Aesthetics of billboards in Accra cityscape

Abstract

Billboards as an effective outdoor communication channel that promote products and services also add value to their immediate surrounding. Limited were the studies on the aesthetics of billboards. The main aim of this study is to project the aesthetic qualities of billboards at prominent places in Accra. Precisely the study sought to: identify and describe billboards sited in Accra; examine the aesthetic qualities of billboards in Accra; analyse the identified cultural elements of billboards in Accra; and evaluate the contents on billboards in Accra to ascertain their impact on the communication. The descriptive research design under qualitative research approach was used for this study. Observation and interview were the pivotal research instruments used for the study. A total of twentyseven billboards and forty-five respondents were sampled from road users, advertising agencies, marketing agents, graphic artists, and an officer from the Assembly to establish the population for the research. The purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to select billboards and individuals for the study. Thematic contents analysis and visual analysis of the various aspects of the billboards with the aid of photographs and field notes grounded the analysis of the study. This technique gave the researcher the opportunity to unearth and project the aesthetic qualities of billboards at prominent places in Accra. The findings of the study show that sited billboards at prominent places in Accra come with two and three interfaces with varied advertisements that make them unavoidable irrespective of where the road user is coming from. The aesthetic qualities of the billboards are embedded in the attractiveness of the illustration, slogan, colour and the main text as well as the lighting system around them, making significant impact on the cityscape. Identifiable Ghanaian cultural elements were encoded in the illustration, the nature of these billboards and their immediate environment. The effectiveness of the billboard to communicate is determined by name of product, illustration, slogan, brand name, and trademark. The prime recommendation for this study is for the advertising agencies and the Assembly with Ghana High Way Authority to replicate the siting of billboards with three interfaces at Tetteh Quarshie Interchange in other interchanges to improve their aesthetic qualities and maximise the ability billboard communicate to a larger audience.