Color Survey: Are You Like The Other 200,000?

"This is some potent

design mojo if you think about it."

This assignment was particularly interesting to me, not only because it was fun taking the survey – but seeing results from the other 200,000+ people that participated and how I relate to them. Overall, I was not successful in sharing similar thoughts on color, but I did find some obvious similarities. 

For example, you can see that I compare to what mourning and high-technology symbolize, although I greatly differ in terms of deity and power. The book states that “Although humans do respond physiologically to color, most of the emotional muscle we attach to color is learned.” I thought of this quote a lot as I tried to understand how my thinking and background could be explained for the colors that I chose.

I think that my idea of 'deity' is veered towards greek gods/goddesses and The Roman Empire. I realize there are so many colors that can represent both of those topics, but while learning about greek gods/goddesses my freshman year of high school I pictured purple or gold as the primary colors. 

I also couldn't help but relate purple to the stock photos of greek gods or goddesses when shopping for Halloween costumes – like these!

 

The purple colors here have a lot of saturation and vibrance, I think that if I could feel the material it would be very rich and velvet- like (like royalty). So for me deity = purple!

My reasoning for associating black with power is because of my current job at Northwestern Mutual Life. Every day of the week I see many wealthy men and women in their black suits (don't forget the expensive watch, shoes and bags/briefcases that go along with it), running around to meetings, catching a bite to eat, conversing with fellow co-workers, etc. 

Actual NML workers - I googled it!

As I've seen this type of commotion for several years, it has imprinted on me that these people are successful and powerful. As much as I enjoy my job, I can't ignore the culture of NML, which is a very corporate environment. I definitely don't fit into this mold, but am keeping an open mind as I obtain a Bachelor's degree and can one day gain a higher position at NML. My hopes for the future are that these business standards change, and that one day I can be successful (just like the people shown above), while still staying true to who I am. This means being able to show off my tattoos and piercings without being seen as "deviant," and being able to wear things that I'm actually comfortable in (not the 'white collar' attire I'm forced to wear now). 

Other things I thought to point out about the survey was my responses to what color I associate with high-quality and expensive. I completely understand why the 200,000+ chose gold, but I couldn't help but pick platinum. Why? Because credit cards, that's why. 

Anyone else find similar differences like this that you had with the survey?

  

Commercial Photography - Burt's Bees

Something that I really enjoy and don't buy enough of is cosmetics. Due to my job and busy-ish lifestyle, there's not many moments you'll find me doing my make-up (unless you drive with me to work – true story). Aside from that I have unnecessarily dry skin (I fear the winter just like they do in Game Of Thrones), and psoriasis to top it off, so I choose my cosmetics carefully – always keeping in mind that it could irritate my skin.

One brand that I find “safe” for me to use is Burt's Bees. I have several products from them – including this tinted lip balm that keeps my lips moisturized, along with facial cleansing towelettes that remove my make-up without irritating my skin! 

So when I saw this ad in the current issue of Cosmo, I wanted to go buy it immediately!

This ad uses multiple layers (if edited in photoshop) due to the water drops and heart circling the lipstick (which drives your eye in towards the product), along with the 14 featured lipstick colors at the bottom of the ad.  

The water makes me think back to Jim's presentation, and how you can purchase fake ice. I wonder if they makers of Burt's Bees bought fake 'water drops' for this ad?? 

There are also multiple photos used for this ad, and the text would define these as detailed shots, which means they,"are typically closer to the subject and more tightly cropped." This makes sense because it appears the lipstick is placed on a close-up of what might be a leaf or grass (to give the message that this lipstick has naturally occurred in nature - like morning dew). 

Either way, I'm drawn to this advertisment. Not only beacause I'm a fan of Burt's Bees, but because it's visually appealing with the look of 'freshness' !!

  

Animoto Video

For my Animoto video, I decided to share a slideshow of something that I do every weekend: make french press coffee. I usually drink coffee at work or school, but on the weekends I can 'slow down' and enjoy the process of making great coffee!

https://animoto.com/play/QWWOAxiQ11UVuDeE11ytGQ

The book states that a when creating a storyboard project, you have to think of that story “shot by shot.” I tried to incorporate the original storyboard idea here, while giving more detail with multiple photos in certain steps (that appear almost like a flip book). I also wanted to viewer to see making french press coffee in a simple, effortless way, like the “Tastemade” and “Tasty” videos never fail to do:

I attempted to make the point-of-view seem like you're there making the coffee, or near me observing the coffee being made – like a cooking show. I wanted the movement to be fluid and quick, and to show my audience my ingredients and tools needed were prepared in front of me. I didn't want to use any transitions (at least no more than the transitions Animoto already provides), so I kept that simple.

I learned about setting up my scene when thinking in a storyboard-type way, while keeping in mind that I'm giving you all insight into my life (sights, sounds and smells), rather than a recipe to make coffee. I had to respect to the point-of-view of the video, where I decided whether or not to give close ups of my product for detail or a full shot to show the progression of the coffee. 

I showed the beginning, middle and end of my video by using the *star symbol* spotlight, which slows down that photo to emphasize importance. 

You can see that the 'beginning' is grabbing several utensils together (french press, coffee, coffee grinder), the middle being the combining of water and coffee (stirred with a wooden chop-stick, yay for improvising!) as it gets ready to steep. Then, the ending is symbolized by the finished product, ready to enjoy!

I love you, coffee.