May 16, 2016
I hate acronyms. Oh sure they shorten up long things, but they make you look stupid if you’re not in the know, “WHAT! You don’t know what the CRM is?” (followed by a stunned look). And I hate it when they’re used out of context regularly. On a news show I watch–they don’t use the city name when they’re talking about the weather, instead they use the airport code. “Oh it’s going to be a nice day in old YYC”, thus excluding all those folks who have no idea what that means–once again to look stupid. When I go to client offices–in meetings–it’s like I’m from Mars or something, “We’ll run that past the old CRS and see if he salutes it”, who’s the CRS and what has he got to do with me? (more…)
Mar 11, 2016
He’s every where, Donald Trump has made American politics absolutely electrifying. He’s the man everyone loves to hate and it seems loves to vote for. I heard someone compare him to Hitler and I thought, what an interesting idea.
Sep 10, 2014
I bid on logos often, and it amazes me the expectation of cost for a logo. Something that has helped devalue the cost of a logo in many people’s minds are the websites that offer low-cost logos. It used to infuriate me that after all the years of training and work, that I have people competing with me that would sell a customer a logo for as low as $18. It’s as easy as searching for “cheap logo”. Now I have come to believe in the low-cost logo, and here is some advice to dealing with your designer to make sure you get the cheapest logo possible: (more…)
Jan 6, 2014
It’s called spec work, or maybe it’s a company deciding to have a “design contest”. But no matter what you call it–it’s bad for business. No matter the promises, Spec work is working for free. Clients want to try you out to see if you’re a good fit, but they don’t want to pay for the privilege or for your time.
Some studios don’t even mind going into a Spec situation, the argument is that you can land some pretty big fish working this way. In this day and age, when we’re appalled that some factory owner in a third-world country will pay his workers fifty cents a day, it amazes me that companies in Canada can ask for free work from freelancers and studios without batting an eye. Really?
If you’re a designer, you’ve got to say no to Spec, it hurts your industry. If you’re a client, are you willing to work for free, because my driveway is all snowy and I’d like to see how creative you can be?
Sep 23, 2013
I’ve seen so many examples of bad advertising in public spaces. Novellas on billboards, small type on bus benches, illegible display fonts, and much more. If you only have moments to see the ad, why would advertisers waste their money this way? I can only guess that they’re not using a professional designer, or the designer is a yes man. It’s better to advise a client that something is a bad idea, rather than to go ahead and produce something that won’t serve its purpose. What do you do if a client still wants to do something that’s a bad idea. Negotiate, that’s right—to the bitter end. Being a good negotiator is something your client will appreciate when someone says they bought their widget because of the billboard ad, or even better if sales increase after a campaign. A good negotiator will find the connection between the clients goal and the reason why what they want on a billboard won’t help them realize their goals. If a client still wants you to do their bidding, it’s better to walk away than produce something bad–because when someone asks them who did their awful ad, they’ll be using your name.
Aug 7, 2013
There’s a rising trend in various industries–but in Design especially—there’s a trend in getting work for free. More and more, clients are looking for work on spec, and studios are looking for interns. Big agencies do spec work from time to time to land new large clients, and it creates an expectation that creative work should be speculative. You see the “American Idol” approach where studios and clients want a bunch of people to pitch ideas–and they’ll use what they like the best. I didn’t say they choose the best, just what their opinion of the best is. There’s the fundamental flaw–if the people judging the work aren’t qualified, then there’s a problem. I’ve been in several competitions over the years, where a company would pay a base fee to three or five studios to pitch a design, and the winning studio would finish the project and maybe even get more work, that’s a decent way to conduct a competition.
Internships are just downright bad if the person isn’t being remunerated for their time. Having someone work for free just for the experience is slavery, period. Both parties should benefit from the exchange. I recently met a studio owner at a party who had a regular stream of interns–every six weeks a new one. He laughed when he was telling me this, “why, there’s even a line-up to do it” he gloated with an air of arrogance. I checked out his studios portfolio online and it was awful. So the only thing he was sharing with his interns was bad habits and poor business practices.
I believe some people think hiring creatives is like a beauty pageant–where the creatives duke it out–and the client ends up with the cream of the crop. Irregardless of all the time it takes to make something out of nothing. Don’t be a starving artist, if the client you want to work for does business this way–walk away–there will be other clients that respect your profession.
I’ve given my work away before, but only to a charity that I believe in. If you’re working for a reputable charity, they should be able to give you a tax receipt the value of your work. If they can’t do that, they’re just using you. One mistake I’ve made in the past was to give paintings to a charity auction, where people with money gather to get a great deal on artwork. If you go in one of those, always stipulate a minimum bid–if the work doesn’t fetch that, then no deal. Respect even in these situations can be thin. Charity auctions can also give the artist a charitable donation receipt, if they can’t then its likely they really don’t care about respecting you. Its more about them getting paid for your efforts.
Don’t work for free, you just end up demeaning yourself and your profession. And if someone tells you that its great exposure for you, that’s the oldest line in the book.
