Inspiration

Since I have been in this class, all two weeks, the one thing it has done is make me much more aware of design. Today I was in the grocery store and looking on the shelves for certain items, items I do not always buy but I am having a special dinner tonight. So looking on the shelves for specialty items I noticed that the average American products tended to be almost more geared toward children even the items that are not necessarily marketed for children. Vegetables in the can, no I was not buying those they were next to the dried fruit, all have bright colors and jolly green giants.  However when I looked at the ethnic foods they tend to have bright colors but depending on the country the backgrounds varied. Indian food section was very bright but either showed colorful pictures of the food or brightly colored architectural designs that make the consumer think of India. The Mexican food section was bright colors but more just words, the fonts are very bold yet simple in design easy to read some pictures but usually of a Mexican woman and she is generally the icon for that company. The Asian food section uses very few pictures as well and their fonts are what typical Americans would refer to as oriental something we might see in a movie where the people are in a China town atmosphere. The English food had a lot of landscapes, countrysides, and a more historical feel. The Greek food section was very bright but with mostly blues and yellows if they had pictures they are mostly of the ocean or the typical Greek buildings. They also had a very distinctive font. I just found it interesting today as I shopped and found all of them appealing. I know that when I am cooking something ethnic I like the distinctive branding it makes me feel like I am there. Another thing I love to do is to go to the Ethnic markets, unfortunately I do not have many in my town but whenever I go out of town and have the opportunity I explore those markets and find really wonderful products and because many of them are written in a language I do not speak the labels are usually what makes me even pick it up to look at it. I find these markets and my local markets Ethnic section inspiring in my own artwork and I am guilty of buying a product just for the label so I can cut it off and put it on my inspiration board in my studio. Next time you are in the market you should just take a little longer and really look at the labels you might get inspired too.