Week 3 - Field Trip Downtown

This week we went on a field trip downtown to the center of the shopping district (5th and Pike, and surrounding areas). We were supposed to pick three stores that generally had the same aesthetics. I went with everyone else and chose the stores All Saints, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. I personally had never been to any of these stores,  so I was pretty intrigued by the look and feel that these stores were conveying.

First I went to All Saints.

 I had never even heard of it, so I wasn't expecting what I found. The experience I got out of it was "Why do people pay this much to look like this." Sorry fans of this store, but I just don't get it! Why are you willing to pay one hundred thirty five dollars for ONE PAIR OF JEANS. I mean I guess I'm not the right one to judge about clothes because I'm comfortable coming to school in sweats, but seriously, $135 for one pair of jeans that looks like they have been ran over by a car and worn when you were working outside all day is the most insane concept to me. This company takes pride in wanting you to look homeless, or broke. I just don't get it!

Look at this ad I found online, the guy looks like he has been in those clothes for a week with no shower, and yet that whole outfit costs well over 300 dollars, its crazy.

Look at this one! She is next to a dirty pig for gods sake! I just don't get it! This brand is weird and over priced! They are supposedly this hip, urban, cool clothing store, but to me its just dirty, un-attractive clothes that cost more than my pay check every two weeks. Sorry but not a fan, lets move on.

Then there is Anthropologie.

 This store is much more cuter than All Saints. I liked going through and looking at the gifts and kitchen ware in there as well as the clothes. Anthropologie's clothes are much more affordable. A pair of jeans here were sixty to eighty dollars. I didn't find any jeans over a hundred dollars. This store also has kitchen ware,  as I said earlier, which was very cool to look at.

The first picture is an outfit that is so cute and totally affordable! This whole outfit costs under two hundred dollars. This second picture is an ad I thought represented this store the best. This brand is definitely inspired by the earth, and elements, and this ad represents that. These clothes are more "normal" than All Saints. If I was a mom and like 15 years older I would totally wear these clothes.

I saved my favorite of the three for last. The next store is Urban Outfitters.

 First of all I walked into this store not knowing anything about it as well as the other three, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I really related to this store. I would totally shop here. I also love to read so I was happy when I looked over to my left and saw the little selection of quite unique books. This store is quirky, unique and I love it. This store and Anthropologie have way more in common than All Saints, but Urban Outfitters caters to more younger people I think. Anthropologie seems to be more 28-40 year old people,  and Urban Outfitters looks like its more 16 - 30 year olds. Seeing as I'm 23, I relate more with Urban Outfitters. There is something about this store that, to me, screams Seattle. I don't know what it is, but the clothes are like more made for rain weather, and the items in there are what people in Seattle like. I hate to stereotype Seattle people, I have lived here for 4 years now, but seriously there is something about this store that fits right in with Seattle. I can't pin point it, but it's not a bad thing, I really love this store. Here is a couple ads I found and I just love them.

This ad is so fashion forward I think, I mean I'm not a fashion major, but to me it's very hip, new and fresh. I love it!  Its very attractive, it draws me in.

                       

This ad is awesome. First of all, it is so Seattle! The flannel, the ripped shirt, it screams Seattle and Urban outfitters. It's also very interesting. It catches your eye and forces you to come  closer to read what its all about, and that's what a great ad should do.

This is my favorite Urban Outfitters ad, I love it!! It is very attractive to the eye, these beautiful people with there cool, hip, clothes, its an amazing clothing ad. It draws you in in more ways than one. First with these attractive people, than with the intriguing clothes, than with that sexy demeanor and pose it has everything me, as a consumer, wants.

  Here are the stores' websites, in case you are more interested:

http://www.us.allsaints.com/ 

(make sure you are on the U.S. site not the United Kingdom one, don't just type in Allsaints.com that's what I did and it and it takes you to the UK one, lol.)

 www.anthropologie.com/

www.urbanoutfitters.com/ 

Week 2 - Applied Design and Branding

Applied Design is design you see day to day, and might not even realize you are looking at designs. For example when your driving down the freeway and see those billboards, or when your grocery shopping and they have those signs that might say Deli or Bakery. How about those instructional manuals that everyone dreads going through on Christmas morning trying to set up the big toy from Santa. Or going to the mall is a great example of applied design, on the kiosks, and in every store. All of this is applied design. I like to think of it as daily life design.

This is an advertisement at a bus stop. Every day I'm sure hundreds of people see that ad and remember it without even trying to pay attention, and that is the goal of the ad.

This is a mall. This has examples of signage, kiosk interface, informational design, apparel design, window display design, way finding design, etc. You would be surprised as to how many different designs you get right at your fingertips at a mall. Most of the time it is overwhelming....I hate shopping. Most people love it though, it caters to all walks of life.

This is a Verizon kiosk, usually found in a mall. This is a great design because it is a mini store that people can come right up and get there questions in and out. Its quick, no waiting to talk to a person that will answer your questions. Consumers want that quick service. This is also a great quick way to advertise new phones and new products right out in the middle of the consumer traffic, there is no better place.

This is also a great example of applied design. Lots of consumer traffic is always good. There are lots of signage and way findings as well.

I love this amazing window display design by Diesel. It also shows their apparel design, and in store projection. Diesel is a popular clothing store that takes advertising to new levels.

Branding can be a product of applied design. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. This is my interpretation of that: Basically a brand is an identifier to the company. You want a recognizable brand name,symbol, logo, etc. This is actually very important so that when the consumer glances at it, they know what it is immediately. For instance McDonald's, or Pepsi.

The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:  

• Delivers the message clearly
• Confirms your credibility
• Connects your target prospects emotionally
• Motivates the buyer
• Concretes User Loyalty

To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand at every point of public contact. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. You must remember that it is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and most that you cannot. A strong brand is so necessary, as the battle for customers intensifies day by day. It's important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It's a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.

The key point in branding, i think, is: 
              It's not really about getting your target market to chose you over the competition, it's REALLY about getting your target market to see that you are the ONLY one that provides a solution to their problem.
    Here is an example of a brand that i think is on top of its game:

 

Here are some links to advertisements. We are to look at them and give our opinion on what we think about these brands.

http://www.abercrombie.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/home_10051_10901_-1 

             First of all, this ad is great! I love it! It's engaging, intriguing, and beautiful. It got my attention for sure.

http://fblegacy.com/store/

       I do not like it. The clothes don't match the attitude of the advertisement. You have some big tough man that has weapons hanging down from his jeans, and yet he is wearing like a layered fancy shirt and a fancy sport coat. I don't get it. It just doesn't appeal to me at all.

http://us.levi.com/home/index.jsp

     This advertisement is mediocre. It isn't bad, but it isn't anything exciting. I would have had a more exciting picture of those jeans, maybe the man playing outside without a shirt, not only complementing the jeans but drawing us in as well. The thing that saves this ad is that interesting question in big letters right in your face. I love that aspect of the ad. Now everyone wants to know how your jeans could save up to 16 million liters of water, and Levis is the only one with the answer. Perfect marketing strategy. So it wasn't a home run, but you didn't strike out, nice ad.

http://www.filson.com/?gclid=CIqy5qSppqUCFRZy5Qod52oY5g

       Personally, it's boring. That's mainly because i am not interested in what they are tyring to sell me. It looks like this company sells outdoor clothing and i don't camp barely ever, so i wasn't interested. On the other hand though, this ad i straight forward and they cater to their demographic. Men that hunt, fish, or camp, this is the company for them, and this ad seems like an efficient way to find what your looking for.

http://lifestyle.applebottoms.com/company.asp

         I think this ad is very fresh, and hip, and intriguing. I do not like the text to the right of the picture. It seems to be taking up most of the room, and it is sort of hard to read. The font needs to be a couple sizes larger, and all that text might look better if it wasn't all on the first page of the website, leave that crap for someone who wants to read it, they can track it down

Week 1 - Modern vs. Postmodern

The design process starts out with figuring out the problem. Once you have figured out the problem, then you should brainstorm solution ideas. Rather than jump right into a create a final version, you need to research your topic, brand, or company, etc. Than start by making simple thumbnail sketches just to get your ideas on paper.  Once you have narrowed a few that you and your client like, than you can start finalizing them. You should then have two or three final comps. to present to your client. From there you pick which design solution best fits the problem at hand.

A creative brief is a project summary that you and your client will go over before all that design process starts. Here is a sample creative brief 

Your creative brief might include the target audience, some background of the client/company, the perception, the tone of the project, guidelines, and the communication strategy.



Modern art refers to art that is new, simple, has clean lines. Modern culture believes in a perfect society, a utopia. Here are a few examples:

Postmodernism is a vague term used to describe the many approaches to art that follow modernism. Postmodern culture believes nothing  is new. Re-contextualization is taking something that is all ready done and altering it enough to be your own.  Here are some examples of Postmodern art: