Don't Miss This — Week 8

In Eye this week, one of their bloggers provided coverage of Royal College of Art poster exhibition called "British Posters / Affiche Françaises" in which British and French graphic designers created poster advertisements or responses to these posters. Specifically, the British designers created responses to the French designers' posters. The takeaway from this (one of the takeaways, really), in my opinion, is that advertisements can be beautiful. We know this, and as magazine designers I think many of us wish we had all the freedoms that advertisers have (or seem to have. The grass is always greener, isn't it?). I am reminded of an advertisement we discussed in my Strat Design and Visuals class. It is pictured below:

The ad is part of an integrated print and video campaign that is centered around this melting idea. The professor really admired this ad, and many of my classmates were also very impressed. It is obviously a marvel of technical execution, and the idea is very thoroughly shown throughout the ad, but it just seems muddled to me. Looking through a magazine, I'm fairly confident this ad would not stop me. It's over-the-top and gaudy in the same way that the fashion ads that litter magazines are. They're lovely to look at, but they all run together. The posters presented in the French/English exhibition, however, are exciting and eye-catching. They just appeal to me more.

Tonight at the Student Center, the Missouri Student Association held a cake decorating competition with guest judge Duff (Ace of Cakes) Goldman (!!!). I was pretty skeptical about how the cakes would turn out, but on my work break, I had a chance to look at them, and they're really impressive. Check out some photos in the Missourian's coverage of the event, courtesy of photographer Madeline Beyer. I'm always impressed by people who can make beautiful things with their hands rather than on a computer screen.