So for this spring, I went back to all of my original notes, and started thinking about my original audience: mainstream USA. If I was going to appeal to the mainstream public, I’d have to hit them where it hurts: their wallets.

I started experimenting with the labels themselves – scanning a HUGE number of them from literally, all over the world (continental USA, Bahamas, Saudi Arabia, England, Jamaica, Hawaii, Ireland, Scottland, etc.). I wanted to use these labels in different ways, and pair them with the idea that bottled water is costing the average citizen of the world more than they realize.

Pure Waste and Collage

I kept on with the idea of PureWaste – this could be taken in many ways, but in general, the target was the consumer and the amount of money they were wasting. I think this one, for the first attempt, is interesting. One of my committee members pointed out that the PureWaste logo was more readable (and easier to mistake as “PureWater” as I had intended) when it was in 2 color. So that’s one of the revisions I’ll be working on. Although I like the boldness of the design, I’ll probably experiment with simplifying this – maybe in the form of the bottle.

Pure Waste – Paste-Up Style

I started looking at the typography on the labels and how different it was, from vendor to vendor. It was interesting to me, how certain “local” companies would try to incorporate some local lore, or cultural aspect into the typography and name. I started experimenting with the PureWaste idea, but in the old style paste-up (think ransom letter). I liked it, and ran with it for some of the other designs.

These variations play with the idea that bottled water and money are directly related. I liked the overlapping nature of the PureWaste idea with other images. Again, I think refining and simplifying the design will help.

Halftone Poster Design

Probably the least developed, this design investigates the “promises” made on various labels. It amazed me the promises listed on some of these labels – health, vitality, youth. The tacky printing and design was another thing that really struck me. Many of the labels were printed poorly and you could easily see the halftone moiree patterns on the printed labels. I’ll probably explore this more, once I get more of a grip on where I’m going with it.

I reworked the Ban the Bottle poster so that the words that are emerging from the design actually speak to the user.

“Advertisers tell us water is not safe. We believe the lies they tell. Corporations will take billions of dollars this year from consumers who will waste money on bottled water that is 40% tap water. 3 billion bottles, greenhouse emissions, petroleum…”

Keen – a very cool, environmentally conscious shoe company – recently held a contest. I entered my work, and although I didn’t win (sad day), my work is featured along with all of the other entries

Click here to see my entry >>

Hey, I’ll take what I can get!

In all seriousness, there are some really amazing people doing work in the field. I enjoyed just seeing the entries from other candidates.

I’m continuing to explore ideas in bookmaking and creating a book based on my poster designs. Another preliminary idea:

So, for spring 08, I decided to focus some attention on the idea that bottled water is costing the average citizen, hard earned money. Besides the obvious environmental issues it’s causing, bottled water is expensive.

I started exploring the $100 bill. I chose this bill specifically, because it seems to be what wanna-be-high-rollers like to flash. I’ve seen it in my own circles, and have known people from my generation who would purposely cash their entire paycheck, and keep it in their wallet… not because they have an inherent mistrust of our banking system … simply put, they wanted to be able to flash their wallet at happy hour, as they paid for everyone’s drinks.

Now, interestingly enough, my scanner did not like the fact that I was scanning bills (I had intended to use them in another piece – which, I found is actually legal, as long as they are 75% or 150% of the original side – who knew?).

My goal is not to print bills and live the high life ala Frank Abagnale, Jr. No, I simply wanted to experiment with manipulating a recognized form, to communicate a message. I specifically wanted to focus on the bottle, as a shape, as well as the idea that many end up in landfills.

I started thinking about how I could incorporate this artwork into other pieces. Posters, book designs, actually printing the bills and wrapping them around bottles as labels. Just experimenting, in general.

I like the gritty final piece, but am not sure how to use it in the end.

Sometimes, the world is so small. I have a friend finishing her graduate degree at University for Peace – a UN sponsored school in Costa Rica. Her friend and sidekick, Emily Arnold, wrote a report in 2006 on bottled water for Earth Policy’s website.

Click here to read Emily Arnold’s piece on bottled water…

I think from an aesthetic point of view, this is one of my favorite designs. I’ve received mixed views on the piece – people either love it, or hate it. One committee member commented on the fact that it should be hanging in a Starbucks. I’m not sure how to take that

The focus of this piece, was the idea that recycled bottles can actually grow into something new. Well, not actually grow, but you get my drift. I’ve done some extensive research on the process – bottles are recycled into chips, spun into fibers, and are being used to create tshirts, fleece, blankets, carpet – the list is getting bigger by the moment.

I really wanted to have an organic pattern that tied the theme into the idea that something recycled, would save natural resources. I think the design of this one might appeal more to a mainstream audience (see Starbucks comment). I’m pretty happy with the mark, and am developing that further.

In this next piece, I’m concentrating more on the fact that bottled water is considered part of an “elitist” phenomenon that’s engulfing our culture. Something propelling people to consume things they don’t need, in order to keep up with the status quo. Cars, houses, children – even bottled water – are becoming accessories.

This piece was inspired initially by an article entitled “Was the Mortgage a Mistake?“, which I read in the Washington Post last summer, that, oddly enough, was about the Real Estate crisis. Something set me off about this article, and I thought about how ridiculously privileged my generation can be. No. That doesn’t even describe it – we feel entitled. We deserve to have everything we want, regardless of the consequences.

The article starts out simple enough – a young couple, talking about their first house purchase, a townhouse in trendy Germantown, bought on an interest-only loan. They talk about how not long after they purchased the house (about two years before the article was written) the market started to fizzle, and that initial foreboding that many of us felt as the years edged on, and the market continued to crumble.

It wasn’t the fact that they bought a $450,000+ house on an interest only loan. No – although that was foolish in hindsight, I understand that alot of people were convinced this was all going to work out. I’ve seen my share of agents get pushy about houses and loans and the “great deal” you were getting.

What enraged me was how, at times, the article took a turn into selfish-land: the author talks about how, despite their gut feelings, they proceeded to buy flat screen TV’s, take expensive vacations, and so on. At one point, as the author is weighing the alternatives – waiting to buy until their salaries could make the home affordable, living further out, in a less “desirable” area for less money, etc., one statement set me off: “..we deserved a nice home. We did what we had to do to get one.”

I cannot tell you how many people my age I know who – at one point or another – have been in serious financial turmoil. I mean SERIOUS. Not just a few credit card bills – I mean losing their cars, homes, life. Because they’ve always been moving a little too fast. Living always beyond their means. Believing they DESERVE whatever they want, whenever they want it.

Alot of this revolves around the idea of want. They want a lifestyle that – in fact – they are NOT entitled to. Yet they take it, and throw caution to the wind. The results are often catastrophic.

I think I had an epiphany a few years back, when I visited Europe for the first time (oh… doesn’t THAT sound so entitled?). Well, to tell you the truth – I saved for 6 months, skipped Christmas gifts with my husband, and then we ended up taking the train and staying in hostels most of the time.

I digress. People in Europe live – differently. There’s a distinct awareness, that’s missing in the good ole U.S. of A. There’s an unspoken responsibility – you bring your own reuseable bags to the store (they’ve been doing this for DECADES – we didn’t invent the idea suddenly with the Green movement); they grow gardens in their backyards; they recycle bottles, and refill them (it was weird picking up a Coke bottle that was scratched and old – yet new); they drink out of water fountains. They eat slowly, and savor conversation and actually sit down when they eat.

It made me think – of a movie I saw once called “Sweet Land”. It’s about Norwegian and German immigrants who come to America, to live the dream. Own your land, farm it, be proud. At one point, you see the mentality of the general population is being warped by what will eventually lead to the Stock Market crash (and many years later, our own financial crisis in the 80’s and now in the new millenium). At one point, one of the characters, points to an expensive tractor (that he bought on credit), and screams – bigger, Better, FASTER! Only in America!

This farmer eventually loses his land to the bank, because he’s invested so heavily in something (via credit), that he can’t keep up with the payments. Sound familiar?

I think this is actually the least successful design from the group. I want to rethink this eventually and really try to communicate what made me so passionate about this piece. I just haven’t figured out how to do it.

After fall 2007 mid-terms, I decided to go a different route. I wasn’t happy with the bottle imagery. I felt like it wasn’t visually interesting, and the bottle / money photos ended up looking more like makeshift piggy banks, than a money sucking product…

The original namesake for the blog, this first started as a logo mark – specifically one that revolved around the shape of the bottle, and then evolved into something more. Really, a study of the words and how misleading much of the banter we find on bottles really is…

I decided to focus in on the shape of the bottle to frame the words, in both existing marketing slang, and what I thought they should really be.

I also did a series of postcards, stickers, and buttons – I guess the impending election year has gotten the best of me My first stab at a “campaign” of sorts.

Original Photos

Early on in the project, I focused quite a bit on the actual plastic bottle, and the idea of people carrying around bottles as a status symbol. Some articles go to great lengths describing how the bottle has become an urban symbol – one of wealth, health, and vibrance.

	I worked with custom made label designs and original photos to show irony in the labeling of water bottles. I strayed from traditional color schemes in some cases, simply to make things more interesting. The original photos were shot against a backboard outside for natural lighting and limited reflection.

Poster Designs – Initial Ideas Based On Photos and Labels

These original photos evolved into small poster designs, that translated some of the original research I had done for the project. After my first committee review, I decided to explore other options. The photos seemed to lack the visual interest I had hoped for, and the panels started to look more like Powerpoint screens with bulleted content.