journal seventeen

Ed Templeton designs most of the Toy Machine ads. He has a pretty consistent style which usually incorporates hand-written text. The layout of these ads is always intriguing because his words lead your eye all around the page of the advertisement. On the other hand i can also see how the text would be overwhelming to some and cause some readers to skip over the ad and pay it no attention. Although most folks who are reading through skating mags are generally acquainted with  Templeton's style, so i do think his ads are fairly effective throughout the skateboarding community.

journal twelve

this ad is a wonderful example of Jefkin's three basic principles of advertisement. First, the the product is of immediate interest to the reader. It's a refreshing, cold, wheat ale that is coupled very nicely with a slice of orange. Secondly, the ad is precise, there's not a whole lot going on in this image, just a strait forward presentation of the product. Finally, the ad is concise, the slogan reads, "Artfully Crafted." And this is just the message that i took away from the ad.

journal fifteen

journal fourteen

journal sixteen

I found these images at Wooster Collective, a wonderful archive of brilliant street art such as this one. this piece is by an artist named Candy Chang. She turned the side of an abandoned house into a giant chalkboard in order for people to consider what they would like to accomplish before they die. I think her idea was insanely successful. The space she used was abandoned, and i like this because most graffiti artist don't take time to find a location or wall that is not being used or part of a vacant house. Places such as these seem much more appropriate spots to post their work. I don't know if i can really make up a story to go along with this piece because i read the story behind it already. But i can only the imagine that this project was a positive addition to the community that it was painted in. read more! http://candychang.com/before-i-die-in-nola/

journal eleven

Of course, old cigarette ads are notorious for being rich with connotative value. The rustic appearance of this ad relays the notion that purchasing this product will make you more manly. I think the ad is successful because what man doesn't want to look more like a cowboy? The ad is obviously marketing Marlboro cigarettes, but beneath this there is an image that they are proposing could be yours if you use their product.

journal ten

This full page ad uses a monochromatic color scheme with the different saturations and different values of the color red for the ceiling that's above the skateboarder. I believe that the color scheme of the ceiling is similar to the color way that this model of shoes come in. I'm not sure if you can notice but what this photographer did was he stretched a white cloth over the different skaters that he took shots of and then edited these designs into the ceiling.But being that the shot is captured with a fish-eye lens it gives the image a really disco type, it brings an exciting aesthetic that would have been absent otherwise. I think that the ad is more successful because of the color scheme that this photographer chose.

journal nine

The first logo i chose was for Thirsty Peacock winestore. This logo caught my eye because of the analogous color scheme which the designer used. I also like that the cup is white (and this is probably not what the designer meant to imply) and as white contains all of the colors of the spectrum it made me think of this wine glass as one that contains a myriad of different wines and their distinct colors.

The second logo i selected was from illusion studio, a computer graphics studio that specializes in 2-D and
3-D animation. This logo is almost split-complimentary except it has no green in it. I did notice that these colors seemed to be subtractive colors (cyan and red--formed with magenta and yellow) as well.

The third logo that i picked is for Ziqwicks, a candle and soap company from Sydney. This logo stood out to me because the orange and blue in the logo seem to be complementary. And the beige and brown in the background and border direct my eye to the brighter colors.

alphabet

arrows

These are my arrows. As i worked on this project i came to realize just how important arrows were for directing so many of the movements that i follow every day. I realized that as you grow more familiar with an area or a certain route, you don't really acknowledge the arrows that at one time guided you down that unknown street to a friend's house or hall that takes you to class. 

journal eight

The second add that I chose is one of the many hilarious adds from the company Enjoi. This company has a reputation for making very low quality ads, but with humorous connotations that really do a good job of relaying what the company is all about—getting laughs. The particular ad that I chose is of Louie Barletta, a professional skateboarder and photographer who is sponsored by the company Enjoi. The ad reads “louie barletta banned from contest circuit for steroid use.” The humor to this add comes when you learn that Louie is built just like most other skateboarders, skinny and a bit pudgy. Also, to my knowledge, he has never been one to enter the contest circuit. However, Louie has always been a staple figure in the skateboarding community, with his unique style and recognizable fashion sense. The company’s design is always simplistic and the simplicity is a common thread throughout their entire product line. The company typically works with very bright colors, for example I’m pretty sure they were the ones who re-ignited the colored-jeans trend. Anyhow, the company is known for ad campaigns that do not involve a whole lot of elements, but they seem to get along just fine. To me the ad implies that in order to achieve happiness you need to have a sense of humor about life and never take it too seriously. I think this ad is very creative in that (as it is marketed to skateboarders) it plays off of our societies desire to be strong and muscular. Whereas the folks at Enjoi are suggesting that , not only does this not interest them but it is something to mock and ridicule. 

journal seven

The first ad that I chose is from RVCA’s  2010 autumn line. I’ve written before about how I appreciate the design that RVCA is always progressing in. They’re ads always  stand out to me in skate and surf magazines. This company always seems to  set the bar when it comes to professional and clean-looking design. However, a lot of the time, within the skateboarding trends its not always about cleanliness and professional presentation. The add campaign is for a line called the balance of opposites. There is a series of about five of these adds floating around in various skateboarding and surfing magazines, as these are the cultures that RVCA intends to market their product to. The add itself is comprised of two squares which are both equal in size but the contents of each square is drastically different. In one square there is an image of what appears to be a roadside picture of a mountain. In the other square is an image of a gallery showing, bustling with people moving in and out of the small gallery. One can observe that in the gallery people who are mingling are all possessed by the draw of image- what they’re wearing, if the gallery is trendy enough, all of these thoughts are inevitable when you’re at an art show. These are just a few of the cultural myths that this designer implies in this ad. But, on the other hand the designer does a good job of creating an equal opposite- a place, maybe along the way of a long awaited road trip, where the concern of image is absent.  I believe that the message and connotations are very cleverly put that, if one desires to achieve happiness, they need to have an ability to balance the hustle and bustle of their life with an intentional removal from the things that our culture creates and move into the vastness of nature.

signs

Most of these signs i found over on the east side of town. A few of them are from the westside though. The first sign is for an automotive repair shop that i see every time i leave my girlfriend's apartment. The second sign is for ice and it hangs from a old-looking stone building. The rest of the signs are from a walk that i took through the sunnyside neighborhood. A couple of them i come across when i walk to the Farmer's Market over on Fourth Street. I really liked the laundry sign because my roomates and i live in a   trailer that doesn't have a washer or dryer and we find that we spend a lot of time and money at this laundermat. A few of these signs i found on a walk i took down an alley that runs parallel to fourth street. One of my favorites was a "No Trespassing" sign that had been painted over with green paint. Also, across the street from our trailer park there are two abandoned houses that look like the haven't been occupied for several years, they both have private property signs in front of them. I find it odd when such run-down houses have signs like this in front of them. Some of the signs that i found had Spanish translations under the English which was interesting to me as well. There was no real theme or common thread that ran through the signs that i chose other than my appreciation for them. 

Guns

For this assignment i collaged several clippings from my roomate's gun magazines. I've never owned a gun or shot one myself, but they don't seem to have a whole lot of positive consequences. So, i took the shape of a gun and did my best to fabricate an the illusion of the guns barrel being tied into a knot. On a side note, it was  funny to me-- as i was reading some articles in the gun magazines where i got these clippings, i found that the whole culture of of owning guns seems to revolve around this preemptive set of precautions that you should always be prepared for a terrorist attack, mugging, or just a good old fashioned burglary. This seems to be a looming possibility in the minds of gun connoisseurs that rationalizes carrying or owning a weapon. But all of that aside, i think my disapproval of guns just comes from the realization that if ever i was in a situation where i had the option to shoot someone or give them my wallet, i'm fairly certain i would choose the latter.

Metaphor in Ads

In this ad the message is quite clear and incredibly relevant to most drivers these days. The designer of the ad has removed the head from the body of the driver as to imply that one cannot "keep their head" per se, and text at the same time. This advertisement seems to be visually successful and i would assume that it is very effective as well, because i know most all of us (myself included) have had close calls on the road as a result of texting and driving and this ad does a very good job of relaying the dangers of such activities. 

Bathroom Sign

I have read several thoughts as to how bathroom signs are stereotypical, and i know this one doesn't exactly avoid stereotypical gender roles either, however, i think most people would get the gist of what was being communicated here. On a side note, it would be an impressive feat if  a woman were to get her legs to be this hairy.

Parkin' Garage

Although this sketch does not communicate any idea of an inclosed or covered parking area, i believe that it would still serve as an adequate sign to direct someone to an area to park their vehicle.

Fire Extinguisher

I chose this simple sketch of a fire extinguisher because it could easily be reconised as an instrument for putting out small to medium sized fires. The agreement of the image of the extinguisher with the actual object is one that spans over most linguistic communities.

Exit Sign

Nothing fancy here, just a simple sketch of a door and an arrow pointing you in the direction that you should be going. For me, the exit sign was the most difficult to come up with. It was a struggle to think of a universal sign for exiting that didn't involve a doorway and an arrow.

Executive Washroom

I thought for quite a while about this one. I guess this would probably be a little too much detail for a bathroom door sign but i do think there would be a resounding "Yes! Yes, it does feel good to be rich!" with each visitor's coming and going.

How do others view me?

 

My second picture is of a hammer because I hope that others always see me as a hard worker. A solid work ethic is something that i strive for and something i usually have to work for because i think laziness comes quite naturally for me. But, hopefully this is a trait that others see too.

My view of myself

I chose a sleeping bag because I'm a fairly minimalistic person. About two or three years ago i traded in my sheets and comforter for the simplicity of a mummy-bag. It gets the job done. Its cozy and warm and its a lot easier to zip up a sleeping bag than it is to make a bed every morning.