How Gilty?

So I saw this full spread ad in a Victoria's Secret magazine. Yes, I know the picture has a glare and its hard to see, but bear with me here. Anyone see the blooper? Or maybe its a new trend to spell it 

g-i-l-t-y. All I know is they made this blooper twice as big because its on a full page spread. Kind of embarrassing, for being such a top notch designer store. Not only this but I wish there were a wider variety of shoes displayed here. I feel like all the same kind of girl would wear these. And its winter time. Shouldn't they be advertising boots this time of the year. Also why are there balloons in the background? In my opinion it makes the shoes appear dull. Overall I don't feel like this is a very successful design and feel he/she should have checked the spelling.

Meijer Billboard

After this class I have started noticing more and more in little ole Champaign, in terms of graphic arts. And when I drove past Schnucks on the left, stretched over a huge billboard, was this advertisement on the right. I thought what a good idea, pumpkin pie=Thanksgiving and Christmas tree= Christmas. Ahh makes you realize the holidays ARE here! What was ironic is that I saw the pie first, then noticed the tree. In that order. I guess it depends on who you are, but most likely Meijer intended for this effect. The typography is noticed secondary to the images, and I like how its in between the slice of pie and the whole. What I like about the art is that it is easily understood because how simple it is. As you can see the consumer would get it without the words. Overall, I believe this is a grail of advertisement.

Jimmy Johns

As I was driving down University, from the opposite direction I usually go, and noticed this huge 'seal' painted on the opposite side of the Jimmy John's brick building. This is obviously not the exact picture, but I don't think I'll drive and take one. You get the idea though. In my opinion, JJ's has a perfect advertising strategy and is very loud. They used the side of their building as a huge billboard to paint their logo. The Urbana JJ's is not the only location in which they take this approach. It is everywhere, like a branding. Their type style is a clean sans-seriffed font. Something else I have noticed when ordering a sandwich is that they use this as a sticker to keep the wrapping on. Like a nice bow on the packaging, and approved by Mama!

Mucha Menu

This is a menu design in the Art Nouveau style, which is almost too obvious. I came across this when researching some inspiration for a menu design for one of my other classes. The language used on the menu seems to be French or Italian if I were to guess. I absolutely love the font style used for the word Menu. If you look close you can see the bottom of these letters are shaded a little bit darker than the tops to make the word "Menu" stand out. Even though overall I like this menu and is nice inspiration, I really feel the word "choice" on the left hand side is very unnecessary. The drawing of the lady is done by the famous Alphonse Mucha. I have to admit this is what attracted me to the menu  more than anything. She makes the restaurant seem very fancy and detailed, just like the picture of her.

Tucked away

It seems to be the new thing around town to draw with Sharpies on walls..or maybe I'm just now starting to take notice? Either way this particular design was drawn in the ladies bathroom. Yes, exactly what I just said. A little coffee shop off of Lincoln called Cafe Paradiso, that is very much a college kids paradise. There is no exact function that this art serves other than pure aesthetic. I love the style of the artwork and how it is reflected. The style to describe it would definitely psychadelic. The design is not supposed to be any thing, nor does it really represent any thing, I would describe this piece as a refined doodle. What attracted my to it was how well the lines are patterned on each side and had me step closer to admire and picture it.

Checkered Moon

I came across this cute little boutique yesterday in the plaza by Kirby and Mattis in Champaign. They sell furniture and some clothes. But I adore the style and vibe they give off with their decor and design. The name Checkered Moon in itself does not seem to really fit or make sense. When I think checkered, I imagine the 50's with the black and white tiled floor that was so popular in the kitchen back then. However this boutique is far from that. In this aspect the name does not seem to fit. However the owner claims to have picked this name because (as illustrated in the picture on the right) she loves color and those coordinating. When I read this about her, the boutique now makes sense. A color palatte full of funky squares and a triangle to make it the roof illustrates that she mostly sells many colors of home decor.

Tap Good or Bad?

I found this image surfing on Pinterest when I was supposed to be doing homework. Well we all know how that goes..Anyways! This is an advertisement to promote the use of reusable glass bottles. They claim that bottled water wastes and is not as good for you as tap. For every bottle of water you drink imagine it filled one quarter of the way with oil. That is how much it takes for each plastic bottle. What attracted me to this was sadly not the eco-friendly aspect but the word "Tap". I really like the faucet on the top of the "T", and the spout at the descender of the "P". What works is that it doesn't seem forced. Also, The slogan "Bottled water is rubbish" is super catchy because it makes those who drink it seem wasteful.

Farm&Fleet

I pass by the Blain's Farm and Fleet sign about everyday, and every time I look at it I dislike it more and more. Their logo consists of their two F's faced back to back and distorted to look like wings and what looks like a random head sitting at the top between the two. So all together it is a cheesy twist to look like an eagle. I feel it is very unnecessary to the understanding of the business and makes not a whole lot of sense. Why an eagle? Whats the significance? The two F's used in Farm and Fleet are a different font altogether. I think that the company's sign would be more successful and less busy if they did away with the logo. What would make it even better if it looked more stable and sans serif as opposed to the feminine script font for the word Blain's. Over all the components of the sign appear to be quite clip-arty and is a poor design.