame they want much faster. This soft purity is continued into the type at the bottom which is a clear sans serif and reflects the minimalism of the frame in its large open counters and apatures and its soft grey colouring.
The slightly more decadent frame shown below is arguably also framed to exentuate its qualities. Despite being black and white the image used does have much richer tones that the one above and its monocrome appearance makes the warm gold of the frame all the more noticable in its contrast. The sharpe edges created by the darker image mean that the texture of the metal frame and the apparently textureless white paper sit next to one another, once again making the qualities of the frame more noticale through the use of contrast. By including the brand name at the bottom of the image the frame seems slightly less minimalist than above but this convey a slight pride in the object (because the apparently want to stamp their name on it) coming together to create the idea that this frame has value, something inherently suggested by the colour of the frame anyway.
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