We went on a short trip to amsterdam, and stayed in, probably the worst hotel in Europe. (that anchor text is adding to their advertising, trust me!) It wasn’t an exaggeration to suggest that our room resembled a prison in every way, except for the bars. However, the budget hotel embraced it’s flaws instead of trying to cover them up – using humour in their advertisments, they successfuly turned what should have been the worst aspect of any hotel, into its biggest selling points.
Using humor in your designs can be extraordinarily effective when it is used correctly. simply put, people like funny things. They relax and pay attention when they know you have a sense of humor. It puts them in a good mood, and it creates a more comfortable atmosphere. It makes you easy to approach, and easy to remember and this definently worked in he case of The Hansbrinker. Humor does tend to work best with established and commonly purchased products. Humor in print design works well for business services, familiar items, and products we all know. Corporate image and industrial firms are serious businesses. Unknown, risky, expensive, or sensitive products are not normally suited to incorporating humor, because quite simply there is noting funny to add. Remember to suit your humor to your demographic and audience. If your customers don’t get the joke, then the joke will be on you!
Although you may be incorporating humor, it also still needs to get the message across. We have all seen funny ads we liked so much that we forgot what was being sold! The humor must relate directly to your clients business/product if you want it to be remembered by the viewer.
Have you guys got any examples of humour in design?
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