Branding the Olympics—“worst practices” in design

While the Olympic games themselves are steeped in excellence and “best practices” in athletics—the design of the 2020 Olympic logo has spiraled into an example “worst practices” in graphic design.This past September the 2020 Tokyo Olympic logo that was designed by Kenjiro Sano was scrapped when he was accused of design plagiarism. Sano’s design has characteristics of a logo designed by Belgian designer Olivier Debie for the Theatre de Liege.Initially, organizers defended Sano, but then changed their minds, asserting that using a logo that is not supported by the public is not in their best interests and the success of the Olympics. Instead, they decided to crowdsource the logo design, opening it up to anyone. The organizers received nearly 15,000 entries from people competing for $8,250 and tickets to the opening ceremonies.This week AIGA firmly stated their position with an open letter to the Tokyo Olympic committee. Executive Director Ric Grefé discussed several reasons why crowdsourcing logos is damaging to designers, the highlights follow:

• Crowdsourcing takes advantage of designers, asking them to work countless hours without a guarantee of any compensation. Furthermore, the amount of the proposed award, is much lower than what the appropriate compensation would be for a brand identity that will have global value, being reproduced millions of times.
• By opening the contest to the general public, the committee demonstrates a complete lack of respect for trained and experienced professionals.
• The valuable collaboration with the client when creating a brand identity is completely ignored with crowdsourcing , compromising the ethics and global standards for professional designers.

U.S. designer Michael Raisch’s response to the controversy echoes AIGA’s stance. With over a decade of experience in sports branding, Raisch thinks that crowdsourcing brand identity devalues creative professional careers and thei contributions to the world. He decided to point to the absurdity of the committee’s decision to crowdsource the logo by opening the contest up to three-year-olds, emphasizing the point that crowdsourcing results in amateur work. Raisch created an endearing video about the experience entitled, “A 3 Year Old Explains the Olympic Logo.”The contest just closed this past week—stay tuned for the results—no doubt more controversy is in store.http://eyeondesign.aiga.org/against-crowdsourcing-logo-design-an-open-letter-from-aiga-to-the-tokyo-olympic-committee/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/02/sport/tokyo-olympic-logo-scrapped/index.htmlhttp://www.designweek.co.uk/a-three-year-old-could-have-designed-that-the-olympic-logo-made-by-a-toddler/

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? 

The Power of Photoshop Users

Much has been written about the atrocities of Photoshop. It has been used for all kinds of photo manipulation—some is considered racist, like the OJ Simpson image that graced Time magazine's cover; some is considered dangerous and ridiculous, like the Iran missile image explosions; and some is considered anti-feminist and irresponsible as shown in this video "Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women" with Jean Kilbourne.Is it true that the best Photoshop work goes unnoticed? Richard Fisher states just that in a post entitled, "Photoshop – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly." The post goes on to say, "when used correctly, it enhances a photo and can be used to remove flaws. Clearly its good practice to check and improve any photo you use even if it is just making sure the contrast is ok. Untidy or low quality images look unprofessional and can reflect badly on your brand. But it’s about being subtle, about having the skill to change and adjust the image so that it is improved without revealing the process of improvement." (1)A recent presentation on TED Talks by photo retoucher Becci Mason focuses on how Photoshop was used to bring joy and memories back to those affected by the devastating 2011 tsunami in Japan. Mason had traveled to the scene as part of a relief effort, All Hands, and while there discovered the damage done to photos, albums, cameras, and memory cards. Using social media to gather over 1,100 volunteers, she created Photo Rescue Japan to spearhead the effort to restore the images. Over 135,000 photographs were cleaned, and hundreds were retouched and returned to their owners.Mason's efforts aimed to restore the images to their original state, not to obviously look photoshopped. But what about the obvious uses of photoshop? There are occasions when obvious manipulation can be used for good. Chaz Maviyane Davies is a graphic designer who uses Photoshop to create images for social activism. His website, maviyane.com, aptly named "Creative Defiance," shows powerful examples of how manipulated images don't only have to be used for advertising and consumerism. Davies also lent his creative efforts to helping Tsunami victims by creating a powerful image that was commissioned to raise funds to aid victims.Photoshop itself is merely tool in the hands of its users, without an end user it is nothing—they are the ones with the power. What have you seen that appalls you? Inspires you?Notes:(1) http://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/photoshop-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/Sources:http://www.fourandsix.com/photo-tampering-history/tag/race-and-genderhttp://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/photoshop-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/http://www.petapixel.com/2012/08/04/retouching-lives-through-photos-and-using-photoshop-for-good/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/photoshop-frenzy-on-iran-missile-tests/http://youtu.be/9JKy6ZfmBn0  

WANTED: Jack of all trades (aka Graphic Artist)

This ad is pretty standard in terms of the laundry list of skills required of a graphic artist these days. Design skills, plus technical skills—and being well versed in all the software and hardware that goes with them—is expected. Writing and editing skills are often on the wishlist too. So where does a young graphic designer begin figuring out their worth?The AIGA|Aquent Survey of Design Salaries is a good place to start. The survey does have a category for "Print, web, and interactive." However, within this category it's broken out into senior designer, designer, junior designer, and producer—creating a division between design and production skills which in the "real world" is often not there.This situation is not unique to graphic design, many industries demand a large amount of multi-tasking from their employees these days. What complicates it a bit more in graphic design is the rampant practice of crowdsourcing. Graphic designers have a difficult time negotiating a fair wage in an industry where job requirements are becoming increasingly more complex, on top of this, the median salary has barely risen since 2000. If you throw crowdsourcing into the mix, they are also forced to compete with graphic designers from all over the world—some who can afford to work for a much lower rate—along with clients who use crowdsourcing to find an alleged huge pool of talent with rock bottom prices.The issue is compounded by the fact that many young and emerging designers don't know much about crowdsourcing or why it's considered evil. A comment was recently made on a post about crowdsourcing entitled "How Low Can You Go." The author made the very valid point that she honestly didn't know what crowdsourcing was and it took her 3 days of sorting through angry and emotional outcries to get to the meat of the issue. After her research she came to the conclusion that useful information about the value of graphic design services is sorely lacking. In fact, she realized that a "real client's" low offer made her feel more disrespected than the crowdsourcing sites she had visited (a claim that many of its critics make.)Letterer, illustrator, designer, (and author of Should I Work For Free? flowchart) Jessica Hische wrote an aptly named and helpful blog post entitled "The Dark Art of Pricing" that addresses how to price for image usage. Hische also directs designers to the Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines for help. While this advice is useful, it still doesn't address the combination of wide and diverse skill sets that are required in many graphic design jobs.While this issue can be particularly confusing and challenging to young and emerging designers, it causes stress and anxiety among seasoned professionals as well. In an environment where competitive crowdsourcing companies are thriving and the list of skills required of graphic designers is rapidly growing, what's the best advice we can give graphic designers about calculating their worth?Sources:http://regionalhelpwanted.com/Search/detail.cfm?SN=1&ID=62640522http://designsalaries.org/http://www.jessicahische.is/obsessedwiththeinternet/andhelpingyougetpaid/the-dark-art-of-pricing

When crowdsourcing works

The term crowdsourcing has come to mean poor quality and diminished (or complete lack of) compensation and quality in the world of graphic design. It has come to symbolize the movement in graphic design of "how low can you go?" We often forget that its roots are based in creating a large group effort to create a solution that might otherwise not be possible.For inspiration in creating solutions through crowdsourcing graphic designers can look to the artist JR who uses this method to get photos for posting, and to get assistance in posting them.JR uses public spaces for his work. Instead of waiting for people to find his work in traditional exhibit venues, he takes his work to the streets. In 2006, with Portrait of a Generation, JR posted portraits of suburban "thugs" in huge formats in the bourgeois districts of Paris. In 2007 he posted huge portraits of Israelis and Palestinians in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities. This project was called Face 2 Face and despite what some experts felt were impossible odds, he posted the portraits on both sides of the security / separation wall. In 2011 he was awarded a $100,000 grant from TED to fund InsideOut, a participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. Participants from all over the world are invited to submit images along with their story. The image shown above, I Live in Brasília, Brazil, was submitted by a group of strong, proud Brazilian mothers fighting for the rights of their LGBT sons and daughters. Amy Novogratz, TED Prize director, says "People are using it to bring their communities closer together." A project of this scale would not be possible without crowdsourcing.Rather than turn their backs completely on crowdsourcing, can graphic designers find inspiration from the artist JR and think of ways to make the power of the masses work for them, instead of against them?Sources:http://www.good.is/post/crowdsourced-public-art-project-captures-community-spirit-around-the-world/http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_s_ted_prize_wish_use_art_to_turn_the_world_inside_out.htmlhttp://jr-art.net/

Who's got your back?

Sometimes we are pleasantly surprised when trying out a new service professional— whether it's a plumber, dentist, teacher, web developer, or new printer. We've also probably all been burned at least once when going to someone new. Naturally, we ask for referrals from our friends or go to people we know. It may become a matter of "who we know" rather than "what they know."Cronyism is defined as favoritism shown to friends and associates by hiring them for positions or awarding them contracts without regard for their qualifications. When I was doing research on this topic a colleague of mine told me a story about having to testify in court in a case involving cronyism and kickbacks. Early in her career she was working as a freelance graphic designer creating brochures, presentation materials, and other marketing collateral. She was a sole proprietor and luckily for her probably too small to be approached for a kickback. However, she was in a position to witness how the larger media and printing contracts were being awarded—and it was often to the agency or organization that "kicked back" some of the profit to the client. In this case the individual at the top of the chain was found guilty and served jail time. My colleague said that although having to testify in court was unusual, the practice of kickbacks in the industry is not. There is also a kinder and gentler term for kickbacks—referral fee—the practice of giving a percentage of the project costs or profit to the individual or organization referring them.Cronyism also happens when information about budgets and competitor bids are shared. The process of submitting a proposal that includes budget information is standard practice in graphic design. During the bidding process Information about the client’s budget and what the competitor bids is information that is not meant to be shared—when it is cronyism is the result.In her article for Communication Arts, "Where Our Wild Things Are—Part 2," DK Holland discusses the transformation of graphic design from the 1960s and 70s, when it was primarily a "boys club" whose members were elite design icons like Milton Glaser and Herb Lubalin, to today's environment where crowdsourcing has created a global marketplace for graphic design. Ironically, the de-emphasis on qualifications or education in crowdsourcing appears to be in direct contrast to cronyism and many feel it has created an environment where graphic design is undervalued.So back to being burned and who's got your back. Clients feel much safer and less at risk working with someone they know and trust—and why not, who wants to take a chance on the unknown when time and money are involved. Graphic designer, educator, and author Gunnar Swanson feels decisions about whom to work with should be based on a rational measure of trustworthiness. Recommendations from someone you have reason to trust because of their knowledge in the field are a rational measure of trustworthiness. On the other hand, membership in the same social club or graduation from the same school may be a less rational measure.How do you feel about cronyism? Do you make decisions about who to work with rational measurements? Or is it a matter of "who you know" vs. "what you know"?

Crowdsourcing (aka how low can you go?)

Crowdsourcing is not unique to graphic designers; it's any sort of outsourcing that involves a large group of people actively participating in the project. At it's best it encourages open-innovation models and collective intelligence.(1) The Netflix Prize is an example that worked. In October 2006 Netflix announced that it would pay $1 million to the contestant who could improve the movie recommendations made by Netflix’s internal software, Cinematch, by at least 10 percent. The contest lured experts worldwide not only because of the prize money but also because it offered a daunting challenge. The ultimate key to success was when expert teams joined forces.(2)For graphic designers though it has become a contest about "how low can you go?" It basically means that clients can send a project "out to bid." This means that they say how much they are going to pay for a design, and any number of designers can submit work for consideration. Clients can then decide after time and effort have been spent by one, or many, which design they like and are willing to pay for. The graphic designers whose work has not been chosen receive no compensation at all. Graphic designers aren't joining forces; they are being pitted against each other.Steven Heller's blog post for Imprint, "Crowd-Sourcing Design: The Last Frontier," speaks directly to the idea of joining forces, or conversely, not joining forces—with either other designers or the client. Designers read a mail-in brief and have no opportunity to meet or talk with the client about needs or wants. The discovery process is truncated at best.In Steve Douglas' recent blog post "The grim realities of spec work and crowdsourcing" he analyzes how graphic designers fare financially with crowdsourcing. His results show that 9.5% of work done through crowdsourcing is paid work. A whopping 90.5% is unpaid.Proponents of crowdsourcing argue that it’s a free trade system and actually gives young designers who don’t have a big client list or portfolio filled with work a chance to be judged on merit alone. In an article for Communication Arts, creative arts management consultant David Baker says, “I have a client with 64 employees, all but 4 of whom are in Colombia doing web development for Fortune 500 companies. All the while making roughly one‐third of what their U.S. counterparts make, and twice what their fellow citizens make.”(3)What do you think about crowdsourcing? Does it open up opportunities for designers and clients or is it taking design to a new low?Sources:(1) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/technology/internet/19unboxed.html(2) http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/09/how-the-netflix-prize-was-won/(3) http://www.commarts.com/Columns.aspx?pub=2836&pageid=1125