The next item I want to share with you is the welcome banner that will be at the front door as people enter Rockwood Church. As you can see, it carries the theme of the postcard with the dot pattern graphic along with a stylized illustration of a person with their arms outstretched. Throughout this project, my biggest concern was that all the signs and banners look like a package. I think that goal was achieved and this banner is my favorite of the group.
One of the major necessities of a successful church launch is having people actually show up. In order to help this happen, one of the tools we turned to was a postcard to mail out to around 10,000 people. This card incorporates elements that are being used in the signs for Rockwood to help form a cohesive identity. In fact, this image is more or less the same design that visitors to Rockwood Church will see when they enter the building. I think this image of a family has an energy and embodies the three core values of the church; Living Faith, Loving Families, and Lasting Friendships.
GASP!!!
Hello all. I’ve just finished up a big week month of work for the launch of Rockwood Church. There are still things to be done but the GREAT BIGGIE part of the project (which would be all the signs/banners) were delivered today save one banner. I plan to prepare some posts showing off these pieces as promised. I’m very excited about what these banners will do for the overall presentation of the church. I’ll get one or two things posted over the weekend and then more as the week progresses leading up to the big LAUNCH!
Hello all. It’s been far too long since we last spoke….or at least since I wrote something. You get the idea. I’ve been working on a huge project that is almost done and has sapped a lot of creative energy out of me. So much so that I haven’t even wanted to write. My goal to post more has taken quite a hit.
The subject of projects brings me to the keyboard to pound out this post. Particularly the “dirty” words….dare I say them…SPEC WORK. DUM DUM DUM!!! Spec (short for speculative) work is the practice of soliciting work for a project (usually from multiple sources) for no payment. Typically there are open calls for submissions where, under the guise of a contest, the “client” asks for entries for their project and a “winner” is chosen. My heavy use of quotation marks could offer clues on how I feel about this. In the industry, spec work is seen as a detriment to ethical practices in the client/producer relationship.
Recently I heard of a new site called Pixish via Daring Fireball. Pixish is a site that aims to bring buyers together with image makers, according to their front page. Right beside their logo on the home page is the proclamation that they are “in beta, baby!” This has become a popular practice of launching websites that are half-baked, saying that it’s in beta. Since their launch, Pixish has called down the thunder from those accusing them of facilitating spec work. I don’t want to be too hard on Pixish. From what I can gather Derek Powazek, the man behind the site, is trying to fill what he sees as a void in the world of purchasers of creative work. That it’s too expensive and time-consuming these days to find the right creative material for their needs. Though he seems sincere, Pixish has admittedly made mistakes.
On some level, I do think spec work is taking place at Pixish. Understandably they don’t want that label but it may be hard to shake. Both the budding and the desperate artist are free to do what they want, but I will argue they are potentially doing themselves more harm than good. I know how difficult it can be to find work both freelance and full-time. I have been a victim of those seeking to have work done with no intention of reward. What’s worse is that it was someone I trusted. Unfortunately, there are those who have no business designing anything and those foolish enough to hire them getting together out there which makes it even more challenging.
To me, a better service would be one that allowed artists to post their portfolio and opt-in to the a project rather than doing the work and then getting nothing for it. The onus should be on the potential client to make a decision based on a body of work, not on a finished product tailored to their specifications. There are some services like that such as Guru that work similarly. With Guru, a project is posted, artists supply quotes, a decision is made by the client on the candidates, and the work is done according to the terms.
It’s hard enough to get people to understand the value of design without practices that only cheapen it. My hope is that Pixish might evolve into a truly useful site that helps creatives. After all, they are the ones that put themselves on the line.
