NCJ Number
80613
Date Published
Unknown
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The history and use of wall calendars is reviewed, and they are recommended as an advertising medium for police recruitment in this West German article.
Abstract
Photo calendars are deemed to have much more than a functional role in our society -- they have aesthetic appeal and significance as a communications medium. Calendars with photographic illustrations date from the very beginnings of photography, some 140 years ago. Since then, they have been used to spread religious, historical, political, ecological, and numerous other ideologies. Calendar advertising has several advantages over newspaper advertising in that a single page is exposed for an entire month and it can be displayed privately or in settings where entire groups can respond. The essential design elements of a calendar are the picture, the caption, and the connection between them, whereby the visual message carries the greatest impact. It is important that the monthly sequence of images possess unity. For recruiting purposes, a calendar can spark the initial idea of a police career choice while illustrating the work and subtly indicating the personality characteristics required. Above all, a calendar can help mold a positive image of the police officer. This presentation is made by a photodesigner whose 1977 police calendar received an award in an international calendar competition.