If Looks Could Kill - Graphic Art & Design

An article offers tips on nonverbal cues to advance in a business context - some of this is valid, as I’ve played the corporate game - some of it’s just odd.

• Wear pastels to imply trustworthiness.
• Eye contact expectation = 90% in US
• Wear lower heels for equal footing, literally & figuratively

I personally resent the implications of pastels. To me, it says the individual has playful bunny figurines at home. It’s merely a matter of aesthetics, but I suppose the majority rules. “More tea, Polly Prissypants?”

The eye contact level in America is extreme! It used to wig me the fuck out, but then I realized it was all part of a larger game, control, dominance & submission… As the article points out, it’s all very animalistic.

Besides, when most ppl look at you, they’re thinking about themselves anyway, not you. We are an individualistic & self-absorbed society.

The psychology of high heels… that’s a whole other post, but this article would portray it as a signal of weakness, putting oneself off-balance and at a disadvantage. But they look fierce!!! Some could even double as weapons. Not ideal for long hikes, so there is some reality to the overall concept.

( Source | Slideshow )

Sorry, moose, you’re fucked because the Jebus says you have no soul! :B Fuck that, profusely.

Anyhow, as always, thoroughly entertained with the patronizing art featured on religious propaganda. For example, these people can’t wait to die, yippie!

(Click for another fine sampling of god-shmooking artwork)

As if there was ever any doubt, Procter & Gamble has won $19.25M in a suit against Amway distributors who had defamed them with this rumor. For Amway, to cast aspersions is shocking to me, with THEIR secretive and cult-like meetings. They actually have to misrepresent these gatherings as a party of sorts, in order to lure unsuspecting victims into long-ass sales spiels for their MLM pipe dreams. Loons!

Personally, I never noticed this logo when it was in use, but I like it. As a logo, I probably would have simplified the lines, less swoopties and curliques because it repros like crap at smaller sizes. Also not feeling the unicorn look to the points.

I have such a crescent man-in-the-moon fetish, my only tattoo is along these lines, though in desperate need of retouching and repair.

For the topmost example, one has to reverse (horizontally flip) the image to perceive the 6’s in the hair. The 2nd one’s a real stretch, difficult to even form 6’s from. Then there are the negative connotations with the number 13, the count of stars.

SOURCE | ORIGIN

Far too frail, Spain has disallowed use of lithe mannequins in stores because it “contributes to eating disorders.”

Personally, I don’t get it. Clothes, fashions, etc. look BETTER on physically appealing specimens - it helps move product. If an enormous ass is devouring the seat of some pants ‘tween its massive cheeks, it’s less flattering to the clothing, thereby potentially affecting sales. I’m being extreme though, their mandate limits it to Size 6 and up, which isn’t big at all. I just get riled when people imply that the media is responsible for girls’ feelings of self-loathing.

What I dig about this article, is that “designers will standardize women’s apparel so a given size will fit the same way no matter who sells it.” YES! Do this. I hate shopping, and if sizes were universal across designers it would make life so much easier!!! Do it to shoes too, then I can order everything online and never set foot in a store again.

Futuristic Badassedness:

To get a better idea of the shapes of Spanish women’s bodies, the government is employing some heavy technology. Using laser-fitted booths that can take 130 measurements of a body in 30 seconds, the Health Ministry is fanning out across the country to assess the sizes of Spanish women.

I demand an uprising, we require this in America, too - the standardization of sizes, that is, NOT the banning of mannequins!

SOURCE

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana pulled this ad under pressure from protests in Spain, and it even hit them where they live, in Italy.

The main issues seem to arise in the female model’s hands being pinned and her lowered lids, eyes hidden beneath either lashes or closed lids. The implications of powerlessness and unconsciousness seem to be the main source of contention, but if you look at her raised hips and arched back, it would suggest that she is digging the scene.

Some people do fantasize about this, as the designers say - it was intended to depict an “erotic dream,” a “sexual game.” The men do look particularly creepy and lecherous, but I think it was intended to be a fantasy of willing and wanting submission.

In Italy, the image first came out Feb. 5, in the most famous and bestselling [Italian] newspaper … at that time, there was no reaction. The effects did not arrive in Italy until after the poor Spanish reaction [to] the ad. We understand that in Spain there is a truly important social emergency as far as violence against women [is concerned], which is why we did not want to offend anyone, so we immediately withdrew the image from all Spanish press.
- STEFANO GABBANA

Here is a website containing this and other ads that are supposed to be offensive to women. Me? I don’t buy any of this stuff, so I don’t give a shit. I’m not their target audience. Even if I were, I could care less. Got your attention, didn’t it? Advertising mission accomplished, massive publicity for them ensues.

Additionally, I am an avid supporter of FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION and If you don’t like it, put your money where your mouth is and don’t buy their product! That’s the best way to send a message, with your hard-earned dollars. Shouldn’t be too difficult to refrain, considering their prices, over-inflated by the imagined prestige of a brand label in the pretentious court of public opinion.

Otherwise, I believe that there are far more pressing issues in life other than an advertising campaign. Go find something PRODUCTIVE to do!

SOURCE

An interesting aside, is that Dolce & Gabbana work directly with their art directors and photographers to execute their campaigns, rather than an agency. This makes their advertising more personally aligned with their own unique vision and differentiates them from many, who outsource their creative work to established agencies who crank out a concept. I’ll bet this is a major factor in their success, not having committees or executive boards to syphon out creativity.

Giants are ravishing a city, only to be foiled by “DIARRHEA!” as an upbeat chorus cheerfully informs you while they perform a synchronized interpretive dance.

You’d think Pepto Max would make it available on their site, missed opportunity on their part - this commercial is HILARIOUS!!! >:D