Contests—who wins?

One young designer that I've met through this blog asked me to write an article about contests and the practice of "voting" for winners. He says, as many would agree, "that ultimately it becomes nothing more than a popularity contest between the candidates; it's really degrading for us."When companies create contests is it just a guise for crowdsourcing, free advertising, spec work? Should educators encourage or discourage contests? This is a question I've struggled with. My standard rule of thumb is that if there is an entry fee, I don't encourage it or publicize it. I also don't promote causes that I am morally opposed to. However, when looking at all the pros and cons, it can get much more complicated.Many feel that corporations that engage in online contests also benefit from all the free advertising that goes along with them. When Robyn Waxman, of FARM (Future Action Reclamation Mob,) was asked what she thought was one of the biggest ethical issues in graphic design, she said corporate sponsorships. Waxman's complaint was about corporate sponsorship of college courses and humanitarian projects. Sponsoring contests is another way that corporations enter this arena.Despite the pitfalls of contests, graphic design educators often use them as a teaching tool. Not only do they provide real world experience, they often offer the winners a prize, and at the very least, exposure. As students work to fill their portfolios with professional looking pieces, the parameters set by contests are usually on par with industry specifications. In addition to the professional experience students gain, the theme of contests are often in the area of social responsibility—making it a "win, win" for educators looking to include this topic in their syllabus, students looking to show their social conscience, and corporations looking to be seen as a social advocate.Design companies often use contests as a vehicle for self promotion. Communication Arts, AIGA, and HOW are just some of the respected design organizations that sponsor competitions. With a wide range of categories as well as different levels for entry (and fees), winning one of these competitions can bring respect from peers in the industry as well as look great on a resume. HOW even offers their readers tips on How to Win a Design Competition.If it's a "win, win" for all involved, how do you deal with the association with spec work or crowdsourcing? Do you see a substantial difference between contests and competitions? Are either of them degrading? Do you enter them? Do you encourage your students to enter them? 

Coca-Cola: generous benefactor or evil brand master?

Where does one draw the line about whether or not its graphic designers’ moral responsibility to keep their employees and work on something they don’t necessarily agree with or to let them go, adversely affecting their lives as well their families? Should they refuse to work for the client or take the job for the sake of their employees? Coca-Cola Company is local in 206 countries, more than the United Nations. They have 700,000 employees, 50 million retailers, and 50 million customers all over the world. Critics of Coca-Cola condemn the company for encouraging a consumer culture that is unhealthy and economically draining on individuals.In Do Good: How Designers Can Change the World, author David Berman talks about how Coke has branded the nation of Tanzania. In the 1990s they took care of all of their road signage and included the Coke brand on every sign. In some parts of Africa, Coke is considered medicinal and the price of a bottle of Coke is the same as an anti-malarial pill. While Coke is the best selling drink on the continent, a million Africans die each year of malaria. At the same time Coke is heavily invested in the local communities, imagine the economic impact and subsequent repercussions on the lives of those economically connected to the company if Coke suddenly disappeared as well as losing all of the benefits they do provide like road signage and schools.Simon Berry is one individual who decided to see if there was a way to use Coca-Cola's widespread distribution network to deliver something more. In 2008 Berry started a Facebook group to enlist Coca-Cola to help ship medicine to areas that need it. The group grew quickly and generated a lot of positive publicity. Soon after Berry founded ColaLife, an organization dedicated to helping Coca-Cola take simple medicines and other 'social products' to save lives, especially children's lives.

FARM's Sponsorship Appeal

Corporate sponsorships are often used by educational institutions as an alternate stream of revenue. Proponents claim that it allows them to keep classes running and that the corporations rarely get involved in defining curriculum. Critics contend that it compromises the integrity of the curriculum and ends up serving as an endorsement for products and services. In some cases the corporations also ask for the rights to the intellectual property produced by the students in the class.FARM (Future Action Reclamation Mob) began as Robyn Waxman's MFA thesis project. The project is an alternative form of non-violent protest and reclaims public space to build community, provides services for underserved and transient populations, and rehabilitates toxic land. During the project Kraft/Triscuit contacted Waxman through a nonprofit urban farm organization. They wanted to corporately sponsor the San Francisco FARM so they could use it for advertising... to show their engagement in ‘humanitarian’ projects. In exchange they would give them soil, seeds, and a part time gardener. Waxman said this would have been the cheapest advertising opportunity money could buy—especially since they get dirt, seeds and a workforce via donations and volunteering. After brief consideration, Waxman responded by letting them know exactly how she felt about a company that peddles diabetic-causing food to (mostly) children wanting to associate themselves with an organic urban farm... as if they actually built it.Where do you weigh in on corporate sponsorships? Do you think there's a place for them in education?