P2 Final Presentation

The day has finally come! It is the day of final presentation for our second project, which is product advertising. My partner and I chose "Colgate 360 SonicPower" toothbrush and these are the ads we came up with.







The concept is that "Colgate 360 SonicPower" toothbrush does it like a professional. We have 3 themes with is a professional killer, swimmer, and tool. With that being said, the headline, sub-headline, and the image relate to each other.

The critique was not as bad as I expected it to be. Our professor stated that we have solid ideas and concepts but we need to work on the layout.

I saw some amazing ads that the class did and I cannot help but feel proud of them. My mouth literally opened when I saw this particular group's ads! When I first start taking art classes, most of us did not have any skills or knowledge, which results in a not so great work. But now, look at us! We are on our way and we improved a lot! I actually learn something each day and I hope to carry that with me forever. Do you guys feel that way too? I am just so proud of you guys and myself for coming this far. Pat yourself in the back :)

I met up with my new partner the next day to discuss our brief for the third and last project of this course. The assignment is to come up with a 2-3 minutes video that promotes Cal State L.A. Fine Art program in Graphic Design/Visual communication. The video must be uploaded online (Youtube?). Wait, that is not all. We also have to make an offline piece that will a companion to the online piece. I was not excited about this at first but boy, my partner and I were on a roll! Ideas kept rolling in and it was not a stressful process like before. This makes me VERY excited to get started! Seriously though, I am excited!

By the way, for the first time ever, I will be attending AIGA Portfolio Day this year! I already signed up and paid. I am also in the process of getting everything ready to show on that day! And I renewed my AIGA membership! It was not cheap I tell you, but it is worth it!

Self-Everything (Mon 27th)

Professor had a sick day so the class had to do everything ourselves without any guidance. Since we are seniors and all, I believe we are capable to carry on as a class.

The class went over the groups' works and critique all we can. I was MIA because I went to the doctor. However, my partner took notes of what happened. I realized something about partnership and that is trust. You need to trust your partner regardless, since you are stuck with him/her for a few weeks.

I mentioned that I have been struggling on this "marriage" and I was going crazy because I feel like I have to do everything myself. Ever since I became sick, I decided to do half of the work and actually let my partner do her half. I hope she is doing it correctly. Sometimes you just cannot sweat over things like this. I hope that my decision of letting her do the work is not going to fire back at me. I will see her part tomorrow since we have to fix everything before the final presentation on Wednesday.

Missed (Wed 22nd)

I missed class on Wednesday because I am very sick. It got worse since then. My lip is actually swollen right now. It is numb too. I want to go see a doctor but they do not open on Sunday. I really want to go on Monday but there are classes. It is awful when your body is not doing well when you need it the most. It is week 8 and I just want to finish strong.

I believe I will go see a doctor tomorrow.

My partner and I worked on the project all week. I cannot wait to hear the critique because I really want feedback. However, I really need to go see a doctor.

Anything Is Possible (Mon 20th)

"Anything is possible. Go for it. If you live in fear, nothing is possible." - Jimmy Moss

That was the advice Jimmy gave us today. He also added that we should not make decisions based on fear because we will do it again and again. Acknowledge your fear and go for it. Go with your heart. Don't be foolish and go for what matter. When he said this, a lot of things were going through my head. I was not only applying this to Art 445 but my life in general. It is easier said than done if anything. Fear is such a powerful enemy, you know?

We started the class with an open discussion of Kali Nikitas, a guest speaker who came to talk for Gauge speaker event last week. Apparently we all have a different opinion of her. At first I liked her because of her easy going personality. She was open with her personal life and she came off as a satisfied woman in both personal and career life. While I rewrite my response, I have a different opinion of her. For example, she said she did not make her website, and that her graduated students made it. I was questioning why didn't she make it herself? Nikitas stated that her website reflected her personality and that it is logical for her. Well, won't it be more "logical" if you make your own website? Why does other people, in this case her students, design the website? That is just one of the questionable remarks but I have a few more in my paper.

After that, the class went around and take a look at each other's ads. Once again, my group is behind. Classmates were giving us mixed comments on different ads. At this point my group does not know which direction to take anymore. I am frustrated with this project because I feel like I am the only one who wants to make it real good. Sigh.

At one point, Jimmy gave us another advice about designing a spread (2 pages). He said to NOT put important stuff in the middle for spread. Faces should NOT be in the middle because it is a focal point. When you design a spread, the middle gets cut out and folded. Anything important should be in a clear and visible area. Text should NOT be in the middle either.

Some classmates already posted their initial comps on facebook group. I mentioned this before that we have to produce our own images. That is the hardest part for me since it takes a lot of time and effort to product original contents. It's hard for me because I only have a day or two to do so while struggling with two jobs. It should not be an excuse, I know. However, I have more time on the weekend which results in better work by Monday. I hate going to class knowing that our work is not ready for a critique. I am angry at myself, my partner, the time, and just the world. I am going to work on the ads now.

It's A Mind Thing (Wed 15th)

Today each group was able to meet with Jimmy one on one and receive some feedback on the 40 sketches. My partner and I did half half (20/20) but judging from my partner's sketches, she did not have 20 different concepts. Let alone, spell the brand correctly...This partnership is tougher than the last one for sure. Partnership can be a beautiful thing but when you are partner with someone who is not on the same level as you, it is like a broken marriage. I hope to get a male partner on my next project so I can get a different perspective. Partner is picked randomly though.

Jimmy advised that we should be connected to heart and emotion. To challenge yourself and that designing is a mind thing. The statement sounds pretty deep but I wonder if we all understand it.

One of the problems that my partner and I encountered is that we did not have a specific audience. We did, but it was not specific enough. You should be able to imagine the image of the audience just by listening to the description from the brief. If you cannot, then you have not done a good job with that area.

Here is a tip: the cover model from the magazine is usually who the audience wants to be or respect. You can also tell who is the audience of that magazines judging from the ads inside the magazine!

Do not forget this important question when it comes to designing an ad: What is the number one thing that you want the people to know?! If you cannot answer that, then you do not have a central core/concept for your ad.

After the critique, my partner and I wrote a new brief. We did more research about the magazine and found the demographic/buyer's information. I could not believe how easy it was to find it! All I did was visiting the website of that magazine and the information was there. It definitely helps my group to write a better brief since we now know who are the audience.

I hope everyone is doing well on this project! More sketches and concepts are due tomorrow.

Be Curious, Be Obsessed (Mon 13th)

This time around we are going to do a product advertisement. Each group is going to produce 3 sets of campaign ads for an existing product. I am really excited about this because the ads will be printed in colors!

The class sat in a circle and discussed more about advertising. We noticed how image is first then headline, lock together in a unit. The bottom part of the ad is a logo and action. This is probably the formula of how to make a good ad.

Advertisement comes in many forms. The smart one makes you pay for the product, and make you advertise it. Samples can be seen in Abercombie & Fitch and Juicy Couture. Notice you pay about $15 or more for a shirt with their logo on it then you advertise for them by wearing it. Talk about free advertisement.

With the ad, if the concept is there, it does not matter what form of media it is. However, you need to figure out how the audience can and will experience it.

Graphic Designers make something out of seemingly nothing.

Like I mentioned before, clients only care if the ads sell their products. It's all about money!

Consumer insight is understand what drives people so you can influence their buying habits.

Also you must know what you're trying to communicate before sketching!

For reference, these are the 2 books we discussed in class today:
1 - Advertising Concept and Copy by George Felton Second Edition
2 - Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media by Robin Landa Second Edition

And last but not least, I'm going to leave with a quote said by our Professor: "Ideas are commodity."

Final Presentation (Wed 8th)

The wait is finally over! We had presentations today and for a first presentation, I think the whole class did fairly well.

The two ads above are my group's final ads. Once again, the topic is U.S. Citizenship. The superman ad stands for pro while the apple pie ad stands for con.

My partner Britteny presented the pro and I presented the con side. We first focused on informing the class about the topic more than design-wise. We believe that by informing the audience about the topic is important because without knowing the topic and pros/cons, they cannot pick a side. Also, they will not be able to have an opinion about what makes the ads effective or not. At first I was confused and thought we have to discuss about the ads design-wise but I figured the classmates will comment on the design during critique time anyway.

For the second project, we are doing product advertising. Jimmy assigned a new partner for everyone. Our homework is to write a brief about the product we want to advertise. It must be an existing product. This time, we are doing color ads, not black and white. We are also doing three ads campaign for this product. I am excited about this because I have never done a series of campaign before. One of the concerns that I have is money. Colored printing is not cheap! And we're doing three ads this time.

Class on Monday will be interesting because we are probably going to work on sketches. Back to the lab!

Final Comps (Mon 6th)

The class went over every group's ads for the last time today. I saw some great works and some no so great works. Overall, I was impressed with some of the ads. I believe I can speak this for the class, that we still have awkward language issue in our ads.

There are many things my partner and I have to fix, especially with Typography. Jimmy went over how it's embarrassing for him when we continue to make the same mistakes. I can understand his frustration because I am too. I feel like I need to see the real printed ads to catch mistakes. I am not going to make any excuses. In the end, it's on me and my grades. I just don't like to be the one that makes him frustrated.

My partner and I are finishing the last round of editing and we will print today. I'm overwhelmed with midterm week. Projects are due, papers are due, and two jobs. I'm struggling here but I feel that I have not give it my all. I hope to wow the class with our presentation tomorrow. Do not forget to dress up business casual, have your tag, and cover sheet!

Getting Ready (Wed 1st)

For today, each group put up their 2 ads on the wall and everyone took a look around. We went over the class that the 2 ads need to be on the right size which is 10" by 21.5"

Some illustrations were "crappy" and not LA Times Newspaper worthy, said Jimmy. This is the first time that I was not able to use images from an existing source. Producing your own original image is hard work. When you produce your own images, you have to consider the size, quality, color, and much more. I was stressing over it but I believe the 2 ads my partner and I have are ready for this upcoming Monday critique.

Another thing that the class has an issue with is awkward language. Jimmy read each ad out loud and some did not make sense. Choosing your words carefully is a part of this project.

Chunking typography can be a good thing. Chunking is when you seperate paragraphs into each square section, kind of like columns. When the body text gets too long, nobody wants to read that.

Here are the thumbnails of both ads. Like I mentioned before, our topic is U.S. Citizenship. The pro wants to enforce the existing laws of becoming a U.S. Citizen while the con, wants to change the existing laws of becoming a U.S. Citizen. I know the thumbnail is kind of small but you get the idea. My partner and I hope to get critique and helpful comments on them.


*The pie ad is CON. The superman ad is PRO.