Something that my mom recently introduced me to was Scentsy products that are GREAT for dorms because they provide the scents that candles give without needing a fire! Since candles aren't allowed in dorms because they are a fire hazard, Scentsy sells wickless wax and little melting pots that are electric. Pretty much there is a little tray that you put the wax on, and then the lightbulb in the pot underneath it will provide heat and melt the wax, thus giving off a yummy scent!
I like the product designs because Scentsy provides 60+ different styles of pots and plug-ins so there is a design for everyone! I took a picture of my mom's because mine is still in the mail, but you can still see how nice the designs on these pots are. They look just like little decorations, so you can place them on mantles, bookcases, shelves, etc.
So I looked around Chatan and Naha (two cities over here in Okinawa) and I couldn't find a single example of Papyrus text anywhere. Maybe the Japanese just aren't as fond of it as Americans are?
It wasn't until I was looking up a line of backpacks that are only made in Japan that I actually saw Papyrus being used for something Japanese- a website ( http://nanamica.com/ ).
I even tried looking in magazines and newspapers, but I guess that font is pretty hard to apply to kanji because I didn't find it there either.
What I did notice is that Japanese people favor really cartoonish, bubble-letters...you know, the kind that were popular in like 6th grade.
I guess I would say that this is a good thing. NOT that they have bubble letters everywhere (aside from corporate buildings, where they use plain, straight text), but that there isn't a heavy use of the Papyrus font here. I was never a fan of Papyrus, it was always too thin for my liking.. But I am definitely going to look out for it once I get back to school, I never noticed how much it was used!
For the handwriting assignment, I found this Dior makeup ad. The "be Iconic" phrase is scribbled in pink lipstick, the same hue as the lipstick in Kate Moss' hand. I think the handwritten script works in this case because the product is supposed to be so great that "Icons" like Kate Moss (who is one of the most recognized names in the modeling industry to date) will use it. The fact that the color of the writing matches the lipstick makes it look like Kate Moss wrote it as an afterthought to the original "Dior Addict" title. Since she herself is so influential, it is as if she is telling the women all over the world that they too can be as much of an icon as she is if they use the Dior Addict lipstick.
Connotative Value: This advertisement is definitely appealing to women by using a slender, attractive model and using the word "skinny" in the ad. Her red lipstick and oversized sun hat, along with her being in the spotlight, give her a glamorous feel, making women want to be like her and therefore fueling their desire for the product.
I think this is a myth because it appeals mostly to women, which seems to be saying that women are the only people who drink Diet Pepsi because they want to adjust their diets to help them lose weight. Diet Pepsi is not the only diet beverage to appeal to women, however. Most of the ads for diet drinks appeal to women because of the popular relation between females and diet fads. This is a myth that has been accepted into society since women are not the only sex to drink diet soft drinks. I have seen many guys drink Diet Coke, further proving that diet drinks are for anyone.
In this Sony headphone advertisement, the company is trying to get the message across that their headphones are the best at blocking all outside noise. Megaphones are extremely loud, and always used when someone wants to get their voice heard in audio-impared situations. The megaphone kid is used as a metaphor for the worst noise imaginable; the most impossible to ignore. The woman is sitting directly in front of the megaphone kid, looking calmly asleep, headphones over her ears. The picture is trying to say that even though there is an obnoxious noise behind the woman, she can still enjoy her music without interruption thanks to the amazing Sony headphones. I think this is a successful metaphor because the message of the advertisement is easy to understand.
Logo One: Android
The Android robot has been becoming more and more popular due to phone companies like Sprint and Verizon using Android as their operating system of choice. The company has copyrighted their own color, "Android Green" which is hue #A4C639. Since the software was purchased by Google at the peak of the Go Green era, I think the light, kelly green is a fitting color. Because of the save-the-Earth movement, people are more attracted to any green because of the association it has with a healthier, eco-friendly lifestyle change.
Logo Two: Pepsi
The Pepsi-Cola logo is known worldwide, due to the successful taste of the soda which it represents. The success of the logo however, might also be due to the color pair chosen to represent the beverage. Pepsi did not create their own colors (no Pepsi-red or Pepsi-blue) like most companies choose to do (Tiffany & Co., Android), but perhaps they didn't need to. Blue and red are 2/3 of the primary color trio, so they are highly recognizeable and commonly used together. With the white "smile" used inbetween the two colors, it brings sort of a patriotic-American feel to the logo, and is perhaps why it took off so quickly in the U.S.
Logo Three: Gatorade
Gatorade has always been recognized due to their bright orange lightning bolt. It stands out so well against the darker green font, and is probably because orange and green naturally go together as part of a triadic color harmony (Gatorade left out the purple). The orange and green combo isn't an unusual pairing for the sports drink however, because Gatorade was first invented in 1965 at the University of Florida, home of the Gators football team. Rather than having the blue and orange like the team uniforms, Gatorade chose to incorporate the green color of the mascot. Since people could relate the drink to its birth place, the color harmony chosen by the company was successful.
