Self-Portrait

Today I have unfortunately been home from work with muscle spasms in my back. Its not a fun time and gets boring, and half the time I've been doped up on muscle relaxants. I have tried to keep myself entertained doing various things that you can do sitting up in bed, but I thought I would have some fun with Photoshop! I recently took some pictures of myself through willow branches and I really liked them! So here are some fun ways I played with one of the photos in Photoshop.

What High School did you go to??

For those of you who are from St. Louis, or for those of you who know anyone from St. Louis, you will appreciate this. I find it especially hilarious as I myself went through these yes and no questions and lo-and-behold it led me exactly to the high school I went to, Whitfield School.

So try it out and enjoy!

Click on the image to view larger

Click on the image to view larger

Brand Leverage in Advertising

I was doing some reading about "synced ads", where one or more ad spaces cooperate together to communicate one message. This reminded me of the Super Bowl commercials this past year and how there were quite a few ads that promoted two companies instead of just one. I found this very interesting, as it was a new concept to me and I wonder now if it worked or not. I'm not sure that it did, and mainly this is because as I was trying to google the commercials, nothing immediately popped up about them or how novel these commercials are.

I have a few thoughts on these commercials.

First, I think that in today's media culture consumers are bombarded with advertisements. They get them on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, public transportation trackers, Gmail, billboards, train stations, buses, etc. Basically, ads are everywhere and for an advertisement to stand out to a consumer it has to make big statements or really grab a consumer's attention. I think this combining brands is one way companies are trying to do this. It potentially could simplify information, or at least simplify the AMOUNT of information a consumer is receiving. Potentially, this idea could work.

Second, and the antithesis of this thought, while multi-branding a commercial controls the amount of information coming in to a consumer during a given period of time, it also can complicate the information.  A consumer may be left more confused about what they saw rather than driven to remember the company's name and intent. Case in point, I could not remember who had teamed up on the commercials until I'd searched google for a good 5-10 minutes. In internet time, this is A LOT of time spent trying to find the company and thus, not good for the company.

Thirdly, I do think that this form of advertising could be good for consumerism and advertising. I think this, because since there is so much competition out there, a company can start making dynamic advertisements in order to compete against one less product. It shows consumers a team of products working towards one goal/intent versus so much competition between companies. Because, lets face it, in today's society companies are not isolated from working with other companies. To survive, I think it is important to team up, to use another company's strength in order to make your company stronger. A great example of this is the GE/Budweiser commercial. Budweiser is a strong American Beer company and GE is a strong American energy company. Together they are showing we are Americans helping other Americans do the things they love. We work together, we power each other. This is a strong message to make in this economy and this time. Its saying that America is still strong and there are people out there helping other people. And while this commercial wasn't particularly memorable, I think it had a strong message.

Overall, I think companies gave this a idea a good go and I don't think its something that should be over or not done again. I just think this form of advertising needs to be perfected and experimented with to see what is most dynamic and memorable for the viewers. 

Another commercial with co-branding.

Latest and Greatest

Here is the latest and greatest Cupcake Menu I designed for the bakery department. So go ahead! Try some of our very own In-House made cupcakes at Whole Foods Market Charles River Plaza!

Last Few Design Projects @ Work

 Poster for an event happening first week of march.

A poster I designed for a Whole Body event that occurred right before Valentine's Day.

A flyer for a cake-decorating event for Bakery.

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Today in Boston there were highs in the 50s and it was sunny, so it was an opportune time to explore some of the outdoor parks. I chose to got to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA about 25 minutes from my apartment. It is indeed a national treasure, with beautiful landscaping, peaceful walkways and serene sculptures. It was hard for me to imagine that right outside its gates was a busy urban street. Mount Auburn was founded in 1831 as a public, natural setting for the commemoration of the bereaved. It has also became a place of international recognition for its landscaping, historic associations and monuments. 

I think it was especially captivating because of its size and the rolling hills that led me through a maze of graves, sculptures, architecture, trees and ponds. In the winter the trees are bear, and most of the plants are hibernating in the ground. It almost has a more grave look that many people relate to death and grieving, however, I found there was life everywhere. There were some sprouting bulbs, and hawks flying overhead. And in the winter foliage you found beauty in the many trees that filled the landscape (there are nearly 6,000 trees and over 700 varieties). 

With the rolling landscape, beautiful foliage, and interesting architecture and scenery, I am looking forward to my next visit to the Mount Auburn Cemetery when spring arrives.  

The landscape.

One of the budding flowers in front of the George Washington monument. 

Some interesting designs at the entrance of one of the memorials.

One of the various sculptures.

One of the hawks that was soaring through the clear blue sky. 

Beautiful stain glass windows in one of the chapels. 

RED

Tonight I went to go see the play "Red" at the Boston Center for the Arts. It is a play written by John Logan who is an American playwright and screenwriter for movies such as "Hugo", "Coriolanus" and "Skyfall". The play itself won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play and I must say it was well deserved. Not a huge fan of plays, I was unsure of what to expect. I was unsure how "artsy" it would be as it described Mark Rothko's making of the Seagram Murals. However, Logan turned this subject in to a fascinating, comedic portrayal of Rothko and his ideas and thoughts on art, death, youth and age. With only two actors in the entire play, they were really able to capture the depth and power that the paintings had as well as of the two characters. There were dark, serious moments always followed by humor and intrigue. The fictional depiction of Rothko brought many facts about his life and his character to stage without preaching his biography, and for that I applaud Logan. So, if you are ever in need of a good night of humor, art and a little history, "Red" is a perfect night out. Just be ready to sit for an hour and forty minutes as there is no intermission. 

I think I'll Move to Boston

Two and a half weeks ago, I moved to Boston, MA. After not having a creative, design job for close to 10 months, I finally got a job in design with Whole Foods Market. I have learned a lot about Boston since I've moved here and some things are very different than what I expected.

1. Liquor laws are a lot stricter than even the south. You cannot purchase beer or wine in grocery stores or convenient stores, you can only purchase alcohol in designated liquor stores.
2. People get paid overtime every Sunday, and also get paid overtime for any holiday that falls over the weekend on the Monday following. Where was that law in the South?
3. Bars close at 2am, but public transportation stops running at Midnight.
4. Food places/restaurants close really early, and Chinatown is basically the only place you can buy food after midnight.
5. Professional sports are religion up here
6. Parking tickets are inevitable, mainly because you can never fully understand when you can and cannot park on the street as basically every parking spot has a "No Parking Sign" but with small print about which days and times it relates to.
7. Cabs are impossible to hail, as you can't tell when they are in use or not and are only allowed to drive to certain locations in Boston.
8. Drivers and bikers are both insane
9. Most roads don't have turn lanes or lines on the road, so you can't tell if your in a lane or not
10. They call water fountains "water bubblers" and shopping carts "carriages"

Despite, all of these nuances and cultural differences, I have really enjoyed Boston so far. It is a very interesting city with so much to do and see and I am very happy I have chosen to move here.

Craigs List Etiquette

In the past month, a lot of things in my life have changed and dealing with those changes when they are happening so abruptly and are so large is difficult. For the past NINE months I have been searching for a graphic design job. A job that allows me to use my degree, to be creative, to problem solve and most of all that will allow me to grow. I am of course grateful for the fact that I have had a job. That I could support myself independently, but about a month ago I applied for a store graphic artist position at a Whole Foods store in Boston, and within 4 days of applying I was offered the position. So, I TOOK IT! Thus, I was given five weeks to pack up my life in Raleigh and move to Boston. I am of course feeling excited and anxious. However, I am also feeling nervous and scared.

This ALSO means that I have to start weeding out my stuff. Deciding what to keep, what to give away, what to store, etc. The easiest way to sell my things and get rid of things are by giving it away to Goodwill, the local food shelter, the animal shelter and of course selling things on Craigslist. I have learned there is no such thing as rules or etiquette when it comes to Craigslist. Or there are common sense rules that no one seems to follow. I think this is one of the main problems with craigslist, because as the seller, people have told me they want to buy an item, tell me they can pick it up tonight and at 6pm. I then get an e-mail telling me never mind, they don't want the item anymore. Meanwhile, I have just lost precious time as I'm trying to move waiting around for this person or getting the item ready for them and lost the potential of selling it to someone else. As the seller, I have been ripped off. Thus, as the seller I try to be as polite, honest and understanding of the buyer. I try to let them know about everything up front, however, since I need to get rid of my things in a timely manner and cannot be stuck with the items the day the mover comes, I also have to play it smart. Weigh how serious someone is about purchasing an item, and if need be continue to contact a few people so if one rips me off I have a back up. This has become a game and a stressful one at that, and furthermore, it is one that has only added to the stress of my move.

I do understand that internet etiquette is something that is still being learned by society. However, to me, whether it be purchasing an item in a store or on-line through craigslist, common sense on etiquette should weigh in. For example, invitations. Back in the "old days", peopled mailed out paper invitations to everyone. On the bottom there would be contact information for RSVPs, and if the host wanted you to call regardless or for regrets only. People respected this request and would be sure to do so by the appointed date. However, with the growing use of technology, more people are beginning to use on-line invitations whether it be an e-mail blast, through E-vite or on Facebook. I also feel that with the increased use of these tools comes a dearth of etiquette. For some reason invitees do not feel as obligated to RSVP to on-line invitations, maybe it is because the invitations appear informal, less important or impersonal. Nevertheless, etiquette should not be forgotten and people need to begin using it on their on-line interactions just as they would with more physical interactions. There are some articles on on-line etiquette that are good for everyone to read, because remember, just as you would like to be respected, so does everyone else.


Here are some resources to help you brush up on your on-line etiquette:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/craigslist-buying-and-selling-etiquette-060858

http://www.howtoselloncraigslistebook.com/index.html

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