Ahhhh... Saks

So today I found myself at Saks; which, quite frankly, is easy to do when you're me. I actually had to go to the Apple Store in Stamford, which is conveniently (or not so conveniently, depending how much money I have in my wallet) located in the Stamford Mall, right by Saks. So, faced with the close proximity, what's a girl to do?

While browsing in Saks (today was a not-so-convenient kind of day), I noticed their visuals (mannequins, store displays, etc.); I do in every store, as that was my first job out of college. But what struck me as particularly awe-inspiring, was the "trend" signage throughout the store: high heels! Capes! Textured cardigans!

But instead of the usual high-fashion photo accompanying those words, the artist had worked clever illustrations into the script font (which is Sloop, I believe). Behold:














I couldn't get enough: not only were they gorgeous--how could you resist buying a cape after seeing this?--but they were so inspiring as well. Before I saw these, I was trying out a similar idea for a logo I'm working on. The idea wasn't really panning out, I just couldn't make it work; but once I saw these I got completely re-inspired. The logo--which I won't show right now, because I'm still in the first phases of design--works well now, so well that as of now it's my favorite out of the small handful I've designed thus far.

Just goes to show you, inspiration strikes when you least expect it!

PS. The flagship Saks in NYC has a great marketing campaign going on for their revamped shoe department: it's own ZIP code.
''Our new shoe floor is so big that it deserves a ZIP code of its own,'' said a Saks spokeswoman. Ummm, seriously: how cool is that?

PPS. If you own a Mighty Mouse, and the ball gets jammed up and won't scroll one way or another, clean it with a damp cloth. That's what I learned at the Apple Store today.