In Case of Apocalypse, Go to Chatham...

...they're prepared:

drinking water container to be reused as a commode, found in the basement of coolidge hall, chatham university....odd...

Marketing Design

Since I've began my foray into the graphic design world (i.e. trying to improve my web design skills, doing some copy writing, trying to teach myself photoshop and freehand, etc.), I have started noticing design everywhere. Sometimes commercial design simply astounds me.

Take Wrigley's 5 Gum for instance. I, too, fell prey to the clever packaging. It's about the size of a carton of cigarettes, and done in black with a different brilliant color for each flavor. Here is my flavor choice, cobalt.

Since anyone can get free condoms at any Planned Parenthood and various other locations, I guess the condom industry has had to step up to the marketing design plate. Meet ONE, the condom that comes in a shiny tin (aka sleek metal case with a plastic hinged back for easy dispensing!)
Even the individually wrapped condoms have a design--a graphic illustration, along with a witty sound byte...See samples HERE

And look-- you too can design a condom! (AKA be the "Rembrandt of Rubber, the Leonardo of Latex, the Picasso of Prophylactics")

What WILL they think of next?


Why, clever instructions that are still informative of course!

Methods's airfreshner (aka pluggable aroma pill) maintains a witty sense of humour whilst instructing users in its preparation (italics are mine added to the parts i found particularly apropos):
1. Holding fragrance bottle upright, remove cap. Do not remove wick. It's pretty important.
2. Keeping fragrance bottle upright, insert into bottom of aroma pill.
3. Rotate bottle clockwise until tight. You know, righty-tighty.
Rotate plug of aroma pill to accomodate vertical or horizontal wall outlet. Insert aroma pill into wall outlet with glass bottle pointing down. Do not turn sideways or else fragrance oil will spill. Gravity is mean like that.

What Ever You Do, Don't Press the Button That Tells You to Press It

Remember the "press here to disappear" i documented outside kelly's bar in east liberty? if not, go refresh your memory.
Well, I discovered an even more disturbing one (well, depends on how you look at it I suppose), on Baum Square in East Liberty.



The press here to disappear button, if effective, would not have an immediate destructive effect on anyone but the one who pressed it. Now if the one who pressed it would have gone on to find the cure for cancer or something, than yeah destructive for more people, but down the road. Now the press to explode button...would that cause the building which the button was on to explode, or some unknown target that a missile is aimed at to explode, or the presser of the button to explode? Not sure, but either way, there may be some collateral damage. Needless to say, I did not press it.

Mysteries of Pittsburgh (not the Chabon novel)

Ah, Pittsburgh. A city of infinite mysteries. Like the spot on a sidewalk in S. Oakland where, according to MRW, you can stand to be teleported. Like the button in East Liberty outside of Kelly's Bar that you can press to disappear. This I saw first hand. I thought about pressing the "button," and was documenting the attempt (see above), but then I started thinking about the definition of "disappear." Now, if I would become invisible, cool...but, if it means I would cease to exist in past, present, and future incarnations, I became a little wary. After receiving advice from a bar patron awaiting the door opening for Happy Hour ("How will you be served if they can't see you? I'd at least wait until after you had a couple of drinks"), I decided not to tempt fate at this juncture. Maybe next time.

~S