Be your own person

If I try to imagine a world without branding or influence or without any third party steering all I envision is prairie. Vast expanses of meadow with sunshine sprinkled by a light breeze willing the wild flowers to dance and fill the air with sparkling pollen, iced with the ambience of plump song birds.

However, in reality a world and a life without advertising would be very different indeed, in fact I think life would almost cease to exist – the way we know it anyway.

For nearly a century words for common objects have been replaced with brand names, products such as Coca-Cola, Hoover, escalator, Xerox, Google, Photoshop, pogo-stick, yo-yo, aspirin and many, many more. These words would not exist any further, can you image saying “can you please input this into an internet search engine”, instead of “Google it”. Madness.

Advertisement also provides a topic of conversation between acquaintances and provides the essential outreach for companies to make their money. If the consumer does not know about a product they are of course less likely to buy it.

Though, If I look at the other end of the spectrum it seems to make sense concidering the wider state of things.

Imagining a crowded street free of grubby posters, scrunched up hand-outs and blinding billboards seems soothing and cleansing. Like finding the key to a Secret Garden. A red London bus would become an object of interest within itself and not for the reduced price Botox injection ad plastered on its triumphant left side.

I feel like we humans are all puppets on the strings of these money grabbing brands, we see an ad, we buy the advertised, they make their money. Forever steering us away from things we see every day which have wonder and enjoyment within themselves.

Maybe it is time to step away from the mainstream and create our own worlds for ourselves, focusing on the things that we overlook.

Fashion Illustrations (Uni Coursework)

 

 

 

Fashion Illustrations for uni coursework...

 

 

 

Appreciating Life

As Humans it seems we are very greedy creatures, in majority we take everything we can, aspire to conquer the rest of our race and will do anything to grasp it.

It also seems a rarity to think of how lucky we are… to be here on earth, to be who we are and have what we have… and to live in such a wondrous place.

I guess daily life can take hold – vision can be blurred by the taxi cabs, crumbling architecture and gum littered streets - Enough to mask the beauty of reality and cloud the soft rolling hills and whisper of sunlight in the backs of our minds. This makes me feel ignorant.

Humans are stupid, me included.

I find myself compelled by the need for “those shoes on asos.com”. Why? I do not understand why I feel that fashion is so important to me, all I know is that it simply IS. Perhaps I can blame the media or society – if not myself.

I am quite frustrated that this is the driving factor of my life and like defined in the reading task I am obsessed with the new and the mass of what is available in life. What a way to live.

Perhaps if those ASOS shoes were of only a handful of styles of shoe available in the entire world, would I feel different about them?

Would I desire them more or less?

Would I appreciate them more?

Would I begin to see the more important things in life?

And would my life accept the more important things?...