Relevant Sources

These are sources I have found that inform about the danger of design contests, working for free, devaluing your field, clients views of designers and putting effort into your craft.

http://buildinternet.com/2009/01/the-real-problems-with-design-contests/

http://justcreative.com/2008/05/22/why-logo-design-does-not-cost-5-dollars/

http://logodesignerblog.com/bad-ugly-worst-logo-designs/

http://yourlogomakesmebarf.com/

http://www.davidairey.com/whats-your-logo-worth/

http://craplogo.me/

Plagiarism

http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo-design-articles/logo-design-contests/

Design Comps

http://www.davidairey.com/logo-design-contests-bad-for-business/

http://justcreative.com/2009/08/12/the-pros-and-cons-of-spec-work/

http://www.davidairey.com/the-disconcertion-of-spec/

http://blog.kiwicreative.net/2011/02/23/im-mad-as-hell-spec-you/

http://www.nospec.com/



http://buildinternet.com/2009/01/the-real-problems-with-design-contests/

Why to not use GoDaddy

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyclay/2012/09/10/5-reasons-you-should-leave-godaddy-and-how/

Books

Work For Money, Design For Love, David Airey

Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, Graphic Artists Guild


All of these sources reinforce the fact that you need to know what you are doing, you need to be in control of telling the client what works and why it works as designers we need to be more confident and educated about the work we produce and can't simple base an argument on style and aesthetics.
An interesting can of worms that I cam across was 'speculative work' which is pretty much all design competitions in which the client owns the rights to hundreds of designs and doesn't even commit to paying for any of them, and even the winner only gets something like $50.
This needs to be a big topic in my publication, as I, and the majority of the class, have all entered similar competitions without much thought of how backwards it is and wouldn't every happen in any other profession, it is almost accepting that graphic design is just a hobby and we are willing to work for nothing, which is the exact reason I don't do fine art.

I think that myself and others need to be reminded of the importance of a logo. Logos get a lot of bad press because the public see them as a squiggle with some font being billed at, sometimes, millions of pounds. It is easy to think of a logo job as a quick, no research required job, when in really this is the face of a company and should be the most considered aspect.

1. A logo is the very first impression people get of your company.
2. A logo needs longevity.
3. A logo needs to be original.
4. A logo should look professional.
5. A logo should reflect the time and thought gone in to designing it.
6. A logo is the starting point of your whole corporate image.

“first impressions often leave lasting ones”

Potential endorsements for my publication could be No!Spec.com, a website who are against all design competitions and designers not receiving a fare wage for a service. Other relevant applications could be for The Graphic Artists Guild or The Design Council.


To add some humour to the publication I will take some inspiration from ClientsFromHell, this is a bank of funny stories in which the client think they know best whilst at the same time proving they know nothing:

""They are only for my website, so I don’t need the full quality files. If I only take like a 4.5Mpx version of each photo, can I pay you a quarter of the price?"

"After being hired to design a promotional flyer… 

ME: What size will you want the flyer?

CLIENT: It will only be used online. The same size as the flyer attached should work.

Attached is a web-friendly 72dpi flyer.

After I complete the project via the agreed upon specs…

CLIENT: We are being told that if this flyer goes to a printer, it’ll look like shit. Care to explain?"

"You have done something wrong. I cannot see your photos. Please send them in a normally used format like Microsoft."

— Response to a zipped file filled with .jpgs

For some primary research I contacted a variety of design studios but only had response from an experienced freelance designer who I did a small placement with a few years ago.

Gary offered some very solid, specific advice that lends itself to the points raised in the publication very well.  I will use the information as large spreads that re-iterate the points made on the surrounding pages.

CoP Questions to Ask

To develop further content for my publication I am going to write focussed questions that I can ask designers and companies that is specific to the topic of the publication.

What can a designer fo that can never be replicated by a program?

How would you persuade a client to use your services rather than settling for what is available online?


How can designers stay on top of better value deals (in the eyes of the client) and still make money?

Hello, I am currently writing a publication about the relevance of the designer and why smaller clients would ever need them with the breadth of free templates/ design tools available online. I was just wondering if you could give me a short response to these questions as a web design company.

What can designers do that can never be replicated by a program?

What can Creode bring to a website that can't be made using free web templates available at Vistaprint/ GoDaddy erc?

How can designers stay on top of better value deals (in the eyes of the client) and still make money?

Thanks a lot for your time!

Chris



I have sent this email to Build, Studio Mik Mik and G1 Creative aswell as Creode to get a wider variety of answers from different sizes of company.

Post Crit

Following the presentation and crit on the progress of the Context of Practice Publication a few ideas were suggested and some more online tools that are relevant to the nature of my project.

Phoster

Phoster is an app that costs $1.99 to download, it allows users to choose from a large variety of templates and typefaces to create their own posters:

The designs aren't anything that will blow your mind but they will easily fulfil the needs of a smaller client that just wants to promote  their business

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/3-simple-to-use-creative-design-apps-for-the-ipad-172704

This blog describes the purpose of the app as:

"Design has a steep learning curve. Not only are the tools often extremely complex (and expensive) the skills needed to create great looking design take years for a budding designer to develop. producing beautiful designs quickly and easily no matter what your level of skill and experience."

This is the essence of my publication, if clients can cut out the middle man, what is the job of the designer?


Anonymous Press

Another tool that can be used to quickly create 'trendy' zine publications is Anonymous Press. This allows you to do a quick image search and it automatically drags and drops images into a small publication that is in a similar style to the 'exposed content' fasion that is popular at the moment

When the process of design can be summed up by a computer program, then I don't think that that process has much to do with design at all, I will explore this idea further in the publication to fully summarise what design is and why it is an essential element of a successful identity/ piece of visual communication

Content & Design boards for Publication

Open publication - Free publishing