What Happens In Vegas...

I have found that I always love anything Las Vegas oriented. When thinking about concepts, I think that the 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' tagline is something that will always bring a crazy fun time to mind.

Even if you have never been to Las Vegas, you find yourself using the tagline to protect anything you may do at a party or at another destination.

What I love about their concept is that they started their advertising years ago refering to the code; and now advertise about those who have broken the code. It keeps them relevant in the mounds of advertising one sees every day.

I have shared a few of my favorite commercials below, although I also loved their campaign with the same slogan through print.

Pure Beauty

While traveling in Puerto Rico earlier this year I found one of the most beautiful sites I have seen in my life.

I'm not sure why I thought this church was so beautiful. It may have been the fact that it was surrounded by water on the front and back side. It could have been the beautiful contrast of colors in the white building and blue of the sky and ocean. I found myself going back to this view and taking at least 10 more pictures of the building from different angles.

Even now when I want to relax, I think of this view from my cruise ship in early January. I will be going back to Puerto Rico next January for another cruise, and I find myself looking forward to the fact that I will be reunited with an old friend than the excitement of traveling to new countries. I even want to purchase a high resolution camera so that I can print the beauty I see while traveling, making sure to maintain its integrity and beauty.

I always take pictures while on vacation and want to share a few more of my favorite pictures with you, concluding with my favorite island in the world, Curacao.

A "secret beach" in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Sunset in Isla Mujeres, Mexico

My mother, cousin and I standing on rocks in Curacao

One of the Beaches of Curacao

Mac or PC?

I have been having an internal debate for the past year about the best computer to invest in. I have had a PC for years, but grew up on Macs, and want to know what the rest of the class prefers.

I know the benefits of both, and I'm sure all you Mac users disagree with me, but I am still unsure if I want to spend the money on a superior design machine.

I would really be interested in hearing from those who have recently switched, and want to know if there is an immediate difference in performance and display. It is important to me to have a machine that will allow me to do everything I need, but also have a large screen so I can easily do the detailed work that I enjoy doing.

Thank you for your feedback!

Cleaver Marketing of Plain Annoying?

Driving to work today I saw an alarming site! Not only was I a bit frightened by the idea of a giant pen flying into my car on 695, but to see such a bright car zoom by was a bit shocking.

Anyone who has paid their tab with a credit card in a restaurant in Baltimore is aware of their yellow and pink pens, but has Big Boyz Bail Bonds gone a bit too far with the car?

I must admit, their marketing strategy is flawless. If I ever needed to be bailed out of jail, I wouldn't have to think too long about my bail bondsmen of choice. That brings me to my questions, do you think that they have cleaver marketing, or that you would rather never see a yellow and pink pen again?

How To Pick Up Chicks

I came across this picture without even realizing that it met our weekly show and tell requirement for class.

I thought this was cute, and it reminded me of our second project; although I would hope that they were referring to women, not poultry, when creating the guide.

The Things We Do For Family

My cousin just opened a business, and like a good cousin, I "liked" her page on Facebook. Being in PR and design, I also made sure to look at her website to see how she had branded her business.

It is an understatement for me to say that I was a bit shocked, but I also knew that she knows very little about branding, and how important it will become to her business.

Since I had three weeks off from my day job, I knew that I should help her out, just as I would want people to help me out with my business someday. I showed her a very simple website that I created, and told her that if she needed any help that I would be more than happy to assist. Happily, she took me up on the offer!

But now I am in a predicament, I have no clue what direction I want to go in for her logo and webpage. She said that she would like something similar to her current logo, pictured above, but I still am a bit lost on inspiration. I would love any feedback that could be given, she is working hard, and I want to make sure that her business is well represented.

The Best Invention Ever?

While browsing the internet for design sites that I could use for inspiration, I found this picture. I followed it to the creator of the product, and was instantly excited! I am unsure if this has been on the market for a while, or if it is brand new, but either way, it is genius!

The PANTONE Skin Tone Guide was designed for a number or reasons, but you can also use it to find the perfect skin tone to make adjustments to photos or other designed materials. According to the PANTONE website the guide, which features 110 colors for $89, can also be used in beauty, fashion, medicine, printing, product design, and photography. They came up with the colors by "measuring thousands of actual skin tones across the full spectrum of human skin types".

While I don't see myself purchasing this yet, I do think that it is a great idea, and a wonderful invention.

Would you use this? Do you think it is a good idea, or something that you would probably never need to use?

Inspiration

On our first day of class, we were told that showering tends to bring about inspiration. I have tried to find the best way to give myself inspiration, and have found that the best time for me is while I fall asleep.

Lately, I have not been able to fall asleep as quickly as I used to, and find that as I am clearing my mind at night, I come up with ideas for everything! I think of my school work, work projects, party ideas, you name it!

I am thinking about trying to hone my new found abilities to give me ideas on designs. I will even take some advice and put a journal next to my bed to jot down images and sketches I see before bed.

This brings me to my question, what inspires you? Is there a certain time of day, or an activity that inspires your creativity?

Would You Want This Steak?

While flipping through a number of magazines, I remembered a professor telling me that it is very hard to take appetizing pictures of food. As I looked through the pictures, I thought that she was crazy! The fall treats and savory sides looked wonderful in the magazines. I actually wished they were in my kitchen at that very moment so that I could try them. Everything looked great, until I came across this...

This steak looked like nothing I would ever want to eat. It may have been the coloring, or the fact that the meat looked a little soggy; but I couldn't stop looking at it while my stomach turned. I must admit, the pictures colors do look a bit better on the computer than they do in print; but even the blackened corners make it look like not only the photographer, but the chef also didn't even know what they were doing.

Now, I like steak as much as any carnivore, but this picture really turned me off from steak for a while.

My question to you is, would you eat a steak that looked like this?