Who said I would create an App one day?

Since last week we've been working on creating our very own app for our advertising class.

We got to pick one local business that we thought needed an app and create it for them.

I picked Jenna Rae Cakes because you know, there's nothing I like more than sugar indulging. haha

So the last part of our assignment was to create a Promotional Strategy and this is mine:

THIS IS FICTIONAL - ONLY FOR ASSIGNMENT PURPOSES (BUT IF JENNA RAE IS INTERESTED,  I'M MORE THAN WILLING TO HELP CREATING IT! :D )

THE APP:

The app I created is for Jenna Rae Cakes in Winnipeg. This is to help customers know what’s in the bakery at that day and how many items are left. Customers can place their orders and pay through the app. That will save time and will make it easier to customers know what treat they can have that day.

THEME:

Jenna Rae Cakes Express

MESSAGE:

Using the app, customers will save time, be able to place the orders they want, pay by phone, and skip lines. It will also help the business, since it’s located inside a small store. The app has also a points program that customers can only use through their phones. When they collect a certain number of points they can get discounts and rewards.

TRADITIONAL ADS:

We will buy ad spaces at local newspapers and also hand out flyers during the summer to people walking on the streets, especially around Academy Road.

MOBILE ADS:

The points program is one of the promotions for the app. However, to actually get people to download the app, we will create a Facebook ad and promote posts that mention the app, always targeting Jenna Rae Cakes’ audience. We will use iAds to promote it through other apps. This is a free app, which makes it easier to convince people to download it.

NEW MEDIA - PROMOS:

There will be promotions such as discounts to those who place their orders through the app. Coupons also will be available only on the app.

INCENTIVE:

On the launching date, Jenna Rae Cakes will giveaway free cupcakes to those who download the app and share it on their social media.

BUDGET:

We will initially invest $10 dollars per week for Facebook ads and to boost posts. The budget for printing flyers and buying ad spots on local newspapers is $150. We expect to spend up to $200 dollars a month to promote the app. This will be an ongoing promotion until we achieve at least 300 app downloads.

What did you think about it? Is there anything else I could do to make it better?

so I made a magazine...

Dear Readers, Friends and Family,

My dream job is to work for a magazine.

I don't know, I feel like the work environment would be awesome, and that people have a lot of fun writting stories.

When I heard we would have a magazine project, I was very, very excited!

So me and my group created a Trading Card Games Magazine! YES!
At first, the only thing I knew about trading card games was that my brother used to play Magic: The Gathering and that there were colorful dots on the cards. That was enough for me hahaha
But since we decided that was going to be the niche market for our magazine, I became more educated HAHAHA.

I wrote an article about the role of illustration for trading card games, and it was great. When I was little and saw my brother playing I had no clue of what those pictures meant. When I started researching and interviewing people for my article, I learned that the pictures play a major role during the game. It's an essencial tool that helps players to become faster players.

TOMORROW, April 2, we are having a Magazine Trade Fair where we will be launching our magazine. It's going ot be super fun and you guys will have the opportunity to see other magazines too! There are plenty of them, with different topics and different niche markets. It's going to be super fun!

Here is a little peak of what our magazine looks like! Hope you guys can come see our booth!

The picture for this cover was such a hard work yet fun to make! We covered one of our team members in Magic: The Gathering cards. It was super fun!

This is the article I wrote featuring the illustrations of Scott Altmann, a NY based artist that created several illustration for games. He told me about what inspires him, and what are the illustration roles. It was great to learn from him!

And this is the Drawcard team! Great people that I got to know and work with! We had a great time coming up with this magazine.

So, don't forget!

TOMORROW, April 2, at RRC Roblin Centre's Atruim starting at noon until 4 p.m.

Come celebrate with us! :D

See you all there! :D

this was one of my biggest assignments!

For those who are interested!

For our Public Relations class I made this proposal for our upcoming Magazine Trade Fair.

Hope you enjoy it!

Magazine Proposal

it seems crazy, but...

...it's been almost a month since the last time I turned my TV on.

I like being on my computer. Even though the screen is a bit small - I have some vision issues - I rather use my computer than any other device.

Why?

Simple. I have control. And I love having control of what's around me.

My doctor even told me once that I don't sleep well because I want to control things even when I am asleep. Oh well, that's just who I am.

The internet allows me to control what I watch/read/listen, when I do it, and however I want to do it. It's impossible to carry your TV to school. Well, it's not impossible, it's just weird. Books are too heavy to carry sometimes and music... We have iPods/iPhones etc. But I use YouTube a lot to listen to music because I love watching music clips.

PICTURE: We Heart It

The other day, my friend said TV is something that entertains you without making you think. I had never thought of it this way. But he was right! We just sit and watch, without having to do anything else. We don't usually interact with it. Is true that watching shows stirs your emotional, and that's no different than watching it online. However, when I am watching something on my computer, I'm also doing three other things at the same time. I listen to the characters' lines, write my blog posts, design something, read an article... It works for me because I multi-task.

This article in the Guardian says that the results of a British National Readership Survey showed that people who are more likely to be affluent spend more time online for work or entertainment, and they usually visit a higher number of websites. Aside from the affluent part, THAT IS ME! Right now, I have 20 tabs open on my Google Chrome. TWENTY TABS OPEN. I don't even know how I manage that. Seriously.

I hope that mean I will become an affluent person. :D

What about you? Do you spend more time online than on TV?

the best Photoshop tutorials

Trust me, when you learn how to use one Adobe program, you learn almost all of them. They are pretty similar but are used for different things.

When I started playing around with photoshop, YouTube was my best friend (and it still is). I learned a lot just by watching the video tutorials! I am a self-learner and I am very visual, so if I see someone doing anything, I am able to copy it. This is how I learn.

Good thing we have the internet and we can discover every secret in the world!

There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube, but here are my favourite ones!

TUTORIAL:

RESULT:

TUTORIAL:

RESULT:

TUTORIAL:

RESULT:

Hope you enjoy it and try to make your pictures more beautiful than before!

- Let me know what is your favourite tutorial on the comments below! I'd love to know!

rest and inspiration

This week was one of those which I a lot os resting was very very welcome. And I had!

I got so rested that it seemed like my brain was functioning better.

So this week's post is about inspiration on what to do to rest and relax!

I fill up my pinterest boards with everything I want to turn my life into. It's the place where I remind myself what my goals are. I just really want to make my life beautiful! This is one of my main goals!

PICTURES: Pinterest

the one fashion show you have to watch!

After McDonalds, Sponge Bob, Barbie, now it's Looney Tunes, Teddy Bear and graffiti's time to inspire Jeremy Scott's Moschino designs.

Thursday, at Milan Fashion Week, the designer once again surprised his audience.

Jeremy Scott is a genius, I wish I was as creative as he is. I mean, why not use graffiti walls as gowns' patterns?

His ability to include pop-culture in haute couture amazes me.

Tell me, how many times you went to McDonalds and told the cashier you liked his uniform? NONE. Or how many times you grabbed that Happy Meal box, took the food out, and put you phone and lipstick inside and went to that party on friday night? NEVER.
Jeremy Scott did.

We are grown ups now. Cartoons and Teddy Bears are kept nowhere else but in our memories. But the Moschino's creative director brought them back to our lives, in the best way ever.

Jeremy Scott also reminded us of Will Smith when he is Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in his 90s hip-hop inspired capsule.

Now, everything I want is the teddy bear sunglasses and iPhone case. Everyone in the front row got a case and the perfume later referred to "the cutest perfume". #jealous

Isn't it cute!? Enjoy the perfume's promotion video with the Brazilian model Isabeli Fontana!



See ya!

PICTURES: WWD

stop being so messy!

Organization is something I always have to be working on.

I am a visual person. The only way I remember things is when I write them down. I could be anywhere, and I could never see it again, but I'll never forget once I've written it.

I've been keeping a journal for many years, and you can ask me anything about what happened in my life since I was 12 years old. I'll be able to tell you as if it happened yesterday. I just don't forget.

That's just how visual people work.

When I worked as a secretary, during my training period, I wrote down every single direction my boss gave me. When to check the mail, how to schedule a meeting and send it to all the people who worked there, or what to write in an e-mail for clients. I had to answer a lot of calls and send away messages to those who couldn't answer the phone. I had to remember the caller's name, the person he/she wanted to talk to, what was the subject and their contact information. It was a lot of things to remember, and if I didn't have a pen and paper to write on, I would quickly forget and my work wouldn't be effective.

On Tuesday at Institute, one of our classmates said she says "yes" to a lot of things. I am exactly like that. It's hard for me to say no to anyone, especially to those whom I care. Sometimes I say yes simply because I forget what I have to do. The other day, I had to take my road test, and I almost accidentally set up an appointment at CIBC. Dumb! If I hadn't set up a reminder on my phone, I would've to try to clone myself. Or I would totally forget about my road test and not even take it.

Our generation has the ability of multi-task. That is a fact. But that also brings us a lot of anxiety and stress because it's hard to focus and prioritize. I am speaking, in general. I know a lot of people can prioritize just perfectly. My sister is one example of that. She goes to the gym three times a week religiously. She knows that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 a.m. she will be at the gym for 1:30 hours. And she doesn't miss one day, except for when she is REALLY sick or when she is out of town. Wish I was like that.

But don't feel hopeless. I am a living proof that we can learn how to prioritize. I am an anxious person, and I usually want to do everything. I even count how many seconds it will take me to do something. I time everything. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

So over the years, I've come up with different organizing methods and the ones that worked best for me are schedules. I am able to see everything I have to do and set up a time for each task.

I was very excited playing around with inDesign that I ended up creating this schedule. It starts at 12 p.m. because I know I can't function in the morning. You have to be realistic when scheduling your day. Plus, I am usually at school in the mornings, and weekends are sacred, if I can, I will not set up an alarm for the next day. I ended it at 10 p.m. because I need to start sleeping 8 hours. I've been having 4:30-5 hours of sleep and this is killing me!

My friend gave me the idea of sharing this schedule with you guys, so here it goes! :) you can even edit it to be suitable for your life! Click here to download the file, and have fun!

I made one for CreCommers and other for real people! haha

I hope this helps you a lot, it's been helping me! And remember, TAKE IT EVERYWHERE YOU GO!

p.s.: always use a pencil to write on it, your priorities may change over the days. ;)

If you'd like to see more organizing tips, click here.

• Tell me how you organize your day and if this schedule was helpful in the comments!

learning = saving money

If there's one thing I really like doing is shopping. Although, I hate spending too much money on food. I think it's just wasting money to make me fatter, which I really don't need!

Like every person that goes living in another country, when you leave your culture, you leave your gastronomic taste behind as well. But there are somethings that we just can't live without. I'm going through that.

In the beginning everything is new, you're discovering new places, tastes, people... Long-story-short, you don't miss anything that you left behind. Believe me, after six months, your heart will just feel out of place. You'll look at your old pictures, old friends, old life, and you will miss it. But don't worry, there's nothing you can't do.

One of my favourite things to do in Brazil was to go out to eat sushi. I love sushi and I could live of it. However, I knew Canadian sushi wouldn't be the same. Sushi is different in every country. Including Brazil. We have strawberry, cream cheese, and guava sushi, can you picture that? It's DELICIOUS!

Sushi is expensive everywhere (though here in Canada is way cheaper than it is in Brazil). I used to pay a lot of money, and I would go out to eat sushi at least 3-4 times a week - that's how much I love sushi hahaha.

I never had the guts to make sushi myself in Brazil. I knew it was too hard to make the rice, it took a long time, and I'm not the type of person who is very patient to cook. But the other day, I went to Safeway with my mom and I found Sushi Rice. That got me very excited. I looked at the back of the package and I read that you only had to cook it with water and add a little bit of vinegar once finished. Then I got seaweed and salmon and went home.

There is one type of sushi I love that I've never seen it here in Winnipeg. It's called Hot Philadelphia. Our Philadelphia sushi is different then the one I ate here. It had yam tempura, cucumber, avocado (i'm still having a little hard time getting used with the avocado in the sushi), cream cheese, and smoked salmon on top of the seaweed. Ours is just salmon and cream cheese, but Hot Philadelphia is deep fried.

So the next day, after I went to Safeway, I made Philadelphia and Hot Philadelphia for lunch. And it worked!

And here's the result:

It was SO GOOD!

If you want to try, it's SUPER easy to make.

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients: 

Sushi Rice:

1 cup Sun Rice Sushi Rice
2 cups water

Directions: Follow package's instructions to cook rice, and once it's done, add 3-4 tbsp vinegar and let it cool.

Frying batter:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup water (sometimes a little bit more, or a little bit less)
1 tbsp baking powder

Directions: mix all ingredients together until homogeneous.

Tare sauce p.s.: it's a lot of sauce, you can keep it in the refrigerator and use it several times.:

500 ml Sake
500 ml Soy sauce
500 g Sugar

Directions: Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium pan on a medium heat. When it starts boiling, turn the heat down and keep mixing it until it's thick. Let it cool.

Sushi filling:

Seaweed
Salmon
Cream cheese

Directions: Once rice is cold, place a seaweed sheet on top of a sushi mat - note that there is two sides: a glossy one and a coarse one. The glossy side should be facing the mat. Moist your hands with water and grab a handful of rice. Press the rice unto 3/4 of the sheet. Cut a string of salmon and place it in the middle of the rice part. Grand a handful of cream cheese and place it besides the salmon. Start rolling on the part that has rice. Cut the roll in half. Dip it in the frying dough and deep fry it.

Enjoy!


Happy last days of reading week! :)

why i am so obsessed with the 70s

Yes, exactly, I am obsessed with the 70's lately!

I've been watching a Brazilian soap opera (love) that takes place in the 70s and wishing I was born during that time. Seriously! Haha

The 70s represented a revolutionary time around the world. To South America, it was the Americanization era; it was the first period where the world was becoming globalized. In Brazil, people started listening to American songs much more than Brazilian songs and everyone wanted to have imported products.

Historically, there was a lot of important happenings. Nixon resigned his presidential post; it was still the second-wave feminism period where women focused on issues like workplace, domestic violence, sexuality, and family. Jacqueline Kennedy became an Onassis.

It was the disco era. The Bee Gees, the Jackson 5, Elton John, Saturday Night Fever, Disco clubs, flares, platform shoes, boho tops, bright colours, were all part of people's daily lives that time. It was also the hippie era. Peace and love.

It was the evolution era for the whole world.


If you have the chance, take a look at one - or several, or all - episode of Boogie Oogie here (i know it's in portuguese, but you don't really need to understand the dialogue). They did a great job showing exactly how the seventies were in Brazil. Pay attention to the small details. The decor, the products they use - they even show the actual packaging from that time), how they communicate - we don't even realize, but communication was so hard without cellphones, or smartphones. By the way, the soundtrack: AMAZING!

I'm a very detail-oriented person, even when sometimes I don't seem to be. I love when people are so careful showing instead of telling.

And of course, just a little song to animate your reading! :)

• What's your favourite past time? The 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or the present? Let me know in the comments! :)

Jean Paul Gaultier

This Paris Fashion Week got me inspired.

Let's begin with Lady GaGa's BFF, Jean Paul Gaultier.

I love Lady GaGa, she's a bit crazy, but honestly I think she's just misunderstood, like all real artists (i.e.: Van Gogh).
It's not surprising Jean Paul Gaultier is the one designer she identifies with.
To my view, he's a genius. His designs aren't boring. It's intelligent and provocative. You have to spend sometime examining it to understand. It's a piece of art!

Last year, Gaultier announced he wouldn't do ready-to-wear anymore. People started to question wether he would be able to combine chic and humour (I'd say intelligence). He is a freethinker, and of course he did it.

This runway had a wedding theme and showcased 61 alternative brides. All sizes and ages. I loved that he put older models to walk on his designs.

On the right: Anna Cleveland

In a time where no one wants to look older than thirty-years-old (myself included), Gaultier was able to balance between a show, where young and skinny models are used to market the work, to whom these clothes are really market for. The idea of using older models, with real body shapes, showed his fans he is realistic. They looked beautiful!

I'm so afraid of getting old, it seems to me that my life won't be as fun as it is now... I'll have other responsibilities, children to take care, a house, bills to pay... I feel like I have to live everything now because later won't be fun. I know I'm wrong. I see my mom, she is so young spirited. And that's how I want to be as I grow older. My age won't keep me from doing anything (not in an immature way).

His runway gave me hope. Made me think that life is good whatever age you are!

These are my top 3 from his show, including Naomi!

PICTURES: Giovanni Gianonni for WWD

WATCH: Model Anna Cleveland. She appeared on Jean Paul Gaultier's and Ellie Saab's show!

@anna_vcr - she reminds me of Lady GaGa a little bit!