cocktail book gender

In order to ensure my design appeals to that of women I conducted some research into both male and female targeted cocktail books, from this I then began to think about components in which make the deisgn appeal to that of each demographic. 

I would suggest that as this deisgn follows that of a colour leaflet this approach would have been initially targeted at men, as common household chores such as painting are often seen to be done by the male. Although this was my intial stance of the publications structure, I then looked closely at the detailing used. The flamingo mixer iconography embedded suggests a feminine outlook at that of  the way in which cocktails are consumed, with over lavish dressing appearing to aesthetically conscious women. Although the restricted typeface would suggest large connotations to that of masculinity. From this I can suggest that this design is targeted at both male and females.

This retro approach explores soft illustrations, a factor in which my previous research suggests appeals to that of women. The design is very similar to that of the 60's housewife style, with the traditional typeface being used. Due to this I believe it is fair to suggest that this publication is targeted at women.

The soft tone of the phrases within this cocktail book suggests an obvious correlation to females, which is then embeded further by the flower patterns used. The usage of type also expresses a slanted font, a factor in which my previous research suggests is feminine. Even the glass in which the drink is presented is perceived to be more feminine, and thus I believe this design is solely targeted at women.

As within the research it suggested that illustration based pieces are targeted more at females, this was my initial thought when discovering this deisgn. The curved edges of the illustration alongside that of the slanted typeface suggest a feminine outlook, although I would suggest that as the design is clearly divided by colour as there is an obvious attempt in which to target the two genders, with the lighter colour palette appealing to women and the darker to men.

The colour palette used within this design counters out any masculine connotations, as the gradient used explores a variation of pink tones. As pink is a highly stereotypical colour association to women, I believe that this attempt is directed specifically at females.

This black approach explores the making of cocktails as a skill rather than a hobby. With films such as cocktail expressing a man who is able to develop highly concentrated cocktails and entice women, this idea explores rather the idea of making cocktails rather than drinking them, and thus appeals more directly to men.