Reporting from the Windy City

So, here I am writing from across the pond in the amazing city that is Chicago. I love it here. No matter how many times I visit (due to having family here) I get just as excited. The people, the atmosphere, the Christmassy-ness, just everything about the place makes me all happy. I feel that I am in one of those 'chocolate box' winter Christmas movies- (Home Alone-esque). I think the only thing that would make my Christmas visits even more special was if I was young enough to still believe in Santa!

To be honest, the prime reason for this visit was for medical purposes, but it doesn't stop me enjoying the chicago festivities. I took my first walk downtown today, ventured into the wonderdul Walgreens. The store that possibly stocks a little bit of everything. Oh the american-ness. I could live here, at least for a period of time. Ideally, I  would like to have an internship at the Chicago branch of JWT. And yes, although it is the vacation period, the work doesn't stop. I still need to complete my 10 questions- slowly but surely getting there.

The photo above is of The Bean. It is located in the Millenium Park opposite my Uncle's office- (on Randolph and Michigan Avenue).
The Bean is just one example of the art that Chicago has to offer. It boasts several art galleries; including The Chicago Art Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art-where I saw an artist called Richard Tuttle. (At the time, I didn't really understand his work, although when I later read up on him, I found his work to be very interesting. He experiments and explores the boundaries between what is a painting and what is a sculture. ie. what makes something 2D or 3D? Definitely wirth a 'Google').

An example of Richard Tuttle's work- combining painting and sculpture.

Chicago is also home to thousands of theatres- in which I have seen one of my favourite shows of all time- Spamalot. A pure comical, musical masterpiece. One for all and all for one...

Unfortunately, due to my ever increasing work load and sometimes procrastinating skills, I haven't brought my beauty of a camera this trip. She is being greatly missed as I love a bit of experimental photography. I figured I should prioritize my advertising work and dissertation before I started playing with apertures, ISOs and depths of fields...

On another note however, I am now also in the process of becoming an Inventor. Yep, an Inventor. I have designed a product and am currently awaiting patenting. So for now, the product is still highly secret and confidential, although I'm hoping one day it will bring me my first of many millions! (Well, if not, it's still something to add to my CV).

So for now, I shall love and leave you from the Windy City. (At least with the time difference, I'm not writing my blog at 4am)!

A Little Bit of Advice...and a recommendation

So I found this quotation and think it should be in any creative person's rule book...


'Even if you can't draw, do a little doodle or rip an illustration from a magazine- these ideas will help bring your ideas to life'.


Thanks John Emmerling.


On a completely different note, but I thought as it was coming up for the festive season, and a little bit of humour does wanders for these freezing nights and days, I wanted to recommend the wonderful book that is...

I know I have said in the past that I am not a reader, but this is just brilliant. I laughed outloud on the train, on the tube or in my bedroom. I definitely think this book should be on everyone's Christmas wish list. Pure 'comic genius'.


And following on, now at 04.57 past the hour, commenting on funny, have you seen the new Buttercup cough medicine advert?


It is also just brilliantly funny/ comical/ humourous etc.  It involves various wild animals coughing and spluttering with several amusing accents and voice overs. Just lurve it... I laugh every time I see it, and the more I take note and experience advertising, I realize humour goes a very loooooooong way within the industry.

Here are some clips taken from the advert. Look out for it. It would make me want to buy it over any other cough medicine, purely from the fact I remember the ad and I remember the product.

ONE DOWN AND ONE TO GO....(Breath and Sigh and Relax)

So today was the day. The day that I had been working towards. HAND-IN. At 14.00 hrs sharp, in the studio and don't be late. Everything all boxed up in our new 20L plastic submission boxes, very posh but very organized. One brief down and one to go till my wonderful student years come to an end. (very sad...sob...sob)
Anyway, there is no time for sadness now as I need to get cracking, writing, planning, you name it, I gotta do it on my Final Major Project. And like usual when faced with the immense challenge of creating a brief, my mind goes into over-drive and over-thinking about what would make a good brief, what won't, what will excite and awake my creative illustrative/ advertising juices- what do I want to spend my next 5 months working towards? What is going to get me a f**king good degree grade? Well at present, at the ripe old hour of 04.38 in the morning, I have convinced myself that I am going to explore the term


THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX...


I hate hate this term with a passion because what is the bloody box? Where is the box, who decided what the box is and where the boundaries lie between being inside it and outside it? Its like the other overly irritating phrase about more bloody boxes... 'ticks all the right boxes'. Once again, who organized and designed what boxes should be ticked? So in my box rant, I feel I could explore this theme through the use of photography, line drawings, taking inspiration from my Christmas travels to Chicago, looking at landscapes, locations, various boxes albeit post-boxes, cardboard boxes, cereal boxes etc. Who Knows? I don't. I just know I hate boxes- unless of course my thought process is so much so, I am just slightly 'outside the box' and I get my place at Watford advertising and copywriting. And on that note, I need to incorporate my future career prospects within this brief, so perhaps a hint of typography may appear, illustrations for advertising. I don;t know, once again, I need to sort my head into various lists, action plans and deadlines.


Incase you're wandering, I am still struggling along with completing my creative test for Watford. I have answered all the questions now but they need to be re-drafted, worked upon and improved before submission. I also need to come up with my own ad campaigns for my portfolio- so I have decided to work with products I enjoy/ like for some and for others, once again, I have tried to think outside the damn box, so have chosen more obscure items. Like shoelaces and a dog lead. Hay ho ho ho...Merry Xmas everyone.


I may just mention, that i had another Design Buddy meeting the other day with Richard Gregory which proved overly beneficial. He alerted me to some typography layout rules, creative decisions and overall advice about my application work. Another meeting is hopefully going to be organized for the middle of Jan, so will keep you updated on any further progress...