CRS 231-Sweatshops

The issue of sweatshops is one that can be very controversial. Some believe that sweatshops in foreign countries that may practice inhuman working conditions at least provide the children and adults working there a livelihood. It is upsetting that people, especially children, are subjected to this kind of work, however, the big question is what else would these kids be doing if they weren’t working in a sweatshop? Would they be sold as sex slaves, or would their family be literally starving to death? This is the reality of children, men and women that live in countries that are homes to these sweatshops. It is hard for me to say if I am either pro-sweatshops or anti-sweatshops because although I believe that these places of work should no longer be allowed to remain running, I worry what would happen to the workers if we took away there only opportunity to feed their family, even if it may not be but just rice. Also, another question to consider is if there are enough people that really care about this problem to make a significant difference? Are Americans really willing to give up paying their extra low discount prices just so people they have no affiliation with won’t be subjected to such awful working conditions? One thing that I know I can take a definite stance on is that I find no valid reason for there to still be sweatshops in the United States and people to simply look over them only because it seems to be getting the job done for very little money and extremely quick .
The definition of sweatshops, as stated in our textbook is, “a company that violates labor, safety, and health, and/or worker compensation laws, or that has work environments that are unsafe, inhuman, or abusive without providing opportunities for workers to organize or negotiate better terms of work.” One example that I found online was about teenage girls in Honduras sewing clothes for Kathie Lee Gifford’s clothing line which is sold in Wal-Mart stores around the country. The girl’s ages ranged from 13 to 15 and usually worked from early morning to night, missing any opportunity to attend night school (National Labor Committee, www.nlcnet.org). When I heard about this incident I felt angry and sad for these girls, and it certainly altered my opinion of Kathy Lee Gifford regardless of whether or not she was aware of what was going on. I remember when I was 13 to 15; I was attending school and mostly hanging out with friends. If these teenage girls had an opportunity for a better life by finishing grammar school and they missed out because they were forced to work longer hours to accommodate rush orders for the Wal-Mart sold brand, then I find it absolutely ridiculous, no questions asked. However, a more of a positive note regarding this situation is that this was one of the cases of unsafe and abusive treatment of people that brought attention back to sweatshops, a topic usually forgotten by too many. Today, in class, someone asked is there anything we can do about this? I would have to say to that question that maybe there is nothing that as an individual we could do that would make a direct difference to sweatshops in these countries or even our own, however, we can make a conscious effort to remember the lesson here: to hold yourself and other people accountable for actions they take in all aspects of your life, if it be at school or work. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” philosophy shouldn’t be something that we adopt in life simply because it may be a little easier.

RCS 362-HP TouchSmart PC

I know everyone has seen the new HP TouchSmart PC commercial. The general public is almost numb to advertisements for computers or laptops but this one is different, this is the first time we are seeing a touch screen computer. It is no surprise that HP created one, considering that many of our cells phones and iPods are touch screen as well. This is currently my favorite ad on television and I have gone through the creative brief to find out what elements this commercial really has that makes it so like able.
The primary audience for this commercial is hard to determine due to the fact that it is advertising to a fairly wide target market. I would say that the audience for this commercial is men and women that are in their 20’s or 30’s and are young professionals. These are the kinds of people that always want to try the new restaurant or bar in their community and are interested in up and coming technological advances. One think that should be avoided when talking to this audience is giving too much information about how the computer works or what features it has, much of the audience already knows this and it would do nothing but bore them throughout the commercial. The reason why this advertisement works so well is because it is loud, catchy, and exciting which is what much of the audience is looking for, you could go even as far as saying that many of the people in the target market are thrill seekers. The objective of this campaign is to get the name out their, which has worked well considering I have heard a lot of buzz around this new touch screen personal computer. HP achieved this buzz simply by playing the "Do you want to touch?" chant throughout the commercial, not only is the song extremely relevant but it sticks in your mind, which is exactly what it is intended to do. Another objective is to show the audience how easy it is to use this computer, which is why the commercial shows someone maneuvering the PC with grace and ease. The message that HP is really trying to get across here is simplified in the ending quote, “Touch the future.” I think that was a great statement to leave the audience with because many of these people are curious about what’s coming next or planning for the future, so this quote makes this ad very relevant for them. This commercial definitely appeals to peoples emotions, however, the price for the PC is shown in the commercial at the very end and I think that gives a more rational reasons for people to “act” or buy this computer because they are able to see that it is fairly affordable for how technology advanced it is and how fun and exciting it is.

CRS 231-Fashion: Art or Usability?

Many people have always seen high fashion as more of an art form then actual clothing that is wearable. When looking at the designer’s collections from New York, Paris, and Milan, we see clothing that one couldn’t imagine wearing on an everyday basis. For example, how many people are we going to see wearing a transparent dress on the street? My guess is not very many at all. However, when comparing the fashion weeks in these three cities, Milan takes the credit for designing clothing not to be worn, but more to be recognized as art. Although the clothing we saw at New York fashion week may not all be extremely wearable, it certainly possess more usability for the fashion conscious person.
When I think of art, I think of beautiful and complex paintings, structures, or drawings that are meant to be admired by the human eye. Milan fashion week was remarkably similar to how one would feel when stepping into an art museum. In the beginning of the Milan fashion week video on Style.com, Tim Blanks comments that this kind of fashion fell “somewhere between technology and transparency.” The clothing that we saw in Milan was nothing less than complex and I felt it had much more emotion and meaning behind it than the fashion we witnessed in New York and Paris. I believe that it is important for apparel to provoke a certain feeling from the viewer or wearer, giving the clothing a “soul,” as if it were an entity that was live in its own form. Many of the pieces we saw in Milan were airy and soft but, to counter act that, the shoes were undeniably geometric and structured. I thought that we really got to see the amount of craft a designer has in the outcome of the shoes they created. One “fashionista” on the Style.com video stated that buyers and designers are really questioning, “How high can you go? (regarding the heels)” and much like art, the sky’s the limit.
Milan really stood apart from New York and Paris simply because the designers really captured the essence of what true high fashion is about, art. New York, especially, displayed amazing clothing that people here in American might connect with more because it is more wearable and possesses usability. For example, Vera Wang and Calvin Klein both created a line that many women can look at and say “I could see myself wearing that.” I personally enjoyed watching and analyzing Milan fashion week the most due to the fact that it really pushed the envelope, was extremely edgy, but was still ground down here on earth at the same time.

RCS 362-Outdoor Advertising

Everyday we are bombarded with outdoor advertising, on the way to work, school, out to dinner, etc. The most common form that I come in contact with are billboard advertisements, some more effective than others. Food billboards seem to be pretty effective on me, they always make me hungry even if I don't necessarily like what is being advertised.
The most clever outdoor advertisement that I have seen recently is the one that we studied in class, the law firm that posted on it's billboard, "Life's short, Get a divorce." Obviously the ad wasn't meant to be taken literally, nevertheless, there probably were a lot of people that found it to be offensive. However, I believe this particular law firm was banking on people getting upset over the ad because it then stick's out in one's mind, it certainly is not forgettable. It also got people talking, circulating the name of this law firm. In my opinion, it was a pretty smart (and funny) way of grasping people's attention.
There is a new Rush that opened up on Battleground recently. The Rush is a well-known chain gym. Almost everyone knows about the gym due to the bright colors they use outside their gyms. Every time I drive by one, I cannot miss it because it is that bright, it sticks out amongst the surrounding stores. If the flashy appearance isn't enough advertisement itself, the newly opened gym distributed coasters to close by restaurants and bars. I recently went to Ham's at Battleground to grab a drink with a friend. When the bartender brought me my drink, he set it on the bright colored coaster, advertising the new Rush. The bartender even said we could take them home with us, I'm not sure if he was instructed to tell us that or not. Although this might not necessarily be an "outdoors" ad, it is definitely different from the traditional billboard or TV advertisement. I thought it was a pretty creative idea, however, I already belong to a gym.

CRS 231-Inspirations for my dream dress

I have never been good at drawing or sketching, hence the reason why I went with the retailing side of the CARS program. I have, however, been pretty imaginative. I created a dress in my mind a couple years ago and deemed it my dream dress. It has not changed since I thought of it years ago (I believe it was around prom time), which means to me that it is really something special.
Every woman dreams of attending a sort of event that where they could wear such a dress that would make them look and feel more beautiful. I don't think that I have any specific inspiration for this dress, it seems to be a combination of things in the fashion world that inspire me and also styles that would be flattering on my body. My personal favorite color to wear is black, needless to say the dress is black. I have always thought that it looks best on blondes, really off-setting the hair color. The dress is cut out in the back, revealing a large portion of it, dipping all the way down to my lower back. I did this for two reasons, one being that an open back has always been a sexy, yet classy, way to show skin, and secondly because I like the look of my back. The top of the dress wraps around my dress, opposite of how a halter top would, embellished with intricate beading. This would draw the eye to the top of the dress, drawing closer attention to my shoulders and neck, another part of a woman's body that has always been more feminine and sexy. From there down, the dress is simple, flowing black chiffon all the way to the floor. I recognize that this kind of dress would be not only difficult to make but also difficult to wear, especially considering the cut out back. The sides of the dress would have to be taped down to the sides of me, to ensure that no one could see inside the dress.
I have recently been trying on bridesmaids dresses for my sister's wedding and I found a dress that is similar to the dress I have created in my mind. It is made out of the same material and has the open back that I love so much. It was almost as if I was wearing the dress I had imagined for so long. Perhaps, by trying on more dresses over the next couple months, I will become inspired to change my dream dress, or maybe even create a new one.