Author: bwucinski

I think slow stories are a quickly dying art being replaced by 150 characters or less.

I Can’t Wait For: Florence, Italy

Posted on by bwucinski in I Can't Wait For, Shopping, Travel

This is the beginning of a new category in my blog called I Can’t Wait For, where I will be researching and virtually exploring all the places I eventually want to see in Europe. Since I’m going to be spending about 5 months in Europe, specifically Florence, Italy, I thought I might start reading up on some of the best things to do in city.

So far, the shopping is making me want to hop on a plan right now and start ravaging through the massive leather markets in Florence. Thanks to another blogger, I was able to read up on some of the great opportunities to snag an amazing italian leather item. It sounds like a dream come true, with several tons of leather to choose from. It reminds me a lot of the Queen Victoria Markets in Australia, where I bought  my amazing leather backpack which is one of my favorite purchases from Australia.

I know the museums are going to be art overload in Florence. With Italy being the birthplace of the Renaissance, how could you not go to the hundreds of museums over there? I plan on doing a lot of art hopping over there, but I’m hoping to find a few amazing galleries with some modern art work and graphic design to see. I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to find some studios where I can see work, but I know there are several design schools where hopefully I can see some spectacular Italian coursework. The Florence Institute of Design is one school I keep hearing about and also the school I will be attending, Lorenzo de Medici, an international school over there will have some student work to display.

Last, I’ve heard about gelato. I’ve had American gelato, but everyone tells me that legit Italian gelato is amazing. I’ve also heard about the wine and the cheese. I’m not sure if Italy can top Wisconsin cheese, which I was basically raised on because my dad is from there, but I can’t wait to try it. Apparently, Le Fonticine is amazing place to try for some awesome pasta dishes. I have to admit, while food is all amazing and what not, I’m somewhat of a picky eater. As open minder as I am with most things, food is just one thing that it pretty difficult for me to handle.

Overall, I can’t wait to absorb some of the amazing culture over there. I’m sure I will be adding more posts about Florence in the next coming months. I have an entire year to get ready for my experience abroad. Hopefully I’ll be adding some articles about Italian language and of course, more fashion spots to hit up.

 

Next to come: The Loomis Agency. The advertising agency that I will be interning with this summer. Just to give some insight on a small, but mighty, advertising firm in Dallas, Texas.

 

T-Mobile: A Wanna Be Apple?

Posted on by bwucinski in Advertising

So the new T-Mobile commercials for their 4G phone have been playing just about every second I turn on the TV. The first commercial they started playing was…boring. I always changed the channel or attempted to tune out the endless droning of the girl. I had seen the commercial about 30 times, at least, and had never gotten the point. Mostly because I am an AT&T customer and I don’t really want to listen to T-Mobile bashing my cell phone provider.

Then, I saw the second commercial they released:

Upon seeing this one, I realized that this was a parody (almost) of the Mac VS PC commercials that had been successful at helping Apple to dominate some of the shares that PC had in the computer market.

See example of the Apple ad

The commercials then made sense to me and I understood the angle they are trying to get at. In some ways, it’s great in theory, like trying to beat Apple at its own game (using the iPhone 4 as an example). There are some huge problems though.

1. The Apple ads are funny. The Mac guy is funny and cute in a nerdy way. The PC guy is still likeable, although we can tell he is the antagonist, and their witty banter is different and stands out from the many monotonous ads.

2. All three characters in the T-Mobile ads are…not funny. Like I said before, the commercials bored me. The girl’s voice is very monotone. She isn’t that attractive (sorry to fuel the stereotype that women on TV have to be pretty..but it’s kind of true) and she doesn’t have an intelligent dialogue with the iPhone guy, who is also minimally attractive and not funny whatsoever.

3. You can’t make fun of Mac using its own commercial where it’s mocking another brand already. I feel like if this starts to become a trend, the ad world will explode. You can’t try to parody their own style of commercial to make fun of them and do it badly.

Overall, their commercials leave a lot to be desired and still make me change the channel every time they come on.

Anthropologie: So Good in So Many Ways

Posted on by bwucinski in Inspiration, Personal

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp#/Purse

Please click the above, I promise you won’t be sorry.

When upon arriving to the site, I was just hoping to look for a great shoe or a new quilt for my bed. Little did I know that I would see one of the cutest and most innovative flash videos.

It first asks you “Where are you headed?” and you have a choice between the Boot Hill, Necklace Valley, Clutch Creek, Bracelet Park, Ring Peak, or Belt Bridge. Then it takes you to a through a little miniature set up of a village. Each little “trip” includes their products as part of the landscape with little tiny people included in the setting. It is an amazing use of their products and was highly creative.

A lot of times, clothing company lack innovation when it comes to displaying their products in new and interesting ways. Anthropologie almost always has great window displays, direct mail pieces, and this little animation tops it off.

Hats off to you, Anthropologie, for always being ahead of the game.

Here is an example of one of their window displays.

Alberto Seveso

Posted on by bwucinski in Graphic Design

I remember seeing an ESPN cover while babysitting when I was 16 that had the coolest graphic on it. I remember tracing it and trying to use the same affect for an ad I was designing in one of my classes in high school. Of course, duplicating the work behind Alberto Seveso is more complicated that just using a pencil and some tracing paper. As he says, “Yes, sure, try,try,try and try!, it’s the only way to be a master.”

Here is the original cover. It’s amazing the movement portrayed in the photo. The way the vector shapes give rhythm and convey action is astonishing.

Alberto Seveso is a freelance graphic artist who was born in Milan but it now working in Rome. He does his work entirely on Photoshop and Illustrator and does a lot of work for magazines and ads. I think this technique leaves a lot for a creative to use. While yes, the graphic is extremely loud and and calls attention to itself, it also manages to lend itself to type and layout creativity.

I personally love his designs for the playful aspect. The colors are usually vibrant and add to the energy of the pictures.

He calls his technique “sperm shaping” and often laughs at the name.

Sources (interviews from both sites)

abduzeedo

veerle’s blog

Lifetime Inspiration

Posted on by bwucinski in Inspiration, Personal

I always feel like to get to know someone, you should know the basics.

1. I love Sarah Jessica Parker and all things Sex and the City

2. Blink-182 is probably one of the greatest bands alive.

3. Gap is my current fashion obsession. Practicality meets comfort. Anything more a college girl could ask for?

4. Which leads me to Jeffrey Campbell. Hands down the best show designer out there. See my latest purchase below:

5. I love to learn. I hate all the tests, homework assignments, and required blog posts for classes. But I could listen to a teacher talk about an interesting subject for at least an hour without getting too painfully bored to death.

6. I’m a TV junkie. Right now, I’m watching How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Weeds, Dexter, and Community. I will always watch Friends and Sex and the City.

You know, someone should really consider paying HIMYM to have Barney where their specific brand of suits. I’m pretty sure my boyfriend would become brand loyal after Mr. Stinson mentions it a few episodes.

My favorite place I have been…as of right now…is Australia. Melbourne to be exact. I went this summer for about 3.5 weeks and absolutely adored it. I went to New Zealand as well. Both are gorgeous countries with some of the friendliest people I have ever encountered. I’ve also been to London when I was 16. It was pretty wonderful as well. This summer I would like to go to Canada at some point.

This is zorbing. It’s an action sport where you are in a giant plastic ball filled with water. It originated in New Zealand and it’s in a few states here.

The most noteworthy thing I did, besides spent far too much money on shopping, was going shark diving. It was an amazing experience. And although I am terrified of fish (yes the little guppies and bass and all those creepy fish that swim in lakes and such) I loved scuba diving. Something about the way that the suit covers my entire body so the fish can’t nibble on my toes or brush up against me…it makes me feel a little more secure underwater. However I do want to get scuba certified before Italy because I would love to try to go scuba diving somewhere off the coast of Greece. I don’t even know if thats possible but it would amazing if it was.

Today.

Posted on by bwucinski in Personal, Travel

Today, I’ve decided to add myself to the pool of esteemed bloggers who are now the masters of many of our thoughts. Well, I mean your thoughts, because I am now one of them.

Oh never mind. I’m doing this to put my thoughts down and to ponder the way our world interacts with 3 of my greatest passions: fashion, advertising, and travel. Throughout this blog I will periodically post about topics pertaining to these topics. The newest fashion inspiration, the greatest commercials of the week , or the newest place I have an obsession. I am trying to prepare myself for the world out there. There are so many amazing places, cultures, and clothes to be explored and I want to start educating myself now.

I will be studying abroad in Florence, Italy in the Spring of 2012 and here is a tentative list of the top locations I want to visit:

1. Paris, France (cliche but it’s a must for any fashion junkie)

2. Venice, Rome, Tuscany

3. Amsterdam (the quintessential college destination)

4. Moscow, Russia

5. Stockholm, Sweden

6. Ireland, Scotland, London

7. India (where I want to spend my spring break)

8. Barcelona, Spain

9. Beijing, China

10. Greece, anywhere.

It’s going to be an adventure. Guess what though? You can join me! Figuratively though. That would just be terrifying if you actually followed me.

Anyways, I’ll keep you posted. Haha, get it? Blog posts…posted? Ah.