I carry a backpack because it is functional. I believe this multiple compartment beauté was a Target purchase right before a business trip to Toronto in 2010. It was for a Coca-Cola / McDonald’s ideation session. This trip was the beginning of a journey that has led me ultimately to the graduate degree in creativity that I start this June. Hence the book “Out of Our Minds – Learning to be Creative”.

(click on the image to search through my bag)

So what else do the contents of my bag say about me?

My mother gave me the second book because it joins two of my passions – animals and healing. I recently received my Reiki Master certification and have found that it is a great way to treat animals suffering from pain and anxiety. I have not been able to read the whole book though because many of the stories are just too gut wrenching.

Next, you will no doubt notice that technology is my friend and “Hi, my name is Lauren and I am an Apple addict”. iPhone, iPad, laptop–at least one or more are always with me.

For our first wedding anniversary, my wife gave me the St. George cards as my paper gift. Saint George is said to be a dragon slayer from the 17^th century. I like the idea that my last name both represents bravery and the Florida island where we fell in love.

Car keys are a pretty standard item in a bag, but I have to admit– I loooove my car and am very lucky (knock on wood) that I haven’t gotten a speeding ticket. My mechanic, with a grin on his face, once told me that she purrs at 122 mph.

Notebooks are a must. It is strange to think that in the not too distant future there will be generations of people who don’t know how to hand write anything. Oh and the sticker on the front is from Awesomeness Fest. You should definitely check out this conference. It is unlike any I’ve been to before.

Nike Fuel Band, fabric grocery bags and a protein bar are all me trying to be a better person

I’d like to share a short video from Argentinean independent publisher Eterna Cadencia.

It highlights a recent publication called “The Book That Can’t Wait”,  an anthology put together to showcase the work of talented new authors.

The book gets it’s highly appropriate title due to it being printed using a special ink that slowly disappears within two months of coming into contact with the environment.

According to Eterna Cadencia, they said that unlike people, books are very patient and they wait for us to read them—which is ok for books, but not for new authors.

The hope is that this ‘novel approach’ to book marketing (literature-pun totally intended) will create a sense of urgency that will encourage people to read the book quickly (before it becomes a regular notebook) and thus hopefully generate increased demand for further work from these new authors.

I think it’s pretty cool. Enjoy!

But upon further reading and research, I’ve learned that it’s quite possibly a little deeper than just a fashionable outlet.

Nail polish has been an actual growing trend in the past 2 years.  In fact, polish sales went up 54% globally in 2011!  It has been theorized that in a strained economy, nail polish has come to represent “affordable luxury”.  When we have to give up other more costly indulgences we can rely on this budget friendly extravagance to make us feel better about our current circumstances.  

According to the New York Times:

  “Lipstick sales used to go up when the economy went down, perhaps because women were searching for a cheap pick-me-up or an edge in a job interview. For reasons nobody quite understands, the lipstick indicator doesn’t hold up anymore, though nail polish sales now seem to reflect the economy very clearly (albeit inversely). A rise in nail polish sales indicates that we’re searching for bargain luxuries as the economy craters — and sales of nail polish are way up right now.”

 So there you have it– if you can’t currently get your fix with Louis Vuitton and Christian Louboutin, you can likely at least splurge on some fun nail color.

Check out some of the artistic designs that the more daring women about town have been rockin’.

For the less technically aware out there, QR Codes (Quick Response Code) are 2D matrix barcodes that can hold thousands of alphanumeric characters of information. In recent years, QR codes have become common in consumer advertising and packaging because the wide use of smartphones—now, most people have a barcode reader in their pocket. As a result, the QR code has become a focus of advertising strategy, since it provides quick and effortless access to the brand’s website or other marketing messaging.

Here are some examples of creative QR Code design and usage:

At the moment,  QR codes are mainly used just for additional information about the product or an ad campaign. But as the size of the information you can put into a QR code increases, the possibilities for their use in ad campaigns can be endless. Check out these videos showing how Tesco is revolutionizing grocery shopping and gaining market share in South Korea, and the world’s first animated tattoo!!

(As a person who loathes grocery shopping, I’m considering moving to South Korea for this reason, alone!)

Sources: http://www.thebiggerevent.com/blog/?tag=experiential-marketing    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code

I’m really inspired by the following advertising campaigns and can’t help but think of where those creatives were or what they were doing when that idea popped into their heads!

 Motivation to get fit…

Why am I craving chocolate right now?

Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful…

Interaction in a magazine, yes please…

Very intelligent camera, do you see what it sees?