Graphic Design in Spain

Our most recent assignment was to set out into the city of Madrid and to spot advertisements that we found graphically interesting. For me this was a very exciting task. I consider myself a very visual person. The way I absorb and communicate information the best is through images. For this reason I am always noting the graphic design of billboards, logos, posters etc. My favorite advertisement that I saw was one of the many ads in the Metro. The poster was advertising the Italian School of Fashion and Design. I guess it is no surprise that a design school would have exceptional graphic design on their ad. The poster clearly communicates the message of the ad, which is simply to advertise the school to prospective students. The image is definitely eye catching and is the first thing I noticed. Yet the simple bold block lettering immediately draws your eyes. First of all, because the bright red of the font is the only color on the ad. Second it is strategically located on the right side of the poster. We read left to right and when we view images our eye tends to land on the right.Beneath this red font are the details of the school such as contact information and the address. The layout for this is very organized. Making easy for the viewer to quickly find and absorb the most important information. This poster simplistically communicates it's message in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

NUDITY!! OH MY!

The Spanish and the American’s have completely different attitudes towards nudity. This is clearly evident in our media and in our cultural norms. In America the nude body is taboo and dirty even. Nudity is much more accepted here and much more evident in the media. On your daily commute to the bus stop you could pass numerous pictures of nude bodies. This is completely normal in Spain! There is a nude model posing in an advertisement in the window of the pharmacy across the street from my house. While stopping to buy a magazine at the kiosk on the corner I see many magazine covers with nude women and when flipping through some of the fashion magazines I see even more high fashion nude models. I have visited two
Spanish beaches while in Spain and this further exemplified the Spaniards non nonchalant view towards nudity. In both San Sebastian and Ibiza their were of course nude women everywhere. At first I was caught off guard, having never in my life been to a nude beach, but after a while the shock wore off. There were teenagers, moms playing with their children, grandmothers all topless, and what shocked me the most was how commonplace is was to the men and teenage boys. In America if there were topless girls everywhere I would expect men to be gawking, teenage boys would be laughing with their friends, and some guys would be so uncomfortable they would avoid looking all together.I think in the American society nudity is linked primarily to sex, and the topic of sex is of course very taboo in itself. It also goes back to the old theory that women are viewed solely as sex objects. Women exposing their body would “give men ideas” or “distract” men. This very idea lies at the roots of Islamic women having to cover their entire bodies. Although the American society is not that extreme, women are expected to be modest and cover their bodies in daily life and even at the beach, more so because of how men would react. Those women on the beach seemed so liberated and it was refreshing to see how the men interacted with them as if they were fully clothed. It was a very fascinating cultural difference to experience!

A Visit to Hola Magazine

This past Wednesday I was lucky enough to visit the Hola Magazine headquarters with my Spanish Media class. There we got an insider’s look-that few ever receive-into one of Spain’s oldest and most beloved magazines. First we were given a tour around the building. It was fascinating to see the journalists working away at their desks and the walls plastered with magazine covers and story ideas. The building houses the offices of both Hola and Hello magazine (the UK version). The UK version is one of the many off shoots of Hola Magazine. Versions of the magazine are now printed in 15 countries around the world, and they are looking to soon expand into the U.S. Each version is slightly adapted to appeal to the values and norms of that country. It was very interesting to see the difference in Spain’s Hola, compared to the versions printed in Russia or even Thailand. We were then introduced to the head of advertising for the website. She was incredibly knowledgeable about all means of production and distribution of their magazine. She informed us about the rivalry between Hello Magazine and OK. They are both very popular celebrity magazines in the UK. Apparently OK magazine, which came along after Hello, chooses to publish “trashier” and more sensationalized news about celebrities. Due to a long held Hola standard, Hello only publishes stories which feature celebrities in a more positive light, and seeks to only write about the “classier” celebrities. Although OK outsells Hello, Hello earns a much higher profit because they are able to attract higher end advertisers. Advertisement we learned is what is truly sustaining print media. If you’ve got advertisers willing to pay, you’ll survive. Without them, most print media struggles to make enough profit. The visit was a fascinating look into how a Spanish company has turned into a thriving Global company, which still respects the original views and values of the founders.

TV in Modern Spain

For whatever reasons, our senora doesn’t really like us in the living room while she isn’t there. The television is located in the living room and thus I rarely sit down and watch it. Several times I have sat down with my senora to watch TV. Her favorite programs are the celebrity gossip shows and reality shows on Telecinco. They are very similar to the Prensa Rosa, based mainly on big flashy images of celebrities and the royal family. These programs are of course more popular with the women. Another channel that frequently plays in our house is Disney Channel, that is because all day my Senora babysits her grandson. From what I understand this is a free channel in Spain, and is not considered a cable station which you must pay extra for. All of the shows and cartoons that I have watched with her grandson are dubbed in Spanish. I was interested to learn earlier this semester that the top 5 most watched TV moments in Spain’s history were all Sports related, and more specifically all Soccer related! I guess considering how deeply rooted this sport is in the Spanish culture, that is not too big of a surprise! We learned that in 1995, 70% of all TV viewers watched just two channels, TVE1 and La2. Fifteen years later the selection has greatly diversified . However, the most popular channel is still TVE1. According to a survey by El Mundo in 2009, 17% of viewers chose this station over any others. I believe the reason that this channel is the most popular is because of two reasons. One, there are no commercials. Two, it is a channel funded by public financing. In other words people watch this channel because they know their tax dollars are funding it. Although the Spanish Television options have diversified in the past 5 years, I still prefer how we have so many more options in the US. I think that in the U.S there is an option for every viewer, and there are many more channels for specific niche audiences. I believe that Spain is “behind” us in this sense because of the strict regulations imposed on the media during the Franco regime.

Radio for a More Cultured Youth

I have never really been a big radio listener. I suppose because for the past several years at college I have not had my car and no one actually owns a radio for home listening any more. These days everyone pretty much relies on their IPod or the internet for streaming music or news. For this reason radio does not play an important role in my media consumption and was not something I have searched out in Spain. My senora doesn’t even own a working radio, so this presented an additional problem. In talking to the niece of my senora, I learned of a radio station called Radio 3(RTVE). She told me that she enjoys using the website because they have live streaming radio, podcasts, interviews and it’s overall a great place to find new music. I decided to check out the website. I loved the design layout of it. It was very easy to navigate and visually pleasing. At the top of the home page you can pick from various genres of music: Rock/Pop, World Music, Jazz/Blues, Hip Hop/Funk etc. Once you click on any of these you are directed to a page which provides you streaming music, podcasts and articles specific to that genre. I enjoyed listening to Flamenco Reggae on the World Music section, learning about Theopholius Monk in the Jazz section and was surprised by how much I liked the Spanish rap station. There is also a Culture and Life section of the website. Here there were listings of programs on the radio station that allow callers to phone in and debate various cultural topics. Also offered on the Culture and Life Page were blogs on various topics. I loved this website! It almost had a feel of the NPR website(National Public Radio in the U.S), but more focused on music and geared towards young adults. The goal is clearly to provide young adults with a worldly view on music and culture. I have returned several times to check out new articles and artists.

Spanish Magazines

On my daily commute to school I pass numerous Kiosks. It is at these Kiosks that most Spaniards buy their magazines. I have learned that the majority of Spaniards are pick up readers, meaning that they pick up magazines from time to time rather than subscribe to one in particular. I think that this is increasingly the case in the U.S as well. Several times over the past few weeks I have picked up magazines from these Kiosks. First was “Madrid-Deluxe”, which I studied for the in class presentation. The magazine was geared towards the elite of Madrid and wealthy tourists. The magazine seemed fairly similar to any “City Mag” that you would find in a metropolitan American city advertising the finest that that city has to offer. Although I enjoyed reading the magazine with its glossy pages and interesting feature stories on Madrid hot-spots; I was definitely not the audience the magazine was trying to reach. Not only was it not geared towards me I don’t think it was geared toward your average Madrileno either. I also picked up Elle. I was shocked to see how much thicker the magazine was than the American version. I also received a free tube of lipstick. Many of the other magazines at the kiosk also gave readers free gifts. According to my Spanish friend, during the summer the free gifts are even bigger; sometimes a bikini or a pair of flip flops. Of course these are purely promotional, and I soon learned that the thickness of the magazine was also due to promotional samples of products and many more advertisements. The reason for this being, that the websites for these Spanish magazines are not as popular as the English versions; thus, the majority of the advertising is done in the magazine, rather than divided between magazine and website. I have also read the magazine Hola, because my host “sister” often buys it at the Kiosk. Hola is one of the most popular weekly magazines in Madrid. It is a great example of what many Spaniards call, “Prensa Rosa” (Pink Press) or Prensa del Corazon” (Press of the Heart). These magazines are essentially gossip magazines and are much more popular with women. They are fairly similar to American gossip magazines that contain little text and mainly focus on the images and gossip of celebrities. Much of the magazine Hola focuses on the Spanish Royal family, European royalty, and international entertainment stars. Since the most popular magazines in Spain are all gossip magazines, I can assume that Spanish readers prefer light escapist reading when they pick up a magazine.

General Strike

About two weeks ago I experienced my first general strike. I have never witnessed anything of this sort in the United States. Personally the only effect that the strike had on me was the “minimum service” busses that caused me to be 30 minutes late to my morning class. Being a student studying abroad I had no clue what were the motives behind the strike, and I was very curious to find out. In my research I learned that the main labor organizations in Spain organized the general strike in opposition to the austerity measures and anti-labor reforms implemented this year by President José Zapatero. Some of the main measures include a 5 percent reduction in civil service pay, cuts in pensions, an increase in the retirement age, removal of a paid leave for new parents, and most recently a measure that makes it easier for companies to hire and fire. I learned that the unemployment rate in Spain is currently 1 in 5, so it is easy to understand why Spain’s workers are so upset. According to a poll prior to the strike in El Pais, only 9% of Spanish workers supported the strike. This low rate was shocking to me! According to the newspaper, this low support rate was due to the fact that as time passes more people are feeling that the reforms were inevitable measures the government had to take. The strike seems to have had no immediate effect on the government. Zapatero has stood by all of his previous measures. I find it very interesting that the very left-wing socialist party would be implementing such anti-labor measures which are seemingly leading to unemployment, lower wages and working conditions. I suppose the government did have to make budget cuts in many areas, due to the great deficit.