My First Post

 Hello class, My name is Daniel Gefre and this is my first blog post ever! Im gonna be honest i'm not much of a blogger but I'll give it the good ol college effort for the sake of my grade in this class. I'm supposed to talk a little about myself to give you guys a feel of who's blog you are reading so here we go. 

I am a 4th year student and Oregon State and Linn Benton, yes I am duel enrolled because I like keeping my money. I am from West Linn Oregon, I have lived there my entire life and the reason my parents decided to settle there was because of the schooling. That being said I graduated from West Linn High School which you can see below. I never appreciated the high school I went to at the time because I was a goofball but once I entered college I realized how lucky I was to attend such a good school.  

Besides the obvious "I go to school" dialogue, I grew up playing sports such as soccer, baseball and basketball. I enjoy fishing, hiking and hunting and I also love to play video games. 

The reason that I enrolled in this class is because I am a marketing minor and I am majoring in graphic design. I decided to minor in marketing because it is a very useful trait to have when I am a graphic design major. Also, I plan on mostly working on advertising design when I land a job. So far I have enjoyed the lectures and the discussions that go on in the classroom. Whats interesting and something that I released in this class is that everything that goes into marketing has a lot of phycological factors that go into advertising decision making. I was a psychology major for a year and a half before I switched to graphic design and it is very interesting to see how much psychology is used in these ads. 

With that being said, I am most interested in learning the psychology behind ad design and targeted demographics. an example that was discussed in class was the difference between Dutch Bros and Starbucks. Good points were made in class about the type of drinks and the experiences both offer like free wifi at Starbucks and colorful energy drinks offered at Dutch Bros. This topic got me thinking about the structure of these two competitors and how they both have their own targeted demographics and use basic psychology to attract their targeted customers.

 Dutch Bros offers colorful drinks that are mainly energy drinks with lots of sugar in them, they also hand out stickers and colorful straws. The colors of the Dutch buildings are colorful and bright and the workers engage in cheerful conversations and are always smiling. This is mainly to target a younger audience of customers whereas Starbucks on the other hand uses different techniques to attract an older demographic. 

Each Starbucks store has a darker more sophisticated and comfortable design. The use of dark brown and black colors for the interior makes it feel like you are part of an exclusive club, a very sophisticated and wise feel. When you first walk in the door there is a noticeable, potent smell of coffee beans which triggers your brain to want coffee. This feeling they are triggering is the same nostalgic feeling that people have when waking up for the day and grinding up coffee beans for their own coffee pot in the morning, especially for parents that are heading to work. These are examples of how Starbucks is attracting an older audience.   

Sorry for the tangent readers, I am very passionate about psychology still and It is very fascinating to me. To answer that question, that Is what I am most excited to learn about in this class. 

Outside of school I am a very passionate gambler. I know what you are thinking, I've heard it 1000 times and the answer is no it is not a problem because I have won more then I have lost :). Defiantly will become a problem If I continue on but I am not planing on having longevity to my gambling hobby. My favorite games are Texas Holdem and Blackjack. Me and my buddies played lots of poker with each other throughout high school until we were old enough to go to casinos, then we started going. Gambling is a fun but dangerous game, if played smartly it can be profitable but if played poorly it could put a significant dent in your wallet. The main rule about gambling is know your limit and never make exceptions. 

That about wraps up my first post I am looking forward to the rest of this class and I am eager to learn more about marketing. To end it I will leave you with a photo of me and my family.