The mighty Money maker....... we know better as "The X Factor"

Every Saturday evening, as it approaches eight o'clock, I find myself waiting in anticipation and excitement. "What on earth for?"..I hear you ask. Well, sadly.....and yes... I, like millions of other viewers tune in to, none other than the X Factor. As soon as the little hand turns to eight, sitting in the living room of my six bedroom house in Headingly, I am like a small child running out to play with his friend - I just can't wait. I'm afraid to say, but this also happens every Sunday evening, again, as it approaches eight o'clock. I find myself sitting on the sofa rather tensely and tuning in to ITV1, waiting to find out the fate of John and Edward.



It certainly never ceases to disappoint with thorough entertainment throughout the show coming from not only the contestants but also the four judges, Simon, Louis, Cheryl and Danni, as well as Dermot O'Leary, who is "just the presenter" according to Louis. Seemingly, Simon Cowell's creation cannot last the entire duration without some sort of dispute between Louis Walsh and any one of the other judges. Louie's controversial decision of including the terrible twins from Dublin, John and Edward in his final three acts has split the British public in half - they are sort of like marmite, you'd either love them or hate them.

John and Edward.....otherwise known as John and Edward..... I think even "Jedward" is now enough to refer to them as, obviously because of their sheer popularity....or not. I, myself, am an absolute FAN......yes I know they are annoying but it is THEIR performance, each week, that I can't wait to see! Infact, I'd put money on them making it to the final or maybe the last three acts.........
did I just write that?...oops maybe not.............but yes I'm sorry, like Cheryl Cole states each week that they are her guilty pleasure, so too they are mine. Funny how her opinion can change so suddenly about them, when one of her acts gets the boot.......bitter are we?.... I think so. But we love Cheryl Cole so we'll let her off for making such comments.

Anyway, they have certainly caused controversy, as each week acts being voted off by the public who actually have the talent are slowly dying out. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, are they not? but perhaps the British public are taking it too far with this judgement call. Is anybody actually picking up the phone and voting this series?

This year has seen quite a lot of change in terms of the running of the show, the audition process and also the voting time, from the live performance on the Saturday until the lines close. Firstly, the auditions, which usually take place in various big cities in the United Kingdom, such as London, Manchester, Cardiff, Dublin etc in the studios, still happens, however, the audience is not just the four judges, it is also members of the public - rather like the show 'Britain's Got Talent', another one of Simon Cowell's brilliant money making schemes.

As well as that, the results of the live show are now announced a whole day later on the sunday, as opposed to the usual Saturday night after the news. Studying graphic design, I have become more aware of the way that decision making is extremely important, whether it concerns promotion and advertising or even to finer details of a new product set to launch onto the market. I have made this connection with the X Factor this year because decisions have been made not only to promote the live shows and increase the ratings but also to make a hell of a lot more money from it.

In my opinion, I think the introduction of the second 'Results Show' on the Sunday evening not only gets the avid viewers tuning in again for some more entertaining television, it also boosts the whole persona of the X Factor making it even bigger than it already is. Broadcasting two shows a week is obviously going to double the amount of profit that is going to have been made from the previous one show a week. The ratings will be twice as much per week because viewers are going to want to tune in again on the Sunday, in the hope that their favourite act will stay in the competition.........clearly John and Edward. Increasing the amount of time for the public to vote for their favourite act also allows more people to call in and register there vote, than if there were only two hours to cast your vote......again they would unmistakably be voting for John and Edward!!

So, to conclude, I feel that I need to justify why I have written about the X Factor on such a blog. Number one, despite the slight irrelevance that people may feel that it has with design.....maybe because of their sheer hatred towards the programme, I for one have seen through this, being an adoring fan. The decision making which took place for this years series will have taken great thought, organising and planning in order to achieve the success that it has so far and reach out to their target audience. Asking yourself why you have chosen to put that image on the right hand side of a piece of work or in the case of the X Factor, why you have chosen to reveal the results on the Sunday evening is an essential part of the design process. If you cannot justify why you have designed something the way you have, it has no other purpose other than, more often than not, to be aesthetically pleasing.
On a lighter note, I would like to leave you with this....... ..............09011-117-07(I think that's the number)
Vote for John and Edward!!......you know you want to!