Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Perfect Day
by Christopher Froelich

Once, we created a perfect day.
We knew God was proud.
Because butterflies told us it was true.
After, He gave me a perfect day.
That morning in the tall mansion of Lithuanian,

I experienced many lasts.
The taxi company that answered in Lithuanian.
I answered back in Russian.
I went down that Soviet lift.
The carriage that took me to the station.
I tossed my last ties to the tovariches.

That afternoon I arrived in the Tsar’s chambers of Latvia,
He gave me advice I cannot forget.
I even met with the babushka who talked of truth.
And I knew God was proud.
For I had experienced the perfect day.


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Occasion Gum Ad Campaign


This was a project that I worked on in my visual literacy class. I made this idea up so that people could have more of an *experience* when chewing gum. Hope you enjoy it!

Occasion Gum
Idea by Christopher Froelich

I had a great opportunity to work on the new Occasion Gum campaign. Occasion Gum is a product that gives you different occasions to chew gum depending on the time of day. It allows the consumer to have an experience with the gum that they can remember. As they experience the memory with the gum, they will be able to have a taste in their mouth that correlates with that experience. As they have the same experience, their mouth will start to water and they will crave the gum they were chewing in the past. 

I have worked specifically on three different flavors: AM gum, PM gum, and After Hours gum. These are the first flavors we are going to try out and we will have more flavors to come. 

The general theme of my ads tries to give the feel of a fancy party. I added some humor in them but I wanted to appeal to an audience of typical college students who are wanting to jazz up their life with good occasions.  I used the color black as the general background of all my ads because good occasions usually happen at night and this gives the feel of a celebration. 

Logo: I designed the logo in a very simple way. It is just a clock in the O of occasion with Century Gothic font. I felt that this gave a very simple but powerful logo because it has the feel of a fancy occasion.

AM gum: AM gum contains ingredients that help wake someone up. I also focused on giving a stronger mint flavor so that consumers don’t have to worry about morning breath. I made an ad based on the idea of the movie “Groundhog’s Day.” With the alarm clock from the movie, and a small logo of Bill Murray with a groundhog, it brings back the memory of having the same day over and over again. I thought it would be interesting to play with the idea that one doesn’t have to have the same day over and over again with AM gum because it starts the day off right. I used Gestalt’s principle of closure in this ad in the alarm clock. 



PM gum: PM gum is gum that has ingredients that dazzle the partner. I am planning on having a PM gum for men and one for women. The ads I did for this one was two cups, one with a mustache and one with women’s lips. The idea was that by chewing this gum, you don’t have to stay in the cupboard tonight. It brings confidence to the night. 




After Hours gum: This is essentially a study gum. With ingredients that keep you awake and keep you going, this gum helps one concentrate while keeping them awake. The ad I did for this flavor was a person in his books with his head floating away. The idea is that by chewing this gum, you won’t float away from your studies. I used Gestalt’s principle of continuation in this ad. 


Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day!



When I was in eighth grade, I wrote a song for my mom. It was one of my first songs that I wrote that had music and lyrics in it. The song that’s playing right now (if you pressed play at the top), has excerpts from the first version of that song. I still really like the lyrics that I wrote so long ago because they describe how I feel about my mother to this day.

The chorus says this:

“‘Cause she was the one that tucked me in at night.
Lucky me, I don’t have to fright.
Because she was there. I don’t have to worry.

And now I know why I am here.
Yeah, she teaches me, the strangest things,
Like, how to clean, and what life brings.”

As I think about these lyrics and what they mean to me, I can’t help but think about how often she still “tucks me in.” I go to her when I am anxious. I ask her for girl advice. I call her just to talk. She is always there ready to tuck me in when I need it.

I remember a day when I lived in Texas when one night, my mother didn’t tuck me in. I remember feeling really sad inside, not liking this feeling of getting “too old” to be tucked in. She noticed I was sad and asked me what was up. I told her how I felt. I told her that I never will be too old to be tucked in and that I don’t ever want to leave home. Though I really have grown up, I am still grateful for all the times my mom has been there in my life, “tucking me in.”

I respect my mom. She has good ideas. She knows how to tell me how it is. She knows me better than I feel I know myself at times. I love her and I am grateful for her teaching me how to clean and what life brings. Though these are strange things, they certainly have helped me in my life.

Thank you mom, for all that you do. It may not seem that I notice all the things you do, which is probably true, but the things that I do notice, I love. Happy Mother’s Day.

Song: "She Was the One That Tucked Me In" composed by Christopher Froelich

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Creativity is something special to me.


^ (Please press play while reading the entry for full effect. I wrote a piano piece to describe how I felt while writing this blog. I hope that it will really help you to feel and get a sense of me and to how I was feeling at the time. Hope you enjoy it!)
________________________________________________________________________
I recently arrived home from California. I went with three friends. One of my friends was in search for a new place to live because he was going to be working in San Francisco and so I offered to come along. I am glad I did. It seems that when I get away for a little, my life organizes itself a little more. I start to see things in a different way. That is exactly what happened during this trip.

We slept at my friend Shelby’s cousin’s place in San Francisco. It was small, but it seemed to give off a sort of confident feeling. I felt like I could become someone in that home. Shelby’s cousin is only about thirty years old and he owns a business that is doing very well. I asked him what I could do in order to be successful. He said to pick something that you are good at and that you slightly enjoy and become the best at that. I am now trying to find exactly what that is. I feel this advice is exactly what I need to help me in the phase of life that I am in.

I explored San Francisco. I saw what it is like to be extremely well off. I saw people and places that are successful. We went to Google’s campus and rode on their bikes. It was a neat experience but it made me wonder what it is that Google has done so well to get to be as big as it is. I saw opportunities stationed in this campus. Somehow, Google has created an environment that breathes success. I want to create this same environment for myself.

This entry is a little bit all over the place, but that is the mood that I feel right now. I got home from California at 4 am and had to go to clean a dentist office for my friend before the office opened. I went home and had two hours of sleep and then went to class. Though I am all over the place, I feel a sense of dignity and openness that I haven’t recently felt.

I am taking a class called visual literacy. Today we focused a lot on what creativity actually is. I felt like I had a lot to say about this subject. Being creative is all about the process in which I do things. I can do anything creatively. This one class made me think. It made me want to be a more creative person. I think that by using creativity in my life, I will be able to find out what I do well at and to become the best at it. I think about all the creative minds in California and what they did to get to where they are today. I am sorry this has been all over the place, but I hope you enjoy some of my thoughts. Bottom-line, I had an amazing experience in California and I appreciate creativity.

I think it can be creative to be random.


Song: Random Flowing Thoughts by Christopher Froelich

Monday, February 10, 2014

My Best Self



Привет всем!


My friend recently told me something that really made an impact on how I think about things:

"You are the most attractive you can be when you are progressing in your personal goals, and that takes time."

This is true. I have been my happiest, most confident self when I am my very best self and people can tell. One of my favorite scriptures is in Doctrine and Covenants 88: 67-69:

      67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.
    68 Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will. 
    69 Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you; cast away your idle thoughts and your excess of laughter far from you.
To me these verses mean that people can see light in us when we are living our lives to the best of our ability. This scripture became a theme on my mission and it still is a theme in my life today. I may not be perfect, but when I am striving to be my best each day, I notice a difference. 
Something about me is that I am happiest when I am living for someone else, when I can work hard for them, and when I can bring them joy. So I often ask myself, "how hard will I work for a person?" I choose to work for my family and my future wife. I want to be my best self for them. 

Life should be full of joy and happiness. That joy comes from living in a way that makes God proud of us and lifts other people to be happier. I just had a birthday this pat week. It was wonderful to see how many people wanted to make me happy. My goal this year is to strive to bring happiness to others instead of thinking so much about myself. 

I know that God lives and that He loves us and wants us to be our best selves, the people we were before this life. 

Anyways, just some thoughts I wanted to share. Also below is a video I made for my advertising video. It made me so happy to work on it and to do it with those I love. Check it out. I hope you like it!

^ My advertising video ^


My birthday!!!