Herbal Essences

This is a picture that I took at Walmart in the shampoo isle. At first was really drawn to the bright colored bottles and their friendly shape. Then I noticed that this section was also divided into categories of styling products that herbal essences released. Hello Hydration, Body Envy, Totally Twisted, Dangerously Straight, Break's Over, Color me Happy, None of Your Frizzness, Drama Clean, Shimmery Nights, and Set Me Up Stylers, I thought all of those names were very clever!




This is a up-close picture of the packaging, All of the bottles has their own style and illustration. But I liked the really "layered" look of it. (That both sides blended into one image.)

Lava Bar

This is a picture that I took in one of my art classes. One day while I was washing my hands I noticed the wrapper on the lava bar, and I thought it would be perfect for this blog because it had such a unique and interesting style. I loved the look of it and thought the typeface was so intriguing. It definitely had retro vibe to it, and it was very simple and clean. I also liked that the illustration used analogous colors of green and yellow.

Fishbowl

This is a flyer that I saw in the News Gazette Sunday paper, it was promoting American Family Insurance. I really liked it because it was so simple and clean. I liked that the message was literal and direct. And I thought that text illustrated the concept very well, it's amazing the words really look like glass! My favorite part though would have to be the cute little goldfish who looks like he talking to you.



On the back side of the flyer it said:

"To most people, insurance is a mystery. But it doesn't have to be.

We know that it's our responsibility to help make everything clear to you. To help you understand your options. So you know what to expect. And so you're never surprised. From our first handshake to handling your claims.

We want to be the most trusted and valued insurance source you can ever have.

Not every company is prepared to make this commitment. But we are. Because this is how we've been doing business for 80 years. Just ask one of our customers.

Have time for some clear talk?"

Fall Out Boy

This is a picture of a flyer that I saw on one of the bulletin boards here at parkland. It's advertising a tour for the bands Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heros, Plain White T's, and Cute is What We Aim For. All of them are coming to the Assembly Hall to play. And I just thought that this was a really creative and interesting promotion. The Tour they are on is called "The Young Wild Things Tour". I think that the illustration the artist has created was a humorous and whimsical play on the book Where the Wild Things Are. I think that it was targeted for a youth and adolescent market because that's the main audience of this genre. But also because most of the audience probably has read this children's book, and can relate to it.
The people portrayed as the Wild things and Max are the members of the head lining band Fall Out Boy. You can tell this because the creatures all resemble the members, and the fact that the Name Fall Out Boy is the Largest on the page. All of the other names have a different style of fonts and get smaller on down the page.

Dress Barn

This is a promotional poster that is displayed on one of the walls at my work. I really like it because the designer has chosen to use repetition in this piece. I like that the abstracted flowers, keep you eye moving across the page. It's very peaceful and calming. I think it adds a nice touch to the environment and makes customers feel at ease.



This is a picture of a perfume stand we have at one of our registers. It's meant to display our new perfume "Shine On Me". I think that it is arranged really well and that the poster behind it really shows off the packages. I like that the designer has chosen to use the same pink on the packages as all the other poster and bags we use in the store. I think that those helps customers remember that color and associate it with Dressbarn.



This is a picture of a promotional flyer we send out to our customers. It was made to advertise one of our many sales. For every twenty five dollars our customers spend in our store we give them a five dollar coupon off. (on their next purchase) The more they spend the more "Daisy Dollars" they would earn.




This is a picture of an actual "Daisy Dollar" coupon. At the end of a customer's transaction we explain the promotion and staple their coupons onto their receipt. In hopes that they will look at their receipt and return to our store.

As for the ad it really seemed to confuse a lot of our customers, because the print was so tiny and the dates of redemption were misleading. A lot of our customers said they were annoyed by this because tried to spend more money so they could get the coupons, and then found out they couldn't even use them on that transaction.

I don't know it seems like a crummy thing to do, to trick customers like that. But I also see how it was a smart thing to do because it gets people back into your stores, to spend money.

Car Ride Home 09/05/07

Today on my car ride home from class, i got stuck behind this bus and saw this poster and the tail end of it. So I took a picture because I thought it was a really great place to put an ad, it caught my eye.

The design has a very classic and earnest feel to it. I liked that the designer conveyed a sence of simplicity while still making you feel emotionally connected. For example the color choices were kept simple so you could really focus on the message. You can tell that this ad was created to make you feel like you knew this guy (Dan). Like he was your neighbor, somebody who was just an all around good guy. I think that MTD did this because they wanted customers to feel comfortable and wanted them to feel "safe at home" when riding the bus.



This was a sign that I saw on the side of road near the Parkland Bradley Entrance. (you know right by the construction) lol
Anyway, it made me think a lot about pictograms and the graphic designer who created it. I had never even realized it before, that someone had spent time so much time making sure it was universally understandable. It funny how we seem to tune out things we see on a daily basis.



This is a picture of a trailer, that I saw in a parking lot, right by an apartment building. (It was located right by the turn from Mattis to Prospect)



Anyway the trailer was set up by the Champaign Urbana Health Department. At first I thought it might have been a tailor for a blood drive, but then i realized it must have been for something else because of the upbeat design. After looking at it some more, I knew it was targeted for teens and young adults to get information on sex. Since the words PREVENTION, EDUCATION, and PROTECTION were plastered across it.

Worship Bend

This is a flyer that my family received in the mail today. It was from the church that I belong to, and was created to advertise a new style of services the church would be offering. On the back side of the card it explained that they would soon going to start a Contemporary, Blended, and Traditional style of Worship.

Though the card was not designed by a professional, I thought that the play on coffee was very witty.
I do think that the design could have been improved if the pictures and fonts were altered slightly. For example one could have pictured the traditional cup of coffee with plain black coffee. Also it would have helped of the Traditional cup would have been lowered slightly on the page it just seems a bit high. And the Blended style could have maybe used a different type that would have illustrated a mixture between the two sides. While the Contemporary picture was very well associated, I think that the could have used a very light color of coffee (almost white, like a Starbucks iced coffee drink with whipped cream or something) to illustrate the contrast between the plain Traditional.
Having the text at a angle does add some interest, but a different font might have been better choice.