Letterpress

LETTERPRESS: A self-portrait with words

This term I'm taking Letterpress, and learning the incredibly rewarding process of hand-setting type and printing on a press. It is so time intensive, but so incredible to learn such an old art form and have the resources to experience it first hand. For our first assignment, we are making a collaborative "Fictionary". Each of us was given a letter of the alphabet, for which we chose a word starting with that letter. We then made up a fictional definition of what that word meant, and as a class, we will each come away with a full A-Z "fictionary" with everyone's work included in it. We have to set the all the type for our word and definition, and also illustrate an image to accompany it. Using photo-polymer process, we'll create a plate with our image that we'll print on the press along with with our text. HOW COOL IS THAT! My two letters I was given are Q and H, so I chose the words Heartache and Quagmire. I'll post my final product later this week. Before we were assigned a letter however, we were given the assignment of creating a "self-portrait with words". We had to think of 100 total words in several different categories that we truly like. They could be words whose definition we like, or maybe just words we like the sound of. The categories were given, but somewhat up to our interpretation, and we were supposed to try and avoid adjectives if possible. But the sum of the words would create a personal lexicon, a kind of "self-portrait". I thought this was a great assignment, and loved some of the words I came up with, so I thought I'd share them on the blog. LOVE THIS.

12 touch words
pebbles sea foam heartbeat
Brisk breeze organza
ocean spray ivory passion
breathtaking pulse peppermill

12 sight words
bohemian poppy vintage
nouveau crimson beacon
illumination masquerade turquoise
flicker dahlia pagoda

12 sound words
rhapsody thunder breathy
cobblestone murmur eclectic
ambient dragonfly croon
acoustic stellar new york

12 taste words
velvet refresh tart
cilantro melt nutmeg
marinate honeyed crisp
succulent hint sauté

12 smell words
rosewater earth garden
dew laundry greenery
lilac candle oregano
confectionary orchard honeysuckle

20 action words
aspiration linger rock
pendulous julienne enamor
stitch transcend sigh
whisk sizzle affection
gaze drift doodle
slumber nimble explore
simmer hot air balloon

12 proper nouns
Guanajuato Emerson Dali
Mucha Mehndi Santorini
Avant Garde Chopin Phoenix
Bauhaus Rita Hayworth Grecian

8 Abstracts
Balance Faux Pas Solitude
Everlasting Carnivalesque Epiphany
Fathom Serendipity

Meaningful Brand Experiences

I found David W. Norton’s article “Toward Meaningful Brand Experiences” particularly interesting in correlation to a personal revelation I’m going through about my place in the advertising world. I have been struggling with the idea that deeming something “effective” advertising, for some people, might be determined only by whether or not it would cause people to buy products or brands. Along that train of thought, is it possible that I can create some “effective” work without solely persuading people to buy things? It seemed to me, as this article points out, that simply getting people to buy things isn't a way of developing a long term effectiveness with your audience- and the only thing I will be leaving them with is a very vacant feeling after the fact- which would probably leave me feeling very much the same way. However, recently I have been awestruck and inspired by the small portion of advertising that isn’t simply about selling a product. It is artistic, beautiful, makes social and political commentary on the world, and if it causes people to buy something, it’s not a product, but an experience. After reading Lovemarks by Kevin Roberts, and beginning my work on the One Club & NRDC competition, I realized there was a part of the market that would allow me to create “advertising” for things that is both emotionally and socially significant. I realized it was THIS small part of the advertising world that I wanted my work to be a part of. Whether it is to create awareness about world issues like global warming, or to promote a brand experience like Nike or Starbucks, (which is more than just a purchase, but an emotional investment), there is a way to produce smart, creative advertising with significance and value.

Here’s Norton’s requirements for meaningful brand experiences…Love it: