Archive for the ‘Design’ Category

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I’d Like to Ask the Audience, Regis

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

I’m reading this article on Wednesday at around 4:30p. Between the nearing end of the day haze and the sugar induced brain goo brought on by 4 mini candy bars, I’m not sure if my brain is firing on all cylinders… so I figure, heed the article’s advice.

It’s a pretty quick read so I buzzed (literally after that much sugar) through it.  After reading Dan 3.0’s description I set back in my chair and said, out loud which made everyone’s head swivel, “huh.”

What a brilliant thought.  Ask the people!  Not a new idea for sure…  today IS the 90th anniversary of women’s right to vote, you know.  I think the novelty of the idea is in how the feedback is used.  In the below companies, it seems to be used directly… not really edited or diffused, or at least minimally so.

Then I start thinking about the what-if’s.  What if 52 incorporated some form of this?  Like, um, events.  We ask folks what they want to see, or learn about, or who they want to hear from.  Then…. we do it!  Again I say, “huh.”  OR… and this is kooky so bear with me… but what if a “gig” is posted.  Say a client needs a poster with xxxxxx copy on it, and xxxxxxx graphics incorporated, to be used for xxxxxx application, and whatever else we know.  Then  if you want to work on it, you do, then upload your work directly to that client’s ‘profile’ for them to review. Then, in the end, if the client uses your art, you get the “prize.”  In this case probably money.

Ok, I’m sure there are major flaws in this 35 second idea but really though, sometimes it’s tough to get started in a field, or a new city once you’ve moved, or even if you wanted to change careers.  Something like this could provide a break-in chance.

“Huh.”  These are just my sugar flooded braincells banging together.  Here’s the article originally posted on Spring Wise.  Thoughts?

Five Businesses That Look to the Crowds for Content

by Stefan Grimm and Jim Stewart

Tapping the crowd for creative input can provide a double-sided benefit for businesses: first, it unleashes a huge resource of ideas, often at little or no cost. Second, it’s a powerful marketing tool, providing information about who potential customers are, and about what they like. Here are five recently spotted enterprises that make use of content from the crowd:

1. NAMING FORCE — Naming Force crowdsources name ideas for businesses, websites, and products. Clients sign up for a package of suggestions and provide a brief description of what they want named. The incentive for the community of namers is a cash prize of USD 100-500, paid by the client to the person whose idea is chosen. If the client doesn’t like any of the suggestions, they’re refunded the prize money. (Related: Name This.) (more…)

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Like a Concert But With Sketchbooks. Sounds Quiet, But Really Cool.

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Unfortunately 52 isn’t involved in this at all.  And unfortunately the tour doesn’t stop in THIS Portland.  But anyone can submit  and I know of a bunch of folks that should!!  Plus, I have a sneaking suspicion that 52 NYC will represent when the tour makes a stop in Brooklyn.

Many of you may have already heard about this, if you haven’t here’s the deal:

Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the country.

After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view.

Anyone – from anywhere in the world – can be a part of the project.

To get more information or to enter (do it… I would if I were extremely talented like you) go here: SketchbookProject

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“How Do I Put this Gently? THAT’S THE WORST IDEA I’VE EVER HEARD!”

Monday, August 16th, 2010

It’s hot.  For some reason, when it’s hot the “writer” section of my brain goes on hiatus.  But, while feeding a different section of my cabeza I stumbled onto this article after Googling “Creative Inspiration”.  Though it’s not exactly what I was looking for, it was something I felt should be shared. I read the original article on “A List Apart” a site for web designers/developers.

No One Nos: Learning to Say No to Bad Ideas written by Whitney Hess

No. One word, a complete sentence. We all learned to say it around our first birthday, so why do we have such a hard time saying it now when it comes to our work?

Guilt. Fear. Pressure. Doubt. As we grow up, we begin to learn that not doing what others expect of us can lead to all sorts of negative consequences. It becomes easier to concede to their demands than to stand up for ourselves and for what is right.

(more…)

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Culture Killers

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Arrogance. Ego. Too much emphasis on profit. All of these can lead to the death of culture in a creative agency.

In two days one week I had meetings with three management level people that have seen the cultures of their employers, creative agencies in town, shift dramatically away from employees and toward the bottom line and/or a founder(s) arrogant vision.

This is an all too common mistake that companies make. With many local agencies being founder-based it can set up challenging dynamics when it comes to establishing and growing culture. It takes a healthy ego to start a company. As your company grows, at some point it becomes your employees that are growing and sustaining the company, not the founder(s). This is a realization that many either do not make, or do not believe. To successfully grow and maintain growth founders need to empower their staff and maintain a positive employee-driven culture.

Ego’s can often get in the way of this because, after all, the company grew around the founder(s) so they are always the key component. Not true once a level of growth has been obtained. (more…)

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Portland on the DL Could We Use a Little Bling Bling?

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Unpretentious, relaxed, quirky, and fiercely independent, Portland’s creative community is very much on the down low in terms of nationwide visibility. Even though our agencies consistently garner national awards, and our boutique agencies produce some of the most original advertising, marketing, and creative material anywhere. But people are beginning to take notice that Portland is truly a dynamic creative hub.

Young creatives fresh out of college and art schools flock here. Talented people with established names and businesses in larger markets are moving to Portland for quality of life reasons a smaller city with outstanding arts and culture, diverse and urban with great planning, respectful of the environment, and with some of the best food, wine, and beer in the country. In a word, Portland exemplifies livability. Often they’re also bringing their high paying clients with them who positively impact our economy.

Major companies already recognize the city’s wealth of creative talent. Nike is a homegrown powerhouse that has forged a long-term advertising partnership with Wieden and Kennedy. Adidas has their North American headquarters here. This competitive atmosphere also helped raise the profile of local companies such as Columbia Sportswear. Now a new wave of companies is drawn to Portland for its talented creatives and energized setting. Nautilus, Keen Footwear, And Icebreaker all come to mind.

We’re seeing this exciting new wave of talented people in our own practice. At 52 Limited, we’re working with creative and inventive people from many places and backgrounds: art directors from New York, designers from Minnesota, copywriters from San Francisco, fashion designers from Los Angeles to name a few. As a creative resource company, we’re able to match highly talented individuals with our best businesses. We work diligently to ensure success at all levels. Our growing creative base has made this an easier task. Success breeds success. The more outstanding our industry becomes, the more Portland shines as a creative center. (more…)

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Education through Collaboration – Crème Brûlée Done Three Ways

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Written by Andy Young for 52 (Thanks Andy!)

I was recently in Paris, where one day walking out of Gare du Nord train station I was able to come out of a serious sugar coma long enough to notice something; Parisians like fonts! Don’t get me wrong. New York works in no other font than Helvetica, and we heart NY for it. Paris though doesn’t play favorites, and has a neon letterpress of imagination to prove it. It’s as if the gleaming glass cases of croissants weren’t enough, and they just had to put the word patisserie in just the right font, with just the right kerning, to have you floating in on a trail of steam and butter… Wait, before I start thinking I’m writing for Food and Wine I should get back to the subject at hand… (more…)

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Waste More Time

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Written by Rick Albano for 52. Read more from Rick at sissyfish.blogspot.com

Wasting time. It’s something we all do pretty well, but invariably feel pretty guilty about, especially when bills are piling up, work’s bearing down, and-frankly-we’re not getting any younger. What’s your diversion? Craigslist? Cupcakes? Yacht Rock? Fantasy football? Pinot Noir? Roller derby?  There’s always something we’d rather be doing than sitting in a cubicle, staring at a screen.

As a freelance music writer in LA a few years ago, I scored a job interviewing bands for a living. For a lifelong music fanatic, this seemed like a dream scenario, but my enthusiasm eventually sagged when I realized was just another Hollywood hack, writing fluff copy to sell widgets in the form of MP3s.  One day in particular sums up my experience: I was sitting at a desk (after sitting in traffic for hours), being reprimanded over the phone by Liz Phair for not writing good interview questions. It broke my heart, because I loved Liz Phair, but at the same time, I thought she’d become a complete sellout. The problem was, I couldn’t ask her why she’d sold out, because I would have gotten fired. But wait-They couldn’t really fire me, because I was never even “hired” in the first place… But I’d been sitting at the same desk for two years!
(more…)

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Company culture. What does that even mean?

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Statistically only about 10% of folks can be quoted as being happy with their job.  Yikes!  That leaves another 90% that would really rather work somewhere else.  What’s up with that, you ask?  And don’t jump to conclusions, for the most part, it’s not salary related.  Gasp!

Well, if the desire isn’t more money, what else is there?   A couple of things actually, all relating to (you guessed it) company culture. So listen up ye managers of unhappy, grumpy folk.  If you’re running a company and continue to see new, strange, and often terrified faces everyday… you, sir, may have a revolving door on your hands.  Here are a couple of things you could work on to improve your internal company culture and cease the flapping of the exit door.

Probably one of the biggest complaints people make about their job is:  MY BOSS IS A DOPE.  (Well, maybe the language has been sweetened a bit, but you get the gist.)   If you are, or you have a boss that is: never in the office, does not respect you, acts holier than thou, and operates under the slogan “do what I say, not as I do” (Think: gone Monday thru Thursday shooting for birdie, and in on Friday until noon to check for full time cards) this is the problem.  And no, not all bosses suck.  But it can cause huge respect issues, in turn impacting productivity and efficiency.

A boss who’s attempting to foster positive company culture should encourage employees to share their thoughts freely.  This “good ideas can come from anyone” attitude creates an open-door, motivating, and collaborative atmosphere.  This equals happy people that won’t jump ship on a whim.  Hell, they may even come up with the next big idea!

Another fatal company flaw that often times spurs employee exodus is: THERE’S NO ROOM FOR ADVANCEMENT.  Granted, some small companies can’t keep promoting its 6 employees, otherwise it would end up with 6 directors of something and 0 doers of anything.  So, obviously this “advancement” doesn’t always have to equal “job promotion.”  It could mean educational opportunities or even growth within a position, like added responsibilities. If people stay engaged and interested in their work, the more likely they are to be… well… engaged and interested in the advancement of the company as a whole.  Phew… good point. (more…)

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Skirt the New Grad Catch 22

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Party ends, caps with tassels fly, dorm is packed up, and resumes are distributed, on to the bigger and better!  After school, the next step for most grads is the grand job (or should I say “career”) search.

For many, however, this is not the simple transition your professors railed on about.

If you’ve been looking for work since graduation in spring, you’ve most likely read a job description or two.  Your heart probably skipped a beat when you read “Entry Level Designer” in the header.  As you read and the requirements seem as if they were copied directly from your resume, your brain simultaneously scans your closet inventory searching for that “first day” outfit you KNOW you’re going to need after applying to this job.  Then the last line quotes:  “2 years experience required.”  Dagger.

We’ve all been there.  The moment you read that line and think to yourself, “How the hell can ‘entry level’ be for someone who has already ‘entered’ something for 2 years?”  It’s the classic need to work to get experience but need experience to get work.

It’s a frustrating Catch 22 that sticks you squarely between “needing experience” yet not being allowed the “opportunity” to gain those essential years.

Well, it’s not going to be easy but here are some tips for getting experience without being handed opportunity.

Freelance

Easier said than done. Yes, I know.  But it’s possible.  You may need to take gigs that aren’t “sexy” OR that don’t pay much, if at all!  See our previous blog for the lowdown on this.

Intern

Same goes here.  You may work for free for a bit.  But c’mon, weren’t you just a college student? Aren’t they all broke?  What’s another couple of months of ONLY happy hour Pabst?  Truly though, lots of companies do take at least one intern a summer and lots of them will pay you a little.  The key to this is starting your search early.  If you’ve hit graduation already… you may be too late.

(more…)

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From the Woods.. to the Tall Grass

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

By Ashley ‘Findley’ Diehl, 52LTD PDX

The recession is over!! Right?  Uh…well, I guess that kinda depends.

IF you’re highly connected designer, WITH a killer (and I’m talkin’ “holy shit that’s insanely awesome”) book/site, AND you are well versed in something digital (e.g. Mobile Apps, websites, etc.) you are probably feeling a fair upswing.

HOWEVER, for the new grad, the newly relocated, or those otherwise without ALL three aforementioned qualities, you are probably still wildly wielding your machete to maintain a slight view out of the woods.

Well folks, this isn’t a Get-The-Answers-to-Finding-Your-Perfect-Gig-Post.  In fact if you see one of those…it’s probably loaded with a bunch of cockamamie information that doesn’t really apply to you 100%.  You see, and this is going to be profound so you may consider employing some advance jaw support in case of abrupt droppage: everyone’s situation is different.  Whoa… huh.

So, you ask, if you’re not offering the holy grail of Job-Acquiring-Advice, then what the hell is the point?

Answer: The one thing all ye of the struggling design class do have in common is you do plan to eventually leave your filler job at “Cuppa Joe” or “Jiggles” (a specialty Jello mold shop, of course) to return to your design career.  So… you need to stay sharp!

(more…)

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