Hip Entertainment

It is the way in which a product is marketed that influences one’s decision to purchase a certain car or select one brand of furniture over the other. Similarly, entertainment design is carefully developed by companies in order to attract their target customers in the most effective way possible. While it may seem redundant, these designs are, in fact, ever-changing, as companies are forced to adapt to the short attention span of our society. While I investigate entertainment design within the context of advertisements in Times Square, promotional music videos, and CD artwork, and discuss the history and current trends of each, I find that I am most intrigued by the various companies’ continued ability to implement new means of entertainment design.

Times Square in Manhattan is much more than an intersection. Television screens soar above department stores, flashing advertisements, as companies compete for the attention of pedestrians below hoping their minds will retain the logos and images displayed. Literally compacted into a square of streets, Times Square embodies a sea of neon, a surreal atmosphere of consumerism, and a hip display of entertainment.

Music videos can consist of a variety of themes and upon their launch in 1981 the world of advertising and consumerism took a dynamic shift. However, since MTV and VH1 no longer play any music videos, most people are forced to watch videos online at sites such as Yahoo!. It therefore becomes necessary to design the video properly in order to effectively promote an album. The hipness of music videos is debatable, as some artists would prefer their listeners to draw upon their own thoughts instead of visualizing the promo video when hearing the song.

CD artwork can consist of a much larger range of themes that tend to vary by decade. While usually hip for their innovative design, some of the most memorable album designs are hip for their simplicity. Much like music videos, one could argue that the artwork is hip for what one interprets from the images.