LightDark Creative
Solving design problems for businesses of all sizes
657fcb17298001.562b834ab64bd.png

Let's Face It: Degree Project

Research Design, student work, User Experience

I believe that in design, particularly advertising, there is an awareness and exploitation of these defined stereotypes which forces us, the viewers, to take these archetypes of women as truths and absolute depths and limits to their characters. The historical prevalence of archetypes of women is a theme that has been played off of in all forms of literature, film, and modern media. Stemming from classic literature, where women were most simply defined by the mother, the mistress, and the maiden, female characters have been developed to adhere to perimeters defining their appearance, persona, personality, and value. I think potential to find clarity and reason in this topic is valuable to the design community because I think it will help us understand why we communicate to and about women in ways that reference an archetype. This knowledge will help us as designers to find alternative ways of portraying women in advertising, as well as understand what the most effective way to appeal to the target’s deepest understanding of gender.