# 53 – Review – I Spy

Reviewing is on just about every college kid’s minds right around this time of year. It is time for those dreaded finals. Endless hours of reviewing material, or writing papers, or if you are like me procrastinating non-stop, even if you try not to…

Well, reviewing materials caused me to have an idea for this post..

Like I have said before, I have Levi’s on my mind ALL the time lately. I try to see where and how I could fit the jeans, brand, logo ect. Into everything I encounter.

Well It was while holding a book studying that this idea hit me, I realized that I was actually making the Levi’s arch logo.. maybe it was because I am subconsciously obsessed with it.. or maybe it was just a freak accident.. but regardless, I am glad I noticed it, because it make me think.

There are so many things that look similar the Levi’s arch stitching, things we encounter everyday.. and I thought it would be cool to play on that… How many times do you see it?

Here is a video that represents my “eureka” moment, and then a few places I found the arch today.. Its like an on going game of I Spy!

Think Upside down… interesting that this is the Golden Gate…But I checked, it came after the stich design…

# 47 – Seductive – Magnetic

While I was brainstorming about another post, I actually got the idea for this post, and it seemed pretty neat, different, and certainly stretched the directive to another place. A seductive person draws people to them, they have an energy about them that people can’t ignore.

They are magnetic.  

I think magnetism is so intriguing. Something about a force that draws and repels really interests me.

I decided to use a Levi’s pocket to literally make a magnet for my fridge. Now I know lots of people have used pockets to make things, but this is really meant to focus on the magnet part I just made it out of a pocket for the functionality. Plus I think at a magnet pocket on a fridge is actually a practical thing to have on the fridge. Instead of just holding things up with a magnet you can place things in it. It could be used for anything ranging from mail, notes for people, a place to store money, Levi’s ideas, any ideas, keys, grocery list or leave little romantic presents for your significant other like the flower in the pocket below.

 I think that there could my so many ideas that come from a directive like magnetic. Here are some of the things that have come to my mind.

Have Levi’s that are magnetized and attract some thing and repel others.

Levi’s jeans that are drawn to each other — sort of like very strong magnets, pulling two people together

Use magnets to make Levi’s “levitate” – They’re magical

Use a magnet to clean a pair of worker jeans, getting pieces of metal and other magnetic things off of their jeans

A guy walking through a store or something wears levis’ and as he walks passed computers and electronics they start messing up, then girls are pulled to him. Demonstrating the attraction of Levi’s

Something showing an actual magnetic field. Could be very artistic.

Levi’s attraction (magnetism) throwing the earth’s orbit off course…..

# 34 – Independent – Bridge the Gap with Brainstorming

So… This is actually an update to this post .. But I figured I’d post it at the top.. I just got on blackboard and saw that the weekend inspiration- for this coming weekend I assume- is about the left and right brain.. I think they just posted this today.. But regardless I hadn’t seen it when I made this post.. Cool though

The Brain is an amazing, and actually somewhat humbling thing… And while it dependent on oxygen…it is also a very independent organ..and if you think about it abstractly..

The Left and the Right sides of the brain are very independent of one another. Yes, they are wired together, but the way they work and the way we use them cause them to be separated from one another.. So they are independent and free to do their thing…

The Left Brain is Analytical, while the Right Side is Creative.

So, I guess the majority of us in this class would say they are “Right” brained..

Well, what is cool about this class is that we are forced to bridge the left and right sides of our brains.. I can guarantee that the thought “Levi’s” has annoyed and brained each side of our brain over the past weeks.

Levi’s as a brand is actually helping us bridge our own gaps, and by combining both sides we are able to think in ways we may have never ventured into before..

Here is little picture I photoshopped together to accompany this post– It represents Levi’s being the bridge that is bringing together our ideas, with lots of brainstorming inbetween — On the right i added some of the creative designs I have made so far in this class, and on the left I added the textual and research part of our assignments and the directives..

Here are two charts I found online… I would have created them myself.. but I thought this was sort of a neat way to show it.. the first is obviously created by a “Left Brained” person… while the second creator probably tends to be more “Right Brained”… just sort of a cool way of demonstrating the differences between the way the two types process information…

#31 – Independent – Cut Loose

To be independent means much more than just doing things on your own, with independence also comes an uncertainty and a new found sense of self. I started thinking about things that could go hand in hand with finding independence of the self. Well the phrase “stand on your own two feet” came to mind. And also cutting ties with old things. This made me think about marionette puppets. And Thus came this idea.. I actually drew the puppet with pencil and water color, then used photo shop to sort of make a quasi story board of a commercial I thought of..

Playing off the Cutting strings idea and the “stand on your own two feet ( or rather legs) ideas I thought it would be cool to have a commercial with models just in their under clothes looking ragged and being controlled by strings. They are essentially puppets. — Then their strings get cut free, and they fall to land in Levi’s Jeans. The Levi’s strength and nobility help them transition to standing on their own to feet (legs).

# 24 – Quixotic – Can you see me?!?!

The word quixotic can be used to describe something or someone that is overly idealistic. It can also hint toward an imaginary and unrealistic concept. For this post I went with the Imaginary.

Now this may be a stretch, but I was thinking about something that would fit with levi’s, quixotic, and imaginary.

After doing some brainstorming, I stumbled upon the idea of those Magic Eye pictures. When I was a kid I LOVED those things…. But my dad always said I was making up that I saw the image. As far as I know he has never been able to see the 3D image. I think he honestly believes that the whole concept is one big imaginary joke.

I did some searching and found a website that allows you to upload your own designs and it generates a 3D Magic Eye Image.  

( http://www.easystereogrambuilder.com/3d-stereogram-maker.aspx   – I choose upload your own pattern and design)

It took me a while, but I finally got a few designs that sort of work. The other way I think this post goes along with quixotic is that this would probably be a impractical and implausible advertising campaign, because half of the people would not be able to see it!

You may need to click on the image to enlarge it inorder to see the image!

I put a mini picture in the corner so you know what to look for

1. This one is just a simple one to let your eyes get used to them.

2. This one is a bit hard to see, the letters don’t come out very clearly, but it sort of works!

3. This one is a 3D version of the “Good Genes” design I created in Post # 5.

# 7- Introspective – Perfect Proportions

 

Perfect Proportions

Looks cool right, but you might be asking, why I used this picture under the directive of Introspective.

Well the picture is Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, sometimes called the Canon of Proportions.  While the drawing is based on ideal human proportions with geometry and really goes along the lines of Architecture,  the drawing has also been used in many situations in association with spirituality, chakras and self reflection.

It is also often used in the holistic medical field. Holistic Medicine in and of itself is sometimes based upon an introspective awareness of oneself. One site I looked was titled “Holistic Living, Health and Lifestyle Issues, Looking into Yourself: the power of Introspection”

In all honesty, I am not 100% sure how I came to this picture. It was a combination of thinking in introspective terms as being holistic and spiritual that for some reason caused this image to pop up in my head.

I decided that for Levi’s is can represent the precise proportions in relation to man’s anatomy.  The perfect fit. I also added the reflection on the bottom to tie it even further to self awareness and introspection.

 

# 5 – No Directive – Levi’s Genes

Who Says You Can’t Buy Good Genes ?!?

Okay.. Okay… So I used a Tagline… but come on… I couldn’t help myself!

 Anyways, the inspiration for this design actually came from our class discussion last week, at some point someone said “Good Jeans” couldn’t tell you the context it was said in or anything, but for some reason Genes popped in my head.. and well, I starting thinking about how I would make a nice little play on words. Sometimes something as simple can spark the creative juices to start working.

I created this image by using an image of jeans I took, and finding a high resolution picture of the Levi’s red tag online… then it was a LONG time of warping and messing with layers in photoshop but I finally got what I was looking for.

# 4 – No Directive – Mario’s Secret

Hey There!!!

What’s Mario’s Favorite Type of Pants?

“Denim, Denim, Denim”           

(Think Mario Bro’s Underground Tune)   

But I’m sure you already knew that!!

 Mario rocks the Denim overalls not just because it is so stylish… they are also the key to his super strength. Mario was recently quoted as saying that the real reason he has been able to be so totally awesome is all due to the Levi’s overalls he’s constantly is wearing. Mario admits that during a few rough periods in his life he tried a few other brands, but there’s no comparison to the durability and strength he gets from his Levi’s.

WHO KNEW ?!?!?

 

Ok, so yes this is quite a cheezy post, and what can I say.. that’s what I was going for…

Actually my whole concept for this creation was how cool it would be to have a short little video game, where Mario hits a block, gets a Levi’s logo and BAM turns indestructible. BUT then I came back to reality and realized that was way out of my ability to create, so not wanting to spend more than a couple hours on 1 post, I decided to just take a Mario and add the Levi’s logo. Not quite as fun, but gets the point across!

HOPE IT MADE YOU AT LEAST CRACK A SMILE!!

# 3 – No Directive – Fatal Fashion

As I have mentioned before, I have literally been trying to relate most of the things I come across in life to the Levi’s Brand or Jeans, and as a result, here is yet another off the wall idea, concept, concern… that came to through a combination of things.

First while letting my mind wonder the other day about jeans… then blue… through jumbled, tangled thought process I came to think about the ocean… i.e.. Into The Blue.. The great powerful blue…blah blah blah… This brought to mind  photographs of waves crashing I had recently seen. These waves are so intense, after some thought I felt that hidden in these pictures displaying the strength, yet pliability of the crashing blue ocean there had to be some sort of connection with the durability, yet comfortable fit (pliablility..) of Levi’s jeans.

Well, I came up with some ideas.. making a collage of said pictures in the shape of jeans..having jeans blend into a crashing wave… but I felt that wasn’t quite relating the product enough.

After going through some more photographs, I started thinking about the sand…and DING, DING, DING .. SANDBLASTED JEANS.. somehow I could run with this. So, I googled Levi’s sandblasting and was surprised at what I stumbled upon.

Sandblasting jeans, you know making them look so worn in right from the factory… actually involved an extremely HARMFUL process, in which people are exposed to crystalline silica, a chemical that can cause silicosis, a fatal lung disease. It has actually been linked directly to many factory workers’ deaths. I was very pleased to find that Levi’s is actually an advocate for banning this process, and encouraging others to jump on the bandwagon as well.

Fashion should not be at the expense of someone life!

Well, with all of this information I thought it would be great to have a campaign encouraging others to let nature give your jeans the tattered, grungy look… or at least let it happen NATURALLY! I promise, wear those suckers enough and it will happen!!

Thus I was inspired to make the image below.

( And while my photoshop skills could have been better, I was trying to focus on the creation and thought than on the production, plus, I had actually already spent a long time researching this before I even started to photo.. only so much time in a day! )

“LEAVE THE SANDBLASTING TO NATURE!!

 It is supposed to be depicting sandwash from a wave crashing covering the factory sandblasted jeans….a natural vs. chemical… I’m not saying go “Sandblast” your jeans by submerging them in crashing waves…ALTHOUGH….

 The Shorebreak Photos I used are shot by, Clark Little.. Worth Checking out, amazing!

http://www.clarklittlephotography.com/

Here is some more info on the Sandblasting Issue:

http://www.levistrauss.com/blogs/its-time-ban-sandblasting

http://blog.lawinfo.com/2011/03/04/levis-sandblasting-process-linked-to-40-deaths/

# 2 – No Directive – Tagged For Approval

For the past few days I have been trying to think everything Levi’s. Everywhere I go and everything I look at I think, could I incorporate that with this project somehow… and usually the answer is well, no.. not really.. but in trying to turn the world I saw into one big Levi’s Ad, I did come up with a few interesting ideas.

For me, the Levi’s Red Tag, is a pretty strong trade mark of the brand. This tag alerts people, “Yes, I’m Levi’s” and with this it brings the impression of durability, reliability, dependability, loyalty  ect. From the most obsessed Levi’s fans to those who just happen to own a pair, sight of the Levi’s Tag will ensure one that this is something to be TRUSTED.

Well, in combining my understanding of the “Red Tag” and my current Levi’s obsessed reality… I starting thinking about how great it would be if everything in life were marked with a tag, allowing us to make correct judgments about products, cars, animals, work, or even PEOPLE.

Thus I envisioned & created the image below.

My concept:

–          Identify the “good ones” in a speed dating setting. Play on the impact of the Levi’s Tag by tagging people who meet the Levi’s standards of:

“Loyal & Dependable”

If Only It Were This Simple To Pick The Right One

A Trusted Trademark Since 1873