Photoshop Blog #3

What is it? Discuss the idea, and does it work.

This is part of an ad series for Curtis Tea, which used different fruits in the shape of tea cups to represent the flavors of tea they sell. I think it is an effective ad because it is aesthetically pleasing, but it also conveys the direct message that the tea is fresh, natural, and flavorful.

What program do you think was used to create it?

I think Photoshop was used to create this ad because this image is obviously not real, but looks as if it is. They must have started with an image of an orange, which they then cut the top off of and re-positioned it to look like the top of a tea kettle. Then, they took images of the the spout and the handle of a tea kettle, loaded the selection, and masked in the texture of an orange. They also found an image of an orange slice and placed it directly in between the kettle and the lid, to make it appear as if the orange was cut open. They had to carefully place shadows within each part of the kettle, and drop shadows on the outside of them in order to make it look like the light source was coming from the same place. They probably did some blending in the “select and mask” window to make the edges of each object flow together naturally. They created the smoke with the “render” > “clouds” effect, and edited is to give the feel that it was rising upward. Finally, they reflected the image and lowered the opacity to create the reflection on the bottom.

What design elements do you see?

• Unity: The image is basically all orange, which I wouldn’t usually choose to do, but in this case it creates a strong sense of identification with the overall message. It emphasizes the fruit and creates an aesthetic that resonates with the viewer.
• Emphasis: Since this ad is so simple and there is only one focal point, it creates a large emphasis on the orange that doubles as the kettle, which is the overall message. There is so much precision in this design, which makes the simplistic quality more meaningful.