EX MACHINA PROJECT
INTRODUCTION: Communication theory and design
Communication theory is based on the study of principles behind how information is transferred between sender and recipient. It is a complex field of signs, visual stimuli, channels and contexts. This theory allows humans to process and analyze important events and their outcomes, all interwoven through what we call communication.
In the realm of branding and artistic design, communication theory connects the scattered creative workfield with the more academic principles of human connection, and thus, it can be a helpful tool in the constant effort to relate your work to your target audience.
All visual media, be it advertisements, packaging, logos or mascots — are messages that the creator encodes and the viewer decrypts.
Specific visual language, e.g. colors, patterns, lettering, can be used to provide important guidelines for how your product is meant to be received. What feeling is this piece of content supposed to evoke? That depends on the context of the environment it is being presented and received in, and the personal background of each onlooker.
EX MACHINA visual elements
What a designer aims to do, typically, is to produce a piece of media that is easily recognisable and highly appealing. It can be conceptualized to meet a certain necessity (see a need — fill a need), to boost mass attention to your business, or perhaps to accompany some other product — the reasons are plenty. It is important to keep in mind the meaning of what you are trying to achieve, so that the viewer knows to pay close attention.
PRESENTATION FOR A GENERAL AUDIENCE
EX MACHINA is a new company in a field where clear and concise communication is most pertinent. Manufacturing and selling prosthetics combines medical research and testing, inventive technical design, as well as public relations.
The brand’s main motto is «We are excited to build a new future with you». A motto or a slogan, generally, is a short phrase summarizing a company’s identity and promise.
Thus, EX MACHINA’s focus is on the task of making prosthetics more comfortable and affordable for anyone who may need them. It is also intent on fighting disability stereotypes and easing technophobia in the general public — all in an effort to make this «future» a better place and time.
EX MACHINA poster
While presenting EX MACHINA to a general audience, there are several important points to consider.
First of all, it is vital to remember who the potential customers are — they are people in need of something that could make their lives easier, happier, and overall better. To show these people that EX MACHINA can help them meet their needs and to gain their trust, our brand’s image has to evoke feelings of safety and understanding, but also exude professionalism and confidence.
EX MACHINA visual elements
The way to reach that goal is to use specific communication tactics. Through physical advertisements, TV and social media platforms EX MACHINA can present itself to potential customers. To show that our brand is trustworthy, it is important to share information about scientific research and quality materials that are used in the making of EX MACHINA’s prosthetics. There is no need to go into details — it will bore the general audience — but rather show the highlights of the work put into the product’s development. Sharing complex information by explaining it with simple language is a way we can show the general audience that EX MACHINA is a science-based brand that can be trusted.
EX MACHINA poster
However, besides rational benefits, it is important to demonstrate to potential customers what the emotional benefits of using EX MACHINA’s products are. To do that, we try to understand the perspectives and experiences of the target audience. Then, once again, we use media accounts and create different kinds of advertisements, in which EX MACHINA expresses sympathy towards common issues that disabled people face, and illustrates how our prosthetics can help solve them.
This way, we establish our brand as friendly and understanding by communicating the following: EX MACHINA sees your problem, EX MACHINA cares about your problem, EX MACHINA solves your problem.
PRESENTATION FOR A PROFESSIONAL AUDIENCE
The EX MACHINA branding incorporates various elements that aid in conveying the brand’s ideas and principles through its visual identity in advertising. The potential buyers of the product are people with disabilities, thus, a crucial aspect of establishing communication with this audience is creating the impression that the brand understands its customer. After all, if the manufacturer understands the client’s needs, then their product can be trusted.
EX MACHINA product presentation
Visually, EX MACHINA uses a retrofuturistic aesthetic which combines 3d elements and bold 2d patterns. The shape language is used to evoke the seamless blending of organic matter and technology.
Colors are bright, but not unpleasantly so. Shades of cyan, red, white and coral are used, accented with black. Cyan is representative of medicine and innovation, it is calming and modern, often goes well with white and black for that stylish sleekness. On the other hand, the red color family generates excitement, it is associated with fire and industrial progress. Red is often seen on vintage space-race posters. By muting the color into coral it is seen as less aggressive and more «harmonious».
EX MACHINA’s logo consists of minimalistic lines and dots, all combining into the shape of a hand. It reads as both an upper limb prosthetic, and also as hidden letters «EX» or some other kind of digital symbol.
EX MACHINA product presentation
EX MACHINA website
Overall, the branding uses simple elements and design solutions that are easily deconstructed and highly adaptable to any other visual form. This makes it possible to present the product clearly and precisely through various means of visual communication, be it in video ads, on advertising banners, posters and online resources, all while keeping the details consistent.
The thought is to be approachable and positive, using nostalgic imagery as a way to relate to clients who might be going through issues with accepting the prosthetic part of them. The prosthetics are shown as something equal to human limbs, doing activities that people find beautiful — for example, playing piano or making art.
EX MACHINA poster
EX MACHINA’s branding strives to create an image of a product that is not only a device for improving quality of life, but also something that possesses its own identity. Prosthetic limbs complement the body, integrating modern technology into a person’s life. To convey this message, all design solutions aim to recreate the image of an inviting technological world, and stating that this world can be a part of the consumer’s own identity.
COMMUNICATION THEORY AS BASIS FOR THE PROJECT
To create an effective presentation for a professional audience, the phenomenological tradition is used. For designers presenting their brand, it is necessary to explain to said audience how the brand is targeting a specific group of consumers with a certain background. This helps with the understanding of EX MACHINA’s goals and identity even with people who don’t directly fall under the target audience umbrella.
Phenomenological tradition also influences how the intended information is relayed for the end consumer — it strives to be desirable for the people who should be specifically interested in this product i.e. people with disabilities, regardless of other aspects of their experience and perception.
EX MACHINA poster
The cybernetic tradition has been the foundation for the above seen presentations — that being, a certain message that must be conveyed to the customer.
For a general audience, it is the creation of trust in the brand and an impression of its products being high-tech, yet reliable and available to an ordinary person.
On the other hand, while presenting to professionals, it is in the project’s compelling branding, the principles of which should be understandable even to those who are not potential buyers, as the product is designed for a narrow and specific market.
Finally, social identity theory plays an important role in the brand’s influence on the consumer. It is because EX MACHINA’s intended audience is not actually broad — it is rather narrow, as it represents a minority of people with disabilities and specific needs for individualized products.
EX MACHINA poster
With the help of the semiotic tradition, the presenters apply theory in which the influence on a broad audience occurs with the help of branding’s visual elements. Said visual elements, symbols and other components play a key role in creating a certain message which would attract attention.
In addition, the specific language and writing style EX MACHINA uses in its slogans are meant to create an impression of emotional depth which can resonate with the customer.
The rhetorical tradition inseparably links this with the direct composition and meaning of the text, which explains the product’s advantages through a clear and solid structure.
To create positive associations with EX MACHINA and build trust, the branding strives to appeal to clients bearing a certain identity who would want to associate themselves with the message and values of the brand. Retrofuturistic visual design, solid color palette and organic shapes make the system of signals and meanings readable. Here visuals greatly strengthen the overall communication.
Materials from the Communication Theory course. — HSE database // [Электронный ресурс]. URL: https://edu.hse.ru/course/view.php?id=238864 (дата обращения: 12.12.2025)
EX MACHINA PROJECT (AI) // URL: https://hsedesign.ru/project/e8c8b262b40947da977a936f80d0a6df (дата обращения: 10.12.2025)
EX MACHINA PROJECT (ORIGINAL) // URL: https://portfolio.hse.ru/Project/178885 (дата обращения: 10.12.2025)
