Sidewalk chalk--> Green Graffiti

Back in high school when I was campaigning for student body president I thought it was such a GENIUS idea to use sidewalk chalk advertising. It's cheap and people notice it. Some down sides are it's a little messy, and if the weather is bad- you're out of luck. But what if you lived in sunny california? The coastal boardwalks provide ample foot traffic where your ads would get noticed.

Water stenciling, also know as "reverse graffiti" or "green grafitti" is a fairly new form of advertising that allows brands to get their ad across by virtually power washing sidewalks. People use high-pressure water guns and stencils, which cleans the sidewalk and provides a new ad. Some of the first companies to use this form of advertising are GreenGraffiti (Amsterdam), CURB (London), & GoGorilla Media (New York).

Excess Baggage

I like how Muller pushed the idea of how annoying it is to be charged for bags on airlines. Muller took it to the next level when they moved outside of the airline industry and into taxi cabs. It forces the customer to remember how shocking it was when airlines started charging for bags. This ad highlights how ridiculous bag fees are! I hope the taxi industry doesn't adopt this trend.






Austin's GSD&M Idea City, exaggerates the benefit with their "Bags Fly Free" campaign. According to an article in Insidethatad.com:

" 'Bags Fly Free' has proven to be a strong marketing campaign for Southwest, and the airline believes it is a major reason that Southwest has gained market-share in domestic airline service, said Kevin Krone, Southwest’s vice president of marketing and sales distribution. Momentum has built since many leisure travelers fly infrequently and are still adjusting the hefty fees that other airlines are charging to check baggage."

Both Ad Agencies use mockery to say their airline has overall cheaper flights. I like how Southwest emphasized all bags fly free. The Southwest spots talk more about the benefit because they literally say "bags fly free" numerous times throughout the commercial. Whereas JetBlue focuses too much on the ridiculousness of charging extra for bags...it doesn't sell the benefit as well as GSD&M. Muller's tagline is also misleading "Check your first bag for free"- it doesn't seem like such a great deal after all. I do give Muller credit for making a funny ad, but in the end Southwest allows you to bring more bags for your buck.

Stella Artois- MOTHER

This ad puts a clever twist on what happens when a guy brings a girl home. He shows off his cool gadgets and woos her. But this time, she is engulfed by the gadgets and the beer prevails to be what the guy really wants. As a woman, I'm not offended by this ad. I think it could go both ways- it could have easily  been set in a woman's apartment and the guy could have been eaten by the couch. I'd like to see more like this but with different scenarios. Perhaps a man proposes to a woman in a very extravagant way- and instead of wooing over the ring/proposal she is more excited by the stella that he gives her before the proposal. It could also be a great interactive ad on a website. It'd be fun to click around the apartment and play with the different gadgets and see how creative/subtle the art director could be with product placement.

Texture_1

 

A thick wooden Indian sculpture seems appropriate to start the design blog off. This rounded belly fella is a God, noted by his many arms.

Texture_2

 

The crackled walls are a product of weather and time. It's an antique look that many in the US try to imitate with sandpaper & other "foe finishes".

Texture_3

 

This is one of the few things I photographed in Agra besides the Taj Mahal. I'm not sure if the truck works, but the rusted exterior gives it character.

Texture_4

 

I wish I could take one of these old Indian doors home with me. Why would you ever buy something at Pottery Barn? To attain this rustic look just find some old wood and hammer in some nails and rust! 

Texture_5

 

If you look closely at the figures you can make out they are wearing long dresses. It is probably a painting of farm women carrying water or tending to the field.

Pattern_1

 

The criss-crossed metal bars create a geometric pattern on this door. I like how the background had geometric shapes as well, adding to the depth and busyness of the pattern.

Pattern_2

 

We went to a marble factory in Jaipur. They did a demo and showed us how each slab was hand cut and intricately placed with semi-precious stones. One of the stones illuminates when light is placed under it. Would make for a great outdoor patio table!

Pattern_3

 

Here is a classic example of clashing patterns! At least he wasn't wearing the drape or rug. Despite the dizziness of the patterns, the gold, red and blue color palate compliments each other.

Pattern_4

Pattern_5

 

A row of blue trucks surprisingly made a nice pattern.

Negative Space

 

The sky between the dark arch in the foreground and the building in the background lets your eyes breathe for a while. You're not forced to look just at the decorative arch, or the arches in the distance, but the space lets you make the relationship at your own pace.

 

Since the "negative space" is filled with background colors, I think the black is actually the void of space.

Figure Ground

 

This was an astrological map. What was neat about is the map was cut in half so scientists could walk between the map. As far as design principles there is a great push and pull of space between the white and the stairs in the background. The radial lines and grid add to the complexity of the composition.

Grid System

 

Natural grid system vs. Man made chains.

 

Both grids set a frame for a building (a humble house and a not so humble tomb- The Taj). 

 A dinosaur theme park grid system! Found this at a mall in Mumbai. It's my favorite grid system because it's playful & there are lots of diffrent grids/systems 1) The Dinosaur bones 2) the animals 3) The leaves 4) the farm background 5) The actual geometric grid/lighting.

Hierarchy

There are a series of hierarchies going on in this moment. We stopped on the side of the road in Mt. Abu to take some pics of the monkeys when a car of locals brought out some food. The monkeys flocked the food (as well as their car!) It was an interesting sight because the humans had power over the mother with their food, but the monkeys also were trampling on their car.  The mom was the dominant animal protecting her baby both from hunger and harm of the humans (aka our flashing cameras).

Eyeflow (Continuous)

 

The eye follows the extreme drop downwards.

 

I call this one "Underwear man". The horizontal strings of lingerie allow your eye to playfully travel across the page and then spirals back into the abyss of under garments.

Gestalt

 

This over sized silver jug was at a Palace in Jaipur. I liked the sharpness of the silver and the blurriness of the figures reflected in the jar (I'm in yellow). There's also a greater visual in the background, the mirror behind the jar is reflecting the ceiling.

Alignment

 

It doesn't seem like the chandeliers are perfectly aligned because of the camera angle, but they are nicely matched up with the points on the arches. The scale of the chandeliers helps distinguish the alignment as a recession into space.

Proximity

These two monkeys were pretty much the same physical distance from me, but I felt closer to the bottom one because he is in his natural environment. It's almost as if he's waving to me! But the poor monkey on the top is chained by this man! I mean, who wouldn't want a pet monkey... but it just seems wrong to lock a monkey up. The glass also set a barrier, and furthered the distance between us.

Symmetrical Balance

OK. I didn't obviously take this photograph myself (even though I could have set a self timer). I thought it was too risky in case my headstand faltered. I found a nice British tourist to capture my pose. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I planned out my white outfit so I would look stoic against the white Taj. Maybe it's ridiculous... but I'm humbled I got to experience the Taj's perfection from a unique viewing point.

Asymmetrical Balance

 

When flipping through my camera I was surprised to see this bird! I had snapped the photo so fast that I didn't even know he was in there until I took a second look. The fanned pattern in his wing is nicely repeated in the fence of the fort. The curvature of his wing is also balanced by the deep roll of the hill and curvature at the end of the fort.

Scale

 

I thought this could be a powerful image for an ad campaign against eating disorders or beauty... This little girl is too young to be standing on a scale, but the bright colors and lights attract her to the machine.

Unity

 

Just a common shop set-up in Rajasthan. If it were just one bag of Cheetos of gum it wouldn't have the same sense of unity when all of the packages are strung together. I'm not sure why they hang their food like this, space conservation perhaps? Regardless, I like it and it makes me want to but a whole string of them not just one!

Contrast

 

I like the juxtaposition of a fan and a chandelier in a Hindu temple. They both seem out of place (the fan more so than the chandelier). 

 

This is Kelly. She is sitting next to a man in a turban. Even though they're from opposite ends of the  world, don't they look like pals?

Perspective

The man taking a photo on the right leads the eye into the focal point in the upper left hand corner. The diagonals also lead the eye to the same point up on the hill. The dark foreground separates the bright middle and background.

Point of View

 

A view of the street from a second story window in Old City Ahmedabad. I liked the angle of the street corner as well as the birds eye view.

Mass

BEEP BEEP. Don't want to get under this guy. I felt weightless when we went on our elephant ride. Each step was a thunderous shake to the pavement and a vibration in my ribs.

Repetition

 

"GET YOUR EGGS". 

There were three groups of "repetition" here: 1) the eggs 2) the stacks of books and 3) the soccer balls. Removing the color helped  emphasizes the repetitive pattern in the round shapes.

Rhythm

You seesome road kill here in India, but mainly it's livestock roaming the streets (and highways). The sheep had a nice clicking in their trot. They really add a sense of humor to a traffic jam.

Proportion

An enlarged Chess set at the Taj Palace Hotel in Jaipur. The close up of the knight gives a sense of his size compared to the chess pieces and people in the background. The irony in this picture is that the King of Jaipur is hosting a party in the background.

Tension

 

Hagglers= Tension. They are literally climbing onto the back of our Jeep here (and we were moving!)

Kinetic Sequencing

 

Our lovely ride on the metro gave us a spectacular view of Delhi. We were moving pretty fast and the city seemed to be moving faster through the windows. But inside the metro was a quiet stillness, creating a nice contrast. 

Red

 

On MICA's campus the bricks have these super rich red and burnt umber tones. Whenever it rains the colors get even deeper.

Red-Orange

 

This Hindu dude was chillin inside The Sun Temple. He called me up to his shrine, at first I was hesitant, but then he smiled and smeared a red bindi on my forehead. He was pleased to pose for a picture and smiled when I showed it to him. He made my day and I think I made his!

Orange

 

These paper lanterns/decorations are draped everywhere in the markets of Old City Ahmedabad. Reminds me of something out of "That 70s Show" or a Hawaiian Luau.

Yellow-Orange

 

Not sure if this woman was calling me over to her or telling to not take a photo. I couldn't help it though what a perfect yellow-orange

 

Its overwhelming how much construction is going on in India. It's common to see yards of tractors. These are newer machines though. A lot of the farmers use outdated ones, is a new tractor really worth the new coat of yellow-orange paint? Personally, I like the texture on the older ones.

Yellow

 

I am so tempted to buy the fruits in the market but we're told not to because of pesticides. These lemons looked just on the brink of being ripe.

 

The yellow makes these benches inviting and cheery.

Yellow-Green

There is a natural tension with the barbed wire, but the bright yellow-green somehow keeps this photograph fresh. The leaves are so natural and happy that they can't be tied down by the rusty wire.

Green

 

A man was grinding precious stones on this wheel. The muddiness of the green makes me want to slop in on the walls of a garage or something utilitarian like a tool shed.

Blue-Green

Took a few photos of these and when the light hit the canvas, the true blue-green really illuminates. If the shadow was heavy or too bright, you lost the color.

Blue

 

This wasn't even a pool at our hotel but a fountain. The pool also had a deep blue color that relaxes you.

Blue-Violet

The cloth was covering up a parrot's cage at my friend Sahil's house. The light transferred nicely through the fabric giving it a glowing effect.