Censorship: a sign of the “Times?”
This week Time magazine reported that last week's story “The Two Faces of Anxiety” elicited the most mail. Readers wanted to “Why is anxiety the most pressing issue in the U.S. while the Egyptian revolution gets front page treatment internationally?”
Time said that they are glad to be held to high expectations. Some readers were not so happy and called the cover treatment censorship.David Airey posted almost a dozen examples of different magazine covers printed over the past several years on his blog. His readers debated the ethics of the issue including the practice of using selective data to push an agenda.The covers were also hotly debated on Reddit, reaching close to1800 comments with more than one of them saying that the practice is “terrifying.”Business Insider stated that while there is nothing new about magazines using different covers to drive sales, (one reader posted that this is done about 80% of the time) the bigger question is why the covers for the U.S. market differ so much from the rest of the world.What do you think? Is it censorship, or merely Times' right to serve their markets what they think will drive sales? Or is it merely a reflection of the insulated world in which Americans live?Sources:Time, December 12, 2011http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601111205,00.htmlhttp://www.davidairey.com/time-magazine-covers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CreativeDesign+%28Creative+Design%29http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/mp5cz/time_magazine_cover_depending_on_country/?limit=500http://www.businessinsider.com/these-time-magazine-covers-explain-why-americans-know-nothing-about-the-world-2011-11
The company we keep
"The company we keep" is a heading often used by graphic design firms when they display their client list. Under this warm and fuzzy title they list clients that they are proud to do business with—and in the process build their credibility and status through association. But what about the other side of our business, vendors—printers, programmers, and other service providers—are we as quick to post that list? Unfortunately for many of us these decision are often driven by cost, convenience, and ignorance; we simply don't have the time, or take the time to find out more about our vendors.David Airey is one graphic designer who is walking the walk. He has decided to boycott GoDaddy because of CEO Bob Parson's big game hunting escapades and inhumane treatment of elephants—and then bragging about it by posting a video of the slaughter.Read Airey's blog post about it here: David Airey: Boycotting GoDaddy. Then find out more about the company that you keep. Is it an association that you want to brag about?
How to respond to spec work requests
Spec work is a hotly debated topic among graphic designers. Most of us are vehemently opposed to it and for good reason. Spec work devalues our work and also puts us at risk for being taken advantage of as well as not being paid at all for work.David Airey's recent post sums up the absurdity of such requests quite nicely. Read his response to a request for spec work:http://www.davidairey.com/spec-work-request/Read more:AIGA's position on spec workNo!Spec's Ten Reasons to Ponder