Marketing at its best

My mother "suggested" I go shopping with her since I needed a few things from the store and taking one car would save gas. I think my mom soon figured out her mistake of inviting me along with her. After taking how many design and marketing courses, I am not the usual shopper. I critique packaging designs, promotion placement and where something is located in the store. Or, more simply, I take the fun out of shopping. I will point out when companies are actually tricking you into buying their product.

I do have my moments of weakness in some cases, where even I am duped into buying something I don't need. And this is where this little Orangemen cheerleading outfit comes into play. I am a huge SU fan, and I plan on making my kids fans as well (in a nice way, and they can choose a different team when they are older as long as it is not Georgetown or UCONN) I argued with my mom that I wanted to buy it for my future daughter, because who knows if I will be able to find one whenever I do have kids. We debated back and forth for about five minutes, until my mom brought up the point that I might not have a daughter. And the $20 no longer seemed reasonable to put the outfit away for a later date.

Moral of the story: even those who know that they are resiliant to being duped sometimes fall for great marketing.

Test before you post

This is from a website I like, located at http://ilovecharts.tumblr.com. They usually have great graphs and info graphics that make you think. With this one though, I am not exactly sure what they are trying to tell me. Ok, I know I am supposed to get some sort of conclusion about median income and the price of college tuition. Beyond that, I am not really sure what I need to know.

To me, this is a perfect representation of why you need another set of eyes to look over something. A lot of times I will take something I design to my mom and ask her what it is trying to tell her. She becomes my in-home prototype tester. If she gets what I am trying to say, I know I am heading in the right direction. If what she sees is not even close, I know I have to regroup and try again.

Nature's artwork

Images can help make that experience more powerful because they help us connect better with our audience."  (Reynolds)

There was a batch of storms that hit where I lived yesterday.  Although not completely destructive, the wind and hail was enough for a person to take notice.  My brother said it was horrible out when he came home from work and about how he had a hard time seeing to drive home.

After the storms were over, I had to go pick something up at the store, and noticed this on my driver side backseat door of my car.  It was not attached to anything, just stuck by the force of the wind.  Obviously, my brother could have said how bad the wind was until he was blue in the face, but until I saw this twig/leaves attached to my car, just from the power of the wind I took notice. 

As the quote states, images always help explain something that others may not know the severity of because of not being there.  A lot of times on fan forums I visit, someone will claim something about an actor or an actress, and the first comment is usually, "picture or it didn't happen."  It was somewhat the case with my brother.  Yes, I heard the thunderstorm, but it seemed like every other normal summer storm.  Even though it was not the worse storm damage I have seen (I vacationed through a hurricane in Cape Cod) the twig on the side of my car got my attention.

My Love of Knitting/Crocheting

 

"Design is not an art, although there is art in it.  Artists can, more or less, follow their creative impulses and create whatever it is they want to express."  (Reynolds)

It is an interesting story about how I got into knitting and then crocheting.  During a gym class in my Junior year of high school, I hurt my finger.  It was "let's learn how to catch a football day!"  About five minutes into the class, my friend threw the football at me, and I caught it wrong.  It took my pinkie and pushed it so it was flat against the back of my hand.  My ring finger was also pushed back, but not as much.  I obviously failed that lesson.  Somehow I did not break any bones, but it swelled quite bad.

Because it was swollen for so long, I slowly lost strength in my whole left hand because I never used it.  I was suggested OT/PT to gain strength back into the hand.  Although I never completely gained control of my pinkie again, they did "trick" my brain to have it move with my ring finger so both collectively work together to help pick up things.  My physical therapist suggested getting into hobbies that will keep my fingers working and exercised.

That's where my love first knitting, then crocheting, started.  It is a great way to be productive while sitting around.  I used to bring needles/hooks to our student newspaper meetings and work on a project as we discussed ideas.  It is a great way to feel productive while watching your favorite TV shows.  

I love the aspect of taking yarn, which is linear, and making something out of it that is useful/fun.  Most people see yarn, I see scarves, or hats, or jewelry pouches.  It has saved me when I have not had time to buy gifts for people (especially thanks to a book of simple and quick gift patterns).  Although I design for classes/career, I will always feel like my favorite way of showing my creativity is through knitting/crocheting.

Beauty in chaos

"Design is about people creating solutions that help or improve the lives of other people-often in profound ways, but often in ways that are quite small and unnoticed."  (pg. 195 [E-book edition)

Image from here 

This quote says everything that needs to be said about this image.  This picture was taken the day of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup in Vancouver, Canada after the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins.

I became a fan of the Canucks during the Fall 2010 semester of my undergrad studies when one of my semester long projects was to advertise an area (with a magazine article, brochure, etc.) we picked out of a hat.  I picked Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.  My area was the only one outside of the county.  In order to learn the culture without going to Canada, I started to watch a Canadian channel I get with cable almost exclusively (even to the point of picking up the accent).  What I learned from the almost 24-7 watching of CKWS, was that Canadians are very nice and friendly people.  Even their advertisements seemed like the people wanted to be your friend. 

Jump to a few weeks ago.  Vancouver loses the Stanley Cup in the last game at home.  Although hockey is a major part of the culture of our neighbors up north, I would be the last person to say that there would be riots afterward.  But within all the chaos, there was a couple in the middle of a street kissing each other.  Others were showing negativity and hatred, while these two people went (almost) unnoticed to the rioters.

I would not be surprised if this image became the "updated" version of the "Kiss in Time Square" picture.  It resembles the same ideals to me.  Both saw such negativity and hatred in where they were (war or the riots) and both decided to bring joy and love into their life.  Moments that lasted only seconds, captured in time, to share the message of peace and love.

Image found here

The Misleading Beer Mug

“The Japanese Perception of Beauty is largely based on space, especially space as it is found in nature”  (Koegel, 2010).

At an Applebee's outing with my brother and cousin to celebrate my cousin and I's graduation from our respective colleges, the design of my beer "mug" became a topic for discussion.  My cousin received a degree in Business, with an emphasis in marketing, and I graduated with a degree in Communication and Information Design, with an emphasis in graphic design.  It is not uncommon for us to banter back and forth about design or marketing strategies.

Never getting a “tall” draft before, it was quite a surprise when the big glass sat in front of me.  My first reaction was “wow, this is a huge glass.”  But on further observation of the glass, it is not as big as it seems.  The glass tapers in and has a lot of space at the bottom of solid glass.  As a result, there is not as much beer as someone assumes.  This is obviously a trick to get extra money for “more” beer for the company.

Although misleading, I love the shape of the glass.  As the quote states above, the beauty comes from the perception of space around the glass “as it is found in nature.”  The design makes it sturdy and easily graspable (which is good when having a few beers).  It almost looks sophisticated, meaning that you are not just having this drink at some random “hole in the wall.”   It is also not too classy of a look that it does not feel right for the venue.  Besides tricking you into thinking that the glass holds more beer, I find it still a well-designed item for its purpose. 

Koegel, Timothy J. The Exceptional Presenter Goes Virtual. [Kindle E-Book Edition] Austin, TX: Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2010.