Saving a Thing from the Island of Misfit Toys
December 7, 2017Design and Branding
This is the finished "Blue Pizzazz" photo for the P.S. Flavor!™ Club. It is to be used in the Club's publication and for advertising. There's plenty of editorial copy space at the top of the photo.
I knew I had to produce a photo for the P.S. Flavor! Club's Winter Kit, that would highlight the three spice blend product bottles that are featured in the seasonal kit. The image would primarily be used in publications, but possibly (and naturally) online as well.
I was at Walmart around 2am one night, picking up some fresh cilantro and a pineapple, because… why not? On my roundabout way to the food department… I walked past some gold glitter mesh. Being attracted to sparkly things, I had to go look and touch and examine it closer.
There were many, many rolls of the stuff… I suppose one would use it for wrapping gifts. I'm not sure really what its purpose is, but there was one little roll of silver mesh that I kept coming back to. It was unwrapped from it's plastic packaging, there was no price tag anywhere. It looked like the gold mesh, same glitter (but silver), same mesh pattern and whatnot… but all alone.
It was… for all intent and purpose… one of the characters from the Island of Misfit Toys. It seems, I am also attracted to misfit characters.
I picked up a fully wrapped gold version with a price tag and what will forever become "my" silver roll of glitter mesh to take to the checkout register, hoping they would sell me the unmarked silver roll for the same amount as the gold roll. My plan worked and I saved the silver glitter mesh from what was sure to be an untimely end to its existence in the giant department store.
I still wasn't sure what I would do with it, but I did know a few things about the photo that were needed. The three bottle must be there, including the new Warm Winter bottle. The photo should primarily feature the bottles, and while the theme is winter… it should not be "holiday" specific. I was also thinking in terms of an editorial piece where copy words could be added to the photo, so there should be space for that as well (or some method of integrating copy space into the photos).
What I came up with was this gorgeous blue winter themed image that is really… just three elements… a dark blue surface, the three bottles, and my misfit silver glitter mesh.
You might be saying to yourself, the silver mesh looks quite blue! That's because I layered and colored with light. From the very back, working my way to the camera… there's a black matte cardstock, a 200w flash with a turquoise blue gel, the silver mesh draped over a horizontal boom arm, the table and shooting surface, the spice bottles, and in addition to the usual main, key and fill flashes, another 200w daylight balanced flash that was hitting well above the bottles. This resulted in the silver mesh still looking sliver in the front, but blue in the back.
And that… short story long… is why the misfit roll of silver mesh was so important to me. I knew the gold mesh would cast color, while the silver mesh would not.
Yes, yes I do have a table that magically floats in the air.
The winter icey glam shot of the spice bottles was well receive by team P.S. Flavor! … it was even renamed the "blue pizzazz photo", which I just adore. You know you're working with the right people, when they care about these things, as much as you do. The Blue Pizzazz photo will appear in the P.S. Flavor! Club's new publication and in various advertising collateral for the Club's Winter Kit. The collateral pieces and publication are also designed by myself, acting as creative director.
If you're interested in amazing spice blends (and who isn't), be sure to check out P.S. Flavor!™ and the brand new P.S. Flavor! Club which will launch its very first ever Winter Kit in just a few short days!!!
