1

Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 CONTENTS 3 Introduction

5 Sample of work from 1980s and present

8 Evolution of print

9 DIVYA BHUDDEV

15 MARK MWAI

17 Rishi Aggarwal

20 OWN SURVEY

22 CONCLUSION

23 BIBLIOGRAPHY

2 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 USE OF PRINT MEDIA
FOR ADVERTISING
A Look At The Kenyan Context
F
or my personal study,
I wanted to choose a
topic centralized around
graphic design, I chose
graphics because it
is an area that really
grasps my attention. I hope to
pursue a graphic communication
course in university. Ive always
had a liking for lettering and
magazines, when I was younger,
I pondered on how attractive and
eye catching lettering and freshly
printed images on a magazine
looked with their glossy finishes. I
would flip through any magazines
and newspapers I could come
across just to see all the different
lettering styles and typefaces
they used. This widened my liking
for everything and anything
graphic design based. Since I live
in Kenya I have decided to dive
deeper into Kenyas graphics
world specifically print media for
advertising. I intend to investigate
how the world of print media
has evolved over time, since
the modern and contemporary
periods of art (1900s) to the
present day, looking closely at
magazines, newspapers and
billboards to see how its been
adapted in the present day here
in Kenya, including exploration on
various inspirations for different
print medias and the impact it
has on the consumers (audiences)
and I fill find this through artist
interviews.
3 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context
introduction
Thirdly I intend to examine
different print adverts I have
found here in Kenya. As well as
critiquing existing designs, to
extend my intentions I would
like to have an extensive look
at print media advertising at an
international level. and I hope
to find these via magazines,
newspapers and also online. To
achieve all these intentions for
my personal study I would like to
gather sources to lead me in the
right direction from traditional
scripts, photographs taken by
myself of print adverts around
Nairobi that showcase different
styles, layouts and techniques
and lastly a visit to a graphic
design firm here in Nairobi such
as Creative Y and R, from this
visit Id like to have a chance
to meet and interview Divya
Bhuddev a print designer. Two
other designers I hope to gather
valuable information about the
print industry and their works are
print designers Mark Mwai and
Rishi Aggarwal.
 blank page

4 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 SAMPLES
SUCCESSFUL PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS (INTERNATIONAL)
1
This print ad was created by Saatchi
and Saatchi, this is the St. Basils
church in Moscow. This ad was
created to promote the schusev state
museum of architecture, this was a
successful print ad because you can
clearly see the attention to detail
of the church and it fits an ad for
architecture. What really makes this
interesting is how the bottom of the
church is submerged with the words
discover the full story, this makes
the viewer of this ad wonder about
the mysteries. The colors used here
are dark tones of gray and green to
emphasize the element of mystery.
Over the years all
around the world there
have been various
print campaigns that
where very popular and
successful I have picked
some international ones
to explain why.
5 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context
2
Last year penguin audio books
released a this brilliant print
4
campaign ad to promote audio
As the new avengers movie came out
books. What I think is so effective
this was a very cleverly thought of print
about this is the composition of this
ad for a band aid. Since the green hand
piece, Shakespeare has been placed
depicted in the ad is of a superhero
in a headphone position acting as
called hulk he has super strength so
headphones and whispering to the
this showcases the durability of the
readers. This print ad was designed
band aid. I like the simplicity of this
by McCann world group India. ad as there is no words, the image
stands out by itself and the viewer can
immediately get the message of the
ad.
This ad was created by Panasonic
3
about a 3D TV. What I find really
clever about this add is how
detailed it is and the emphasis on
5
the dinosaur, it shows a women
Here is a print advert from a magazine
watching the 3D dinosaur and
for GRIPEX, this clever advert was
showing technology and its fullest
designed by Ogilvy and Mather. What
potential. Paying close attention to
the dinosaur the perfect details to
is eye catching about this design is
the clever imagery of the cat on the
shadows and highlights really brings
nose for this allergy ad. Simple and
the dinosaur to life. Since the women
in the ad is pointing to the TV she
effective contrasting colors here make
wants the dinosaur to get back into the design really attractive.
the TV again depicting the vividness
of the 3D which the company is
trying to advertise.
A LOOK AT A 1980S
BILLBOARD IN NAIROBI

This is an example of right of the bat you can tell this is an old
fashioned billboard as it has properties
what most billboards
of an old layouts. at the bottom of the
looked like in the 1900s large image you can see small printed
before a more modern information which is hard to read and
style of billboards since this is an old billboard you can see
that modern billboards today have big ,
emerged, for example bold and straight to the point lettering
the ones we see today. rather than bulks of information.
Another aspect i realised is the
large image that heads the
billboard is hard to interpret at first
glance. the billboard is advertising
OMO a washing liquid and the
image shows a dull shirt compared
to a dirty one. it is hard to make
that out unless you really spend
tim elooking at the billboard

6 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 Here are some old local
dverts I found on a blog

From the 1900s onwards to present day

A LOOK AT LOCAL PRINT ADVERTS

that showcases thousands
of archives of old print
adverts. At first glance
you can tell these were
produced back in the day as
new and improved layouts,
typefaces and color schemes
are used in todays printed
advertisments. On the fourth
thumbanail titled everyday
, you can see alignment was
used dating back to the
1900s. centre allignment was
used accompanied by a eye
catching image which makes
the print advert all the more
understandable and straight
to the point.

This is an example of a photo

I took on the highway of a
billboard. This billboard is
advertising aprint shop. The
designer has used different
variations of typography as
well as bright and brilliant
colors to draw the viewers
attention. TAZAMA in swahili
means to look and this
amplifies the attention it
draws by the audience. The
size of font on this print
advert is very dominant
to attract viewers at first
glance.

7 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

These are some more photos I took while driving around Nairobi. These are some of the common billboards we see day to
day in Nairobi. A new style of billboards that has emerged in Kenyais this double billboard (previous page) which displays
the famous Johnnie Walker logo accomponied by the drink itself on the bottom, hald. This is extremley attractive to the
eye as
10
A LOOK AT THE

EVOLUTION OF PRINT
Print media is one of the oldest forms of mass communication. It has the impact on the minds of the readers, with more in depth reporting and analysis. Here I
have created a pictoral time line to showcase the ever changing world of print media

Johannes Gutenburg work on the printing

One of the earliest forms of proper printing Intaglio is a family of printmaking techniques
Manuscripts- are written documents by press began in 1436. the printing press was
came from china dating back to 220 AD and in which the image is incised into a surface,
hand, before print arrived in forms of book faster and more durable than woodblock
Egypt in the fourth centaury. known as the matrix or plate. Normally,copper
printing.
there were manuscripts. or zinc plates are used as a surface

Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

Cave paintings that refer to prehistoric
times dating back almost 40,000 years
The invention of paper in china. Paper was
invented in china in the early 2nd centaury by
the han dynasty
Again originated in china block printing Printing methods based on gutenburgs
became a popular method of printing designs printing press spread rapidly throughout
and words. Later adopted throughout asia Europe. Thus adopted a more mechanical
printing press the : flat bed press.
 DIVYA Bhuddev

Here is an example of work from the first artist I interviewed. the color scheme she has chosen here is
symbolic of African culture with the deep tones of mahoganies and light orchre shades. The shape the
nuts and coffee beans form is the continent of Africa, as this is a print advertisment of out of africa
nuts. The use of the coffee beans in this image enhances Kenyan heritage. And the proximity of this
advert amplifies the dominance of the image made from the nuts.

11 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

DIVYA Bhuddev
T
he first artist I decided to
interview was Divya Bhuddev
from a graphic advertising
company here in Kenya called
Creative Y & R. Creative Y & R is
an international company and has
branches in London, New Zealand and
even Memphis. Divya specializes in
print media for advertising. Therefore,
her passion and work fitted well
with my personal study. Divya began
studying illustration but later realized
Interview
WITH DIVYA BHUDDEV
W
hen interviewing Divya
Bhuddev I wanted
to ask her questions
that showcased the
extensive print media industry here
in Kenya. Since that was a focal point
of my personal study. On the topic
of popular forms of print media
Divya mentioned that as everyone
knows Kenya is not the most advance
place in the world in terms of the
graphics world therefore she said
print media designers tend to lean
more on the traditional side of big
billboards, newspaper and magazine
advertising, however Divyas opinion
states that the most popular in the
ranks of print media are Billboards
in Nairobi they seem to draw a lot of
attention since they are big and bold.
As well as asking Divya about the
present print world I wanted to get
her opinion on the evolution of print,
I asked if she thought advertising,
graphics and print media has evolved
from the periods from the early
1900s? (periods such as modern
and contemporary art) Divya felt
as from the early 1900s art styles
in print design have become rather
contemporary visually when you look
at print media. She also mentioned
that Graphics and the world of
art have defiantly changed the big
12 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context
her true passion lay within print
media. I interviewed her getting her
view on print media and also asked
some questions about her own
work. I also got some images of her
work which I analyzed below. Divyas
work has been featured in Kenyan
magazines and newspapers and is
a renowned figure for print media in
her firm. As I visited Divya in creative
Y & R her workspace seemed to be
inspiringly unique compared to other
difference is the leap from traditional
drawing and painting to modern day
digitalized art and print media that
has evolved. As well as asking Divya
about the world of print media for
advertising and the evolution of print
I wanted to dive a little deeper and
ask her about her work, clientele,
inspiration and important factors to
remember when creating print media
advertisments. I asked Divya about
aesthetics of Kenyan clientele and she
felt since we live In the continent of
Africa, she has had many clients
who lean towards the sides of heritage
and their surroundings, for example
Divya did print media designs for
Airtel Kenya which is a mobile
courier company here in Kenya and
also ICEA lion insurance and since
this is Nairobi,
To explore aspects of Divyas expertise
in print media advertising I was
interested in what she had to say
when it came to important factors
to remember when creating adverts.
Divya responded that when it comes
to a good advert use clear words,
short catch phrases that are easy to
understand and read, a lot of writing
can put the audience down. She also
mentioned to remember that its
quality over quantity and you dont
want any work to be overcrowded
designers in her firm. She had a long
washing line above her desk carrying
almost hundreds of photos which she
had taken of her surroundings and the
beautiful sites around Nairobi, Kenya.
she said they gave her endless ideas
and inspiration from, and I found
that incredible as she is one of the
few artists I have met who harbor
inspiration from their own phots and
surroundings
and confusing, she also stated
as a designer want to look out for
preposition and factors like images,
are the images appropriate?. To
conclude the interview with Divya
Bhuddev made me realize some
of the most authentic and good
looking pieces of work come from
when an artist has a good source
of inspiration, in this instance
Divya gets her inspiration from her
surroundings and I think that boosts
the quality of work as you end up
creating something so unique and
eye- catching to the audience.
Clientele had asked for posters and
advertisements with elements of
wildlife and vibrant colors that we
have here in Kenya, and thats a very
popular aesthetic. I was extremely
interested in Divyas inspiration to
create her work since it was so diverse
and unique, she revealed that some of
her biggest inspirations came from
those many photos she hung above
her workspace that she took herself of
her surroundings since most of her
works have nature as a key element
included, as well as using some of
her favorite old existing adverts and
desired color schemes.
 Analysing Divyas work
Font
Divya has used
a Combat font which
goes well with the theme
therefore conveying the
message clearly
Balance
Divya uses symentrical
balance in this
advertisement. This
emphasis a straight
forward thought and adds
stability
T
his was a print campaign
on helping elephants
against poachers (2016)
titled FIGHT BACK. In Kenya
elephant poaching poaching
has become a pressing issue
and Kenyans all over are starting
organizations and raising money
to save the elephants. Divya
likes creating work revolved
around Kenya, so here you
can see divya combined an
13 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context
elephants head with bullets as
tusks to create a strong message
and this really intrigues me as
it a creative move. Regarding
the typography I like the simple
lettering as it draws more
attention the main message
and picture of the elephant.
Stencils used to emphasise a
the message of combat. I think
the use of color represents a
melancholy atmosphere are
1
Contrast with colour
The colors are a monochrome
of greys and the bullets are
a metallic gold to draw all
attention to this area
space
The vast wide
background acts to
draw the viewer to the
focal point.
the colors are a monochrome
of greys and the bullets are
a metallic gold to draw all
attention to this area, I think that
is a smart choice as it is one of
the first things you notice in the
piece which adds to the deep
meaning of this poster. This
poster was issued a full page in
the daily nation last year.
 2

Maasai jewellery here

suppots Divyas claim that she
loves using cultural influences in
her work.
Here in the foreground an all black
silhoutte showcasing Nairobis famous
Kenyas flag is used in skyline is shown. Again this enhances the
the background to represent sense of Patriotism that is used in this
patriotism as the event this advert.
advert is advertising is sharing
the love of Kenya

A
lthough this was some of Divyas first official print advertisements I think she did a great job. This
piece really reflects the fact that she said hse uses her surroundings as inspiration. In this piece
you can see the Kenyan flag, Nairobis skyline and some maasai jewelry which all reflect kenyas
heritage.
And by including all the cultural elements it makes it more appealing to Kenyan consumers. I think her
personal touch to work is incorporating Kenyan colors and elements to make her work really stand
out. This piece was presented in magazines and newspapers such as kenya buzz and the daily nation
advertsing the MSK gala in (2014). Overall I feel this piece is representing the cause of the MSK gala very
well as the piece as a whole comes of very patriotic.

14 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 MARK MWAI
His work represents the night life in kenya and all his pieces are consistent....
Mark mwai is a 27 year old creative designer who specializes in web design, animation and most importantly print design
for advertsing. Mark started creating vibrant posters in 2010 and started working for waimark in 2011. Mark mwai works
for the graphic design firm waimark here in Nairobi. Mark has some extraordinary work and has a range of beautiful
eye-catching posters which are seen all over Nairobi on lampposts, outside shop windows and even on bulletin boards
at malls. They advertise events at local bars. His work represents the night life in kenya and all his pieces are consistent,
if you walk around Nairobi and see a nightlife poster with the bold fonts and brilliant colors you can tell the poster was
done by mark mwai

These are some

examples of the kind of
Print posters Mark Mwai creates.
They mostly are used for event
promotions and are also printed in local
magazines around Kenya. Mark mwai
has an authentic style of mixing diffrent
typography and colors to create these
attractive print adverts.

15 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

Analysing MWAISWORK
A bold font is used here
to emphasise the date of this
cocktail party, which is an important
factor when it comes to advertising
things like events. a washed yellow
background is used to back up the date to
differentiate it from the blue background
and make it stand out.

Blues, yellows and oranges

are complimentary colors
so choosing a yellow on a blue
background is flattering as it works good
with blues.

composition is well balanced. She has

applied assymtrical balance and greate
value contrasts

Bold logos are used to

advertise the sponsering partners
and Mwai made these stand out
as the diffrent colors immediatly draw
attntion.

16 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 Rishi Aggarwal
Rishis work as it has elements of minimalism which I enjoy
R
ishi Aggarwal specializes in
print media for advertising,
he has worked for many
local and international
companies here in Nairobi,
Kenya such as MTS Mbonus, Lanco
Corporate and HP Wireless internet.
Rishi was Born In Pakistan but
moved to Kenya with his parents
when he was three years old. He has
always had a liking and a passion
17 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context
for art he said that I was created
to create and after viewing his
work I think he is not wrong about
that statement. I like Rishis work
as it has elements of minimalism
which I enjoy and although his
pieces dont have a lot of written
communication the images speak
louder than the words and you dont
need a lot of explanation as his
choice of image says it all. His style
reflects so positively on the print
advertising world as his approach
is different from the other artists I
have interviewed. Rishis work has
been showcased in the town center
here in Nairobi on billboards and LED
screens along the roads as well as
his posters in local newspapers and
magazines.
Interview
with Rishi Aggarwal
R
ishi said that if he gets to
create pieces without the
clients input his mind runs
wild on ideas, if Rishi
gets projects to do without
briefs from clientele he mentioned he
loves to source his inspiration from
life experiences and he loves turning
real experiences and individual
creativity into artwork that can be
showcased in my print adverts.
Since Rishi creates work that fit into
four categories of print which are :
newspapers, magazines, posters and
billboards he likes to be very creative
with his pieces so that they can be
used in each category of print, and
since he creates for various forms
of print advertising he is often put
under pressure as more his work
is showcased that means there is
a wider audience viewing his work
therefore he settles for nothing less
than perfection.
 Value
Rishi used value in the
background
to enable the view to interpret
the advert from the dominant
object to the corporate
identity thats less emphasied
at thebottom of the print

Emphasis
Rishi has put more emphasis on
the illustration to evoke reactions.
Perhaps to get the audience
thinking/ imagine about the
item on sale.

USE OF LINE
Rishi uses line mostly diagonal
and implied , that appearto 3
point perspectives. This allows us
to percieve the the object from
the background. this activates the
compositional space.

18 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 Here Rishi created these
beautiful print adverts for
Lanco. As you can see he has
used monochromatic shades of grey
with big bold red lettering to createa
subtelfeel about the company. At first
glance you can tell what company is
being advertised because of the
font and the diffrent contrast
of red and grey.

19 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 T
o collect results on
the impact print has
on audiences I asked
15 people who are of
various ages. Some
of them were students and
some of them were teachers,
just to get a wider context and
make the results generalizable.
A SURVEY CARRIED OUT IN SCHOOL
for advertising. The reason
I emphasized some of my
questions on newspapers and
magazines is because majority
of printed adverts can be seen
there. From analyzing these
results, I came to a conclusion
that todays youth, as well as
people who have the ability
media sources have stuck to
just that, and thats why below
you can see that some of the
quantitative data is mostly in
the positive percentile of YES
for the questions asking about
magazines and newspapers
and whether or not print will
survive in the next few years.

Although I only gave the to access technology rely

questionnaire to people from
my school I tried to vary the
sample so that people who
take and teach art could
answer as well as people
who have little knowledge
on the world of print media
more on online sources for
information than people who
unfortunately do not have
that luxury. I also discovered
that people who are older and
are more used to print get all
their information from print

20 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 Sample questionaire
Here is a sample of the questionaire i created to gather data on
the extensive world of print media.

1) Do you think print media will survive in the next few years ?

2) What do you think is the most important form of print media ?

3) Do you read newspapers or magazines?

4) Do you use your phone or the newspaper to recieve daily news ?

5) Do your friends or family members still get information from

print ?

6) How do you think print media impacts you ?

21 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 O
Conclusion verall I have learnt that the extensive world of print media for
advertising plays a major role in everyday lives of Kenyans. It
was not till I went out of my way and started to investigate print
in depth that I realized the major impact it had on us, as the
audience. Everywhere you look print media is present in the shape
of billboards for advertising products, as well as newspapers and magazines to
receive daily doses of information. In my opinion from my research and artist
interviews I feel print media for advertising plays such a principal role here in
kenya, because it has not yet fully developed into a first world country yet.
There are people everywhere you look next to street vendors selling the daily
newspaper which sells out in minutes because we as a country are not fully
dependent on online sources and not everyone in kenya can accses online
information because of the social class divide, and unfortunately the poverty
gap. But I am not ruling out social media as a means for getting information
as from my questionnaire on print many people did say social media and
online sites are the main way they receive news and that makes almost half of
kenyas population dependent on print media for advertising. However I feel on
a international scale most information is received and viewed via the internet
as it is a faster and more simplified way of accessing tomes of articles, adverts
and news from around the world as many people in first world countries
in our day and age have access to the internet. Another piece of valuable
information I have learnt from this study is the way print media has evolved
and modernized throughout the years, it is amazing to see that our very first
version of print dated back to prehisotic times. Today mammoth machines
create thousands of freshly printed pages for us daily to get information
from. This also serves as evidence of how print media has been adapted in
different movements such as the contemporary periods of art as it was during
the 1900s- 1940s where print started to take a turn and started to embrace
more latter-day styles, typefaces and color schemes which fit into our ever
changing world. Although many say print is slowly dying and being replaced
by technology the use of print media for advertising is a thriving industry here
in Kenya and still delivers news and information to almost 65 % of Kenyas
population today

22 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context

 Bibliography
1. The death of print Kimmo by Lunden-2008

2. The case of print media advertising- Adam dewitz

3. Graphic design for the 21st century- malestrom

4. iNTERNET SOURCES AND PLATES

https://kenyapostcardsandkenyaphotos.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/
batch-c-of-25-old-school-images-of-kenyan-advertisements-or-kenyan-
magazines-including-guest-appearance-ads-click-on-images-to-enlarge/
https://www.behance.net/markmwai
https://www.behance.net/gallery/6648931/Lanco-Corporate-Campaign
http://slideplayer.com/slide/1585014/
WWW.print power.com
www.creativeblog.com

23 Use Of Print Media For Advertising; A Look At The Kenyan Context