Jaguar recently revised their logo and showed the improvements this week. The timeline shows that it is basically a revision from 2002. The improvements make the logo and type more modern and clean. As in the interior of the Jaguar vehicles, the logo is finished in a 3-dimensional chrome that matches the luxury and lavishness in the brand itself. One major aspect of the improvement is in the type. The wider and shorter type gives off an edgy feel that may appeal to new customers. I think that this revision was effective in giving the company a new sophistication.

I was able to make it to portfolio day out at westwood college on Saturday and was sure glad I went. I personally got reviewed by John Judy and Randy Johnson. The feedback that I received was what I was expecting and I got some real good information on what to improve. A lot of inspiration came out of this event as well. I learned that the traditional go-to way isn't always the way to go. Sometimes it is better to go out on a tangent and do something completely unexpected and out-of-the-ordinary. Getting out and separating yourself from the herd can really show your characteristic and personality when it needs to be shown, especially in an environment as this where you want to be different. The key note speaker Robynne Raye also had a really cool talk in the afternoon, her work in snowboard/skateboard/surf design was right up my ally. She had a very different approach and inspiring outlook on how to show your work and survive in the professional world. All-in-All it was a good day getting some great information and encouragement on how to conquer the world in design. Own yourself, own your work, do good, and help others and success will find you.

Placement Advertisements are the best. They get your attention from far away and they are usually visually interesting. I saw a really great Coca Cola billboard recently and tried to get a good pic of it but    couldn't because it was on the side of a freeway. The Ad featured a Coke bottle with copy but what grabbed my attention was the palm tree behind the billboard. The Coke bottle was placed so that the palm tree was exploding out of the bottle as if it was the refreshing softdrink. This really was a perfect ad, I tried to go back and get a pic a couple days later but the billboard had changed. I guess the moral of the story is to just always have your camera ready, you never know whats out there...

Awesome Ad from Toys R' Us and Star Wars! This Ad brings the reality to a fiction franchise making it extremely believable. Putting a Death Star in the sky along with hurtling space ships puts the viewer/fan in the full-on movie experience. This being a commercial, transports the consumer from their couch to real-world experience if Star Wars were actually flying around their city. Excellent Ad!

I found these beautiful examples of print design done by Hybrid Design/Super 7. Although these are modern prints they definitely have a retro throw-back feeling to them. The simplicity and colors used makes them visually interesting and brings the viewer back to a period clarity and lack of decoration. These posters reminded me of how simple design can be done successfully without extra garnishing.

Subaru does it again! This was a really well done ad bringing an emotional connection between the driver of the car and the company. Showing the personal side of owning a car and what memories are created in it and how life can be changed by simply having a vehicle in your life. I think I connected with this ad most because of all the memories and life experiences I have had with my car. Relating with your audience is why this ad was successful and I personally think that many people can associate themselves with this commercial.

After attending the talk with Kali Nikitas from Otis I was very intrigued by interactivity. Engaging a person with advertisement brings in a personal and unique experience to the way the brand is perceived. Mercedes just released this interactive ad that lets people change the ad with their remote keys to there cars. By pushing a button on your remote that would unlock the doors, you can activate the ad to let different people out of the Mercedes. This ad is focusing on the versatility and room this particular model has to offer. I thought that this was a very creative move on Mercedes and I hope to see more in the future.

Thought that this was a good ad. Copy reads: A 5-blade, hydrating, customizable power tool. That also shaves. I am beginning to learn that bringing in a copy or text that initiates your thinking to something similar can be a very strong concept. The fact that this electric razor is referring to power tools is giving the reader (probably a 21-35 year-old male) a connection with something that they are familiar with. Talking about different subject matter and relating it to your product is hard to do but when successfully done can achieve great advertising.

Part of good advertising is innovation and perspective. Innovation is key to bringing new ideas and possibilities to a table where they may not have been thought of before. The perspective is also important because it continues to break the boundaries of what an advertisement can be. Volkswagon just came out with this Ad for the new beetle featuring a fat dog reinventing itself so that it can chase a car. I thought this was brilliant because the idea of a dog losing weight is totally off subject and doesn't have much to do with a car, or does it? VW related the dog losing its weight and reinventing itself with the beetle reinventing itself. Innovating new ideas and perspective that relates two different entities was very successful in this case. Since this Ad is meant for the superbowl, I think it was also amusing how VW tied in last years successful Ad with the Darth Vader kid as well. Good Job VW!

Design is hard. Anyone can put text and image together and claim it to be design, but in order for it to be successful it needs intelligence and meaning. A foundation of reasoning that supports your choices on why decisions were made are the backbones of a designer. Defending why a certain text was used with a particular image is part of the job and territory. The end result is what you make it to be. If you don't believe in yourself and your design and your reasoning doesn't add up, your design will fail. Make decisions that make sense and back up your designs. I forget how successful design can be when simplified. I found some posters from 1935-43 and they are simple, beautiful, and blunt. Let's get back to the basics and forget complicating things. Take design back to the simplicity that it was born and get your message conveyed victoriously.

Some of the most successful Ad campaigns are with automotive companies. From high-end Mercedes, Lexus, and BMW, these companies shell out serious cash for their commercials. It is up to us, the designers, to come up with these fresh ideas that continue to expand the way we take in information. Check out http://media.radugadesign.com/, a design firm focusing on digital animation and motion graphics. They just came out with this commerical for Audi, it is pretty amazing and worth all 3 minutes of the commercial. Their 3D mapping idea of transforming a car digitally before your eyes was not only advanced, but ground breaking and extremely successful.

These are the Ad's that I brought to class the other day. I think the main theme that makes all these Ad's successful is the fact that they're all jocular. Gathering attention through laughter is probably one of the most effective ways to get a point across. As I searched through magazines looking for Ad's that were successful, I discovered the ones that stood out were the ones that made me laugh. It also occurred to me that all these Ad's were from the same magazine (Maxim), targeting young males as myself. These Ad campaigns that funnel their messages through comedic relief are well thought-out and directed to make the consumer remember their product. Old Spice for example; Remembering the man, on a horse, on a beach, doing whatever as he pleases stays in my memory as comedic but reminds me that this man is the way he is because he uses Old Spice. There is also effective Ad placement being that it was in a magazine that a consumer such as myself would be reading.

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