PAGES OF INSPIRATION

As I approach the scary possibility of leaving the nest and joining the madness that is university I decided I needed some inspirational resources. As a lover of design I wanted to find a big glossy book crammed full of interesting advertising campaigns that pushed boundaries and created new ideas and ways of thinking.  And as a 21^st century teenager I googled it, naturally.

This is when I came across the book ‘New York Festival 17’- “New York Festivals 17, the annual compilation of award-winning advertising and communicative design from around the world, showcases the world’s newest and most exciting ideas in advertising. This perennially successful design compilation contains full-colour photographs of award-winning work from newspapers, magazines, billboards, web sites, and point of sale locations, including posters, packaging, photographs, and public service messages, and is a must-read for everyone in advertising, marketing, design, and corporate communications”.

This book does not come cheap, so as a student I will need to start scrimping and saving to buy this little piece of design and advertising gold but I cannot wait to purchase this and start learning more about the industry that I am so eager to join.

COKE- ADVERTISING FOR THE SEXES.

There are the obvious differences in advertising when trying to appeal to the different sexes. For example there is going to be a different marketing ploy when selling tampons than there is when selling men’s shaving razors. However it is not very often that we see the same product with a minor difference being marketed in two completely different ways for different sexes.

I am of course taking about Coke, Coke Zero and Diet Coke. It came to my attention when at the cinema last night that it is almost as though there are two completely different products when in actual fact there is a minor difference in ingredients and labels.

Diet Coke is advertised to women, with an advert that looks like a chick-flick in puppet form and also promotions that offers the customer a free nail polish when purchasing two bottles of diet coke. The label on the bottle is silver and red- girly?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq_1S4vUFow

Coke Zero is advertised to men, with an advert that includes fast cars, women and a cool lead character that resembles James Bond. The label on the bottle is black and red, very masculine and also a popular colour theme for action film poster adverts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdKYevR3tDE (Couldn't find the UK advert but the principle is the same)

So why appeal so exclusively to one sex?

Well I think it comes down to the fact that ‘diet coke’ sounds like a ‘girly’ drink. Women are forever on diets (Generalising here I know, but for the sake of the argument bear with me) so the idea of a man drinking Diet Coke appears very feminine. Whereas Coke Zero sounds manly, butch, masculine, if a man is drinking Coke Zero nobody bats an eyelid.

It is interesting how advertising is so powerful that is completely changes the consumers view of a product.

TAKING YOUR BREATH AWAY, mikko lagerstedt.

I came across this photographer when looking for mood and atmosphere photographers for my exam project in photography. Lagerstedt is an absolutely amazing photographer; ‘breathtaking’ is the most appropriate word for these photos. This image above is my ultimate favourite, I just think it is so beautiful; when looking at this image I feel truly calm and as though I am the person sitting in that little boat, floating and thinking.

To view more of Mikko’s stunning photography;

Visit the website: http://www.mikkolagerstedt.com/photography/mood.html#../img/mood/quietmoment.jpg

SELF PORTRAIT.

As shown on this blog previously, I am a great lover of photography.

I have experimented with a lot of different types of photography but have never taken a self portrait. I always thought it weird to sit down and take the time to take photos of my own face.

However I thought it would be interesting to try it out. So above is my self portrait.

For this self portrait I focused on my favourite features, my collar bone, my chin and my smile. This is not a vain self portrait however, I have also left in the scarring  from my teenage acne on my right cheek and the birth mark on my neck is visible, also on the right hand side. This is a true representation of me, the good and the ugly.

Hope you like it!

MY DESIGN WORK.

One of my first tasks set in Graphic Design was to create an image that displayed an architect’s work whilst giving some information about them. The aim was to visually inform. I was given the architect Calatrava, I decided to split the image into three parts, separated with a strong black line. I went for this design because his architecture has strong lines- as shown in the image in the middle. I used his eyes as the top layer to show his ‘eye for design’.

Hope you like it!

UPDATE ON DESIGNS FOR THE FUTURE PERFECT COMPANY

This is the final design of my webpage.

The font is the same font that is used in my logo and on my postcard, I thought it was important to use the same font to build up a sense of brand identity. I also used the same colours used on The Future Perfect Company website to create a visual link back to The Future Perfect Company brand.

 I included a ‘log in’ feature which allows the customer to save all of their designs; this also increases the chance of them buying because they will be able to look back at their designs.

The idea for this webpage came from Nike.com, their personalisation of trainers just seemed like such a clever idea. The idea of having something personal to you by choosing your own features is exactly what I wanted to achieve.

There are two options: surface and design and there is a preview box that shows you what the design and surface you have selected looks like. If you hover over the surfaces option there is a little text box that tells you the features. This allows the customer to make an informed choice.

I really like this final design as I believe it is colourful and modern, easy to understand and a really fresh idea of personalisation. What do you think ?

PORTRAITURE.

I love photography and one of my favourite forms of photography is portraiture.
Today my friend asked me to take some head shots of him for his university application. I set up a proper photography white backdrop, complete with lights and a reflector. Below are two of my favourite shots out of all the ones I took, I chose black and white to enhance his features and add a certain seriousness to the photos.