Week 7: Real Life Inspiration

I was at Trader Joes the other day, and I found these facial products. I loved the design of them. I thought that the pattern was so appropriate for something that is organic. I really liked the style of the pattern, it looks hand drawn and maybe even like its colored or painted in. I also thought that the color scheme was very appropriate because it looks earthy and has an organic feel to it. I also think that it was very smart that they made it pretty plain and simple around the type because there is a lot going on on the rest of the label. I also thought it was cool that the label of the two different products were different but kept the same style and color scheme. This is definitely a case where the packaging would definitely make me buy this product over another one. 

Week 7: Inspiration from the Internet

My inspiration for this week is one of the new temporary tattoo sets from Tattly, it's the Monster Set. In case you dont know, tattly is a site that sells temporary tattoos made by graphic designers. These ones were made by Anke Van Der Meer from the Netherlands. I thought these were the cutest things ever. I also love the illustration style. I like that there are no border lines, like a coloring book, it almost just looks like cut paper. They are so simple but well designed. I like that they added texture by using patterns on some of them. I  think that the color palette is also very fitting because it is bright and fun. I would definitely wear these as a kid (or even now) haha.

Week 6: Real Life Inspiration

So, I was at Trader Joe's with someone that I work with, and we saw these. I didn't know how I felt about them because I'm not a big fan of ginger, but the girl I was with said that they were so good and she loved them. I really liked the packaging on them, so I figured, why not buy them and see. Well, I was really excited when I was opening them because they had such cute little folded wrappers. I loved that they were folded like little fancy candies you would find at a fancy restaurant or hotel. I also liked the color scheme and simple pattern they chose. I also think that the typeface went well with the fancy theme that they had going on. I do think that the ginger man on the front is a little but creepy, but he does actually look like a piece of ginger so I guess it is appropriate. In the end, the verdict was that I hated them and thought they were gross. Moral of the story, good package design can make someones decision if they are not sure whether or not they want to buy your product. Therefore, the good design almost makes up for the quality of the product. (at least for me, haha.)

Week 6: Inspiration From The Internet

http://www.bonnaroo.com/
I was feeling sorry for myself because I didn't get to go to Bonnaroo this summer. (If you don't know what it is, it's a 4 day music festival in Tennessee that they have every summer). Soo, I was looking at their website, and I noticed how awesome it was. There's a really cool illustrated header, that looks almost like it is hand drawn. Another thing that I really liked was the typeface of the nav, I'm not exactly sure which one it is, or if they created it specifically for this site, but either was I love it and I think it goes with the rest of the site very well. And when you hover over the nav a rounded drop down menu comes down which I think goes very well with the typeface because there are no harsh corners on it. I also thought it was very cool that when you scroll down on the homepage, the color changes and the truck and the clouds move. I think the clouds are extra awesome because it makes it look like the plane is flying. I think that these things will really keep peoples attention when they are looking at the site. The footer is also cool because they have incorporated another illustration that matches the style of the top to tie it all together. I love that the style looks handmade and almost cartoon like, I think that it is very appropriate and gives the site a very fun feel. And the color scheme is appropriate too, they used a lot of purples and blues which are bright and catch your attention however they are mild enough that they don't hurt your eyes.

Week 5: Real Life Inspiration

This week, I was at the store and I happened to come across this. The tye dyed box really caught my eye. It is Annie's Homegrown Pasta. I thought that this packaging was so great. The colors really grab your attention and it all really fits the theme of "peace pasta". I also really liked that they changed their signature rabbit logo and gave him a peace sign necklace. I also think that the color scheme is very appropriate (besides the tye dye) the greens and purples definitely help to communicate that it is an organic product. I think it was definitely a successful design because I wanted to buy it as soon as I saw it. I am broke though, so I decided to wait to buy it at another time haha.

Week 5: Inspiration From The Internet

http://soundisstyle.com/
So recently, one of the main music websites that I use has changed. Formerly known as FMI tracks (Fighting Musical Ignorance) is now Sound Is Style. And along with the change of name, the website has changed a lot too. Starting this past year I have become a lot more interested and aware of web design. And when I first saw that this website changed, the first thing I noticed was the new nav. Although it is nothing too crazy, it is very sleek and clean. there is just a slight change when you hover, but I thought that it was very appropriate for the site. There is a lot going on on each page, so I think that it is very important to have a clean, simple nav. This also helps to make the website very easy to navigate. I also did take a look at the code, and I found out that it was coded in html and javascript. Since I have found this website a few months ago, I have actually befriended the founder of the site. I talked to him briefly when the site changed, and he said that he does the web design himself. I think that it is awesome that he has created and designed this website on his own, and he is not much older than I am. I think this goes to show that if you are passionate about something, you can accomplish a lot. His love of music and his idea to create a website to share music with others turned out to be very successful, and very helpful.

Week 4: Real Life Inspiration

Sorry this ones a little late, anyways I was flipping through my Communication Arts photography annual when I came across this series of photos. They were made for a maximum employment marketing group in Shanghai, and the ad agency Federal-Mogul. The company creates car parts like brakes, bearings, gears and other things like that. The point of the ad was show people the importance of the small parts that make up the whole, in this case, the small brakes and gears that make up a car. In order to do this, they put these small pieces in the shapes of animals. And these animals represented key elements in Chinese culture that also correspond with the viewpoints of the company. I thought that this was such a clever idea. It really emphasizes the importance of these small pieces. And I think it was very creative to incorporate the Chinese culture into these images also. I think it really goes to show how it's now just the whole or the end product that matters, the small pieces that make it up are also very important. This may go against the theory of Gestalt, because it's emphasizing the importance of the small parts rather than the whole. However, I think that they really made a great point and successfully communicated their message.