The previous post was via the wordpress app on my iPhone, so now I know it works, yippee!
Now for a little rant. I was in major crisis mode last night when I loaded a fresh roll into my Mamiya (which had been sitting neatly in my cabinet, untouched, for about six months now) and found that the shutter wasn’t releasing and that auto-focus wasn’t going. Yikes!
After about an hour of sweaty, exasperatingly useless fumbling and lots of googling, I finally got it checked out by a local camera guy who confirmed that a little dooby inside was broken (hence the funny whirring noises and error messages), and that it would take 4-5 weeks for a replacement part to arrive from Japan.
I think I heard my heart crack a little then. I’ve been so excited about shooting medium format for this trip, even laying down the dosh for 75 rolls of Provia 400X. I had envisioned the entire trip framed in 645, a beautiful ratio, and now I have to start thinking in 35mm, which is longer than I prefer.
So I’ll now be taking my Canon digital setup, at least it’ll be easier workflow-wise….
…cry…
…and what am I going to do with 75 rolls of Provia 400X?!
…well, I always was. Not like anyone’s every approached me for advertising. And even if they did, I’ll be like “No way! Never!…show me the money…well……okay.” Kidding.
I saw this on someone else’s blog, and it was cute. So I though, why not?
I felt old today, like I’ve lived through an era gone. Michael Jackson was a constant in my childhood, that background soundtrack by which I define my formative years. He reigned pop like no other, and none since him has achieve such feverish heights.
And years down the line, I’ll think back and remember where I was when I heard the news. I was at my hairdressers getting my hair poodled. Goddamit, curls never come out the way you want.
I got my first car in April (watch out pedestrians!), and woe is me, I got my first speeding ticket this month. I’m blogging about this because, well, despite having to pay a fine, I’ve never had my photo taken like this. And first-times are always exciting.
What’s annoying is that I was only going at the granny speed of 62km/h (38miles/h)! And at noon on a Saturday. The RTA is being really sneaky with it’s 50km/h zones…
Oh, and I got a Wacom Intuos4. The fact that it’s bigger than my monitor says that I really need to upgrade my system…
What is ‘working on speculation?’ By Elisabetta Bruno
What is “spec”?
“Spec” has become the short form for any work done on a speculative basis. In other words, any requested work for which a fair and reasonable fee has not been agreed upon, preferably in writing.
What’s so wrong with that?
In a nutshell, spec requires the designer to invest time and resources with no guarantee of payment.
Isn’t it wise for a client to “try before they buy?”
On the surface it may seem so. But, digging a bit deeper, one realizes that professional graphic design is about creating custom solutions, not cookie-cutter concepts.
But, with today’s computers and software, how long could it take?
This is a common point-of-view for many who confuse the professional with his or her tools. The “process” is more than simply tapping at a keyboard or clicking a mouse. It’s about understanding the nature of a communication challenge and then using one’s brain to find the appropriate solution.
At the end of the day, there is a certain irony in spec work. A prospect requesting it is ultimately saying, “My project isn’t important enough to hire a professional who will take the time to understand my situation and goals and invest the time needed to create a suitable solution.”
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Ten Reasons to ponder By Neil Tortorella
1. No guarantee
In essence, Visual Communication designers (graphic, web, illustration, etc) sell two things – ideas and time. Speculative presentations, by definition, require a designer to invest both their ideas and time without a guarantee of compensation.
2. Unprofessional
Most professional-level designers won’t participate in speculative presentations since they take away time, a non-renewal asset, and resources away from bona fide projects with guaranteed revenue. The result is designers who participate in spec presentations are typically less experienced.
3. Lack of professional research
Successful design requires an investment in time to appropriately research the client company, its competitive landscape and the audience for the project. Since many speculative projects are run on a compressed schedule, adequate research cannot be done, resulting in designs that are more “pretty pictures,” rather than strategic design backed up with facts.
4. Needs of the client not met
Speculative requests are often a result of “I’ll know it when I see it,” thinking on the part of the client. The problem here is that it’s self-centered point-of-view rather than a position serving the needs and wants of the audience.
5. Myopic
Spec projects are often myopic. They tend to be “one-off” pieces that don’t fit and may erode a company’s overall branding efforts.
6. Reduces value
Speculative projects reduce the value of the client/designer relationship. In point of fact, there is no relationship. The process becomes a competitive environment that often hinders a designer from doing his or her best.
7. Undermines consultive benefits
Spec requests tend to reduce the potential of design down to a commodity. Professional Communication Designers provide highly specific services which typically build upon each other to solidify a brand. Spec requests undermine the consultive benefits of the client/designer relationship.
8. Undervalues the profession
Designers who participate in speculative work are undervaluing their profession and encouraging the behavior. These are often neophytes who are lured in by the “dangling carrot” of more work down the road or payment if the client likes what they’ve done. Often that additional work never materializes and payment is well below industry averages.
9. Pitches and design don’t mix
Historically, it’s been a common practice for advertising agencies to create “pitches” that are typically punctuated with fully developed creative. However, the potential return on winning the business is significantly more than the return on investment a designer would receive from a single brochure or even a logo. Ad agencies, particularly larger agencies, generate much of their revenue from media commissions. In the past, commissions were their only source of revenue. The creative was “built-in.” A designer working on spec does not have the benefit, in most cases, to reap the financial rewards of a multimillion dollar campaign.
10. The lack of a contract does not a professional make
Speculative work is often done without contracts, thus removing any clear representation of “rights” to the artwork between the client and the designer. The result is that clients may feel they can pick and choose from the ideas the designer has presented and either do the project themselves, or take the ideas to another, cheaper designer — either option being a violation of the law. However, despite being a violation, the lack of a contract will make it difficult for the designer to prove his/her case, resulting in either an outright loss for the designer or a long, drawn out legal battle that is good for neither the designer nor the client.
Clients should ask themselves why a professional level designer would take on a spec project. Are they in fact professional level? Do they have the experience and abilities to do justice to the project and help it reach its goals? Is their heart and mind going to be committed the project? If they have so much time on their hands that they’re willing to work on spec, why?
I’ve been pretty busy this past month trying to juggle my two loves - photography and design. While I’m happy that I’m not having trouble filling up my week, this poor blog has suffered and so has my reading material. Instead of burning through two or three books a week, I’ve read three in a month. Sad sad.
On the upside, I’m learning a lot from Mark Rogers, whom I’m currently working for as a photographic assistant. Learning so much that I’ve decided to start a new page, with the highly exciting title of “Things I have learnt from Mark Rogers“. Expect pearls of wisdom, one for each day I do with him in fact.
Here’s what I’ve got so far;
April 28
Always keep two copies of everything. Backup. Factor storage costs into your quote/invoice.
April 27
Always give a specific delivery time. Rather ‘by 2pm tomorrow’, than ‘probably tomorrow’. Much more professional.
April 23
Never apologise for an out-of-date portfolio. Saying that you’ve been ‘meaning to update’ immediately tells the client that it is not as good as it could be.
April 22
Be brutal when editing. Your work is as strong as your weakest photograph.
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Congrats too to Mark, who is a finalist for this year’s Head On Competition, with this photo of this baby daughter.
I saw stumbled upon this website today and my brain melted. Whatever intelligence I ever possessed just fizzled like crackle candy and sighed a collected ‘Awwwww!’
It’s my year this year! Year of the Ox, which means I’ll be turning 2-4. Yikes. I’m supposed to wear red underwear this year, for luck, and mum offered to buy me a dozen red undies today. Haha.
Luck’s not with me yet though - I smiled at a cute guy today without realising I had greens in my teeth.
While researching for a project involving neurons last week, I came across this animation on Brightwash.
Apparently if you see the dancer moving clockwise you’re right brained, anticlockwise you’re left brained. So far I’ve only been able to see the clockwise movement, but I’ve tested a few people with it and they seems to be able to flick from clockwise to anticlockwise easily!
If you think the clip is animated to switch directions at intervals, try watching this with someone else, and you’ll find that you’ll see differently.
I haven’t been very diligent as of the last week in blogging, so apologies!
Firstly, THANK YOU to everyone who came to see my work last night. Your feedback and constructive criticism has really given me new energy to keep going with this project. I’m excited to be graduating and embarking on my career as a photographer / designer.
It was an exciting day today for me too - my first day at a freelance job! I’m working for a small boutique design company in the CBD, that does a lot of branding and web based work. Web work is not my expertise, but branding is something I enjoy very much.
My first day went pretty smoothly, despite having some hiccups with flash editing (flash is my enemy, but I think he’s coming around). My new boss is awesome (Hi Sol :), and I think I’m going to learn a lot from her.
I was introduced to a really good website today, a great resource for all designers / writers. Visual Thesaurus takes your standard thesaurus info, but makes it into a mind map. Another tool to help you think laterally.
