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April 21, 2013 In art, business, craftsmanship, design, social media By Patricia Saxton

Devaluing Design

Warning: My usual positive outlook took a wee turn this morning. I’m peeved.

We’ve all heard of crowd-sourcing by now. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a way to get your job done as inexpensively as possible. Sounds good, right? Let’s say you need a logo for your new business. Some start-ups, especially individuals or very small businesses, just don’t have a budget to hire a graphic designer (much less a design firm or an ad agency). For cases like these, in the past you could ask your cousin Sally (who’s “good in art”) to create something for you for free, or maybe you know a student, or someone just starting out in the design field to create something on the cheap that’ll help build their portfolio.

But now you can go online to any number of websites that provide either a.) logos for $99, or b.) crowd-sourced options. In crowd-sourcing, you describe what you need, name your price, and in this world of high-high-tech, your project is seen overnight by thousands of graphic designers who have signed up with the crowd-source listing who can all submit any number of designs to you for consideration. This means you can potentially receive thousands of design options from all over the world ~ for a fee that is, by all professional standards, incredibly, ridiculously low. And I do understand that this can be the right, if not necessary, solution for many folks. It’s a way for everyone to get a logo, not just the “wealthy”, and I can’t argue with that. I’ve even made the suggestion to a few people myself. We all need to decide where to cut corners in today’s economy.

The downside is the devaluing of design. For myself and a world of other professionals, this can feel like the beginning of the end, because there’s no way to compete. We’ve honed our skills and sensibilities over many, many years, we are among the best and brightest, we are “thinking” designers who not only offer smart, creative solutions but provide ongoing service, becoming a key player in your business. This is how we put food on the table ~ by understanding where you’re coming from, what you want and need, what will best represent you and your business in a busy, noisy landscape by creating something uniquely yours, not cut from a cookie template, not one-size-fits-all. It’s not just talent, it’s experience and insight and labor. We are your visual voice.

So, in a way, there’s a quietly raging battle going on that we’re all kind of wading through, to see what happens. But this morning it got my ire up.

I’d dropped my daughter at the train station and turned on the radio for the drive home, figuring I’d catch up on some news. Apparently Sunday mornings are filled with financial shows, and I happened on WOR 710 with Ric Edelman and his show The Truth About Money. He was explaining crowd-sourcing, and how it’s changing our world. He explained it in terms of the recent Boston Marathon bombings, how police and other law enforcement were able to nab the suspects so much more easily because of the sheer volume of phones with cameras, the capability to instantly send images and videos over the internet, being able to information-gather from thousands – millions – of people via social media instead of the old, time-consuming way of person-to-person investigating. All good. Makes sense. Except I had this bad feeling about where he was taking this…

And sure enough, he went on to add another example. “Say you want a logo for your business…. before, you would hire a graphic designer, but now… (insert reiteration of what I said in second paragraph above)” And THEN he said, “Of course this spreads fear in the hearts of designers, because it means they’ll have to now work on spec, and they probably don’t want to do that…”

Excuse me? Do YOU work on spec Ric Edelman? Do you not get paid for your radio show, your lectures or client consultations? Does your producer wait and see if anybody tuned in that day before cutting your paycheck? What? You have years of experience behind you? Oh, that matters? That makes you worth more than, say, a beginner? How about this – do you go to a fine restaurant and ask for a few variations on your meal, name a low-ball price, then decide if you’ll pay for it or not? Do you have any understanding that a designer not “wanting” to work on spec might have something to do with the fact that this is how some of us keep a roof overhead? This isn’t just fun & games. Or wait! Maybe it is! Maybe we should all find different jobs, then possibly make a couple hundred dollars on the side every so often dabbling in logos for crowd-sourcing opportunities. You know, just for fun.

Funny how this harkens back to the notion that artists and writers do what they do no matter how poorly they are paid. The historical documentation of the poor artist, wearing hole-ridden shoes, driven by passion alone…unless fortunate enough to find a patron like the Medici’s or the Pope ….. to become wildly famous after death, cashed in on by hordes of wise art dealers. But I digress.

No thanks to you, sir, for stirring this pot. For not only sharing, but encouraging this demeaning insight with your audience. For degrading the time, effort, intelligence and talent of those who feed their families through their hard work in a creative field. Not to mention the individuals and business who have benefitted from the vision and fantastic work of many a gifted designer.

That the world is evolving, that we’re well on our way, that change is already here, embraced by many and on the move, I have no disagreement. And time, of course, will tell the final tale. But I am, frankly, appalled at your cavalier disregard for the creative professional. You’re basically saying “why call a pro when you can get it done for free by somebody else!”

So far there are still reasons why people call on us. One of them is called professionalism. Something that, at least for now, is still valued.

July 11, 2012 In appreciation, creativity, life and the universe, social media By Patricia Saxton

Facebook Junkie

Not that I am one. But it is very addictive ~ not just facebook, but the whole onslaught of electronic activity in this 21st century.

I have great curiosity about how this is shaping our communicative landscape, and what it will look like in 50 years. We already see some of the effects ~ both negative and positive ~ like kids who seem to be intravenously fed via texting, don’t feel comfortable making “phone calls”, look to facebook or videos as relief from a slow social calendar or just plain boredom instead of the wealth of creativity or mental prowess that might otherwise be exercised towards unknown potentials.

Plato’s quote comes to mind “Necessity is the mother of invention” … Anyone? What’s wrong with a little boredom?

On the other hand, there’s also an (academically) educational factor that could be very promising for young and old alike ~ and adults are certainly not excluded from the pros and cons in this habit-forming mix.

Take the spouse who comes home from work to find their partner and children engrossed, each in separate worlds, on their computers, greeted with a nod … perhaps not even. The walking texters, yakking commuters, with no real comprehension of the world around them. (It’s true, you know it is.)

Or the cell phone rings – no matter where, with whom, it gets answered like an itch that has to be scratched. I personally feel that those itches would be better treated more like the dinnertime rule in our house ~ the phone rings during dinner, it doesn’t get answered (with the exception of emergencies), because who we are with and what we are doing then and there is what’s important, not to mention that this is what voicemail was invented for. It can wait. (Even before answering machines and voicemail – the idea was that they could call back!) Yet we are, as a society, getting pulled in to the point of nearly constant distraction.

I have never been a wildly social being ~ and by this I don’t mean that I don’t enjoy human company, but I’m pretty particular about who I want to spend my time with. As an artist and a writer, quiet, solitary time is part of the deal. So when I come out of the creative cave, I want it to be worth my while, and since that’s not always something you can have “on command”, I do enjoy some stand-in connections with friends online. It’s a great way (for both the outgoing and the introverted) to keep in touch non-intrusively, to share with a bunch of people at one time and see some of “what’s going on out there”. I’ve also met some really wonderful people I’d never have met otherwise, and reunited with people from years ago whom I may not have guessed I’d find so compelling later in life. And what’s more, I find social media, facebook and blogging in particular, to be a fantastic business tool.

But none of this replaces human contact; the snarky, knowing smile, the understanding eyes, the hug, the shared laughter in real time in real body. And whether we are engaged productively or distracted emotionally, the more we use these electronic tools, the more we behave like slaves to this virtual world and the less we share real life ~ and the more that that becomes real life.

For good or bad ~ it’s a place to share, a tool for expanding one’s knowledge (google it!!), a big fat time waster for the bored and does not make us better communicators ~it’s not going away, (nor do we want it to) and maneuver it we must. Like most things, it’s a matter of how we choose to respond and interact.

The other day I took some time to lie on the grass and look up through the trees, something I did a lot as a kid, too, so maybe it’s just a character trait. In any event, it was close to my favorite time of day, which is late afternoon/early evening when the sun starts to set, leaving long, lovely, lingering shadows juxtaposed by light both brilliant and calm, verging on mystical.

And I found myself silently asking a potentially future someone, I suppose ……. “Did you ever look up at giant oaks in the late afternoon sun, through all the leaves and intertwining branches and wonder, really wonder, at all the shades of green? Did you ever wonder how the grass grows and how many kinds of grasses grow and how they all feel different between your toes? Have you ever listened, really, really listened, to the birds singing their songs? Have you heard the symphony of a summer night, with pure and undivided attention? Have you seen the hearts of people walking about in a busy city, have you felt their very humanity?”

I can worry that we’ll stop “living”, become unwittingly caged in a made-up world with perfect temperature control.

But for now, these are merely observations. And really, none of this was what I’d intended when starting this little essay… which has now become lengthy.

I meant to simply share some of the things you might be missing on my 2 Facebook pages (and look where that idea took us!) They’re much more “snippety” than a blog post, kind of “instant inspiration”, and despite my conflicting feelings expressed above, this is an area where I feel the electronic world is put to good use without killing my, or anyone else’s, time with nonsense, or over-dulling the brain. The world is fast-paced, and as much I’d love to slow it down, sometimes a “quick uplift” does wonders. So, if you’re not on my pages (although, yes, I wish you were… see the like buttons on the top right side of this blog page, hint, hint…), here’s the sampling I started out intending to post.

And now I’ll suggest you go take a break ~ shut the computer off and grab a friend or watch the sunrise or listen to the crickets or play in the dirt. : )

March 11, 2012 In business, communication, life and the universe, marketing, networking, philosophy, social media By Patricia Saxton

Social Media Roller Coaster

I hear a bunch of exasperation out there about social media.

Bottom line, we have to make choices about our time ~ these days, almost on an hour-to-hour basis. In any given period we may ask, is this a good use of my time? Is this what I want to be doing, is this what I HAVE to be doing, is this just what happened when one thing ran into the next and here’s where I landed?

Those of us who are self-employed need to insert structure into our day, or we’d not be at all productive ~ and that requires a hefty dose of self-discipline.

This may work beautifully if you work with tasks that have clear beginnings and endings (not to say there aren’t snags and challenges that could send potentially simple project into galactic proportions), but far less controlled if you’re in the concepting stage of a design project where you’re, let’s say, trying to break the rules in imaginative, but still effective ways. You can’t set a timer for that. But you can set a timer that says it’s time to shift gears, have dinner, take a walk.

So what then do you do with the onslaught of social media demands on top of all the rest? Do you skip the walk to check your twitter feed? Post facebook quotes while you eat dinner? Pin on Pinterest early in the day, while checking email and planning calls … and yea … you see, things can start to overlap and then maybe your grip starts to slip, the ride is moving and your hat is flying… and you’re saying, “wait!, whoa, slow down!” Yet the world out there is saying, “ha! right! time waits for no one, better hop on!”

So you sigh and shrug and try to keep up.

Or you decide not to.

Here’s the thing: there’s no rule book that says you have to leap into every social media outlet that comes along. That said, I’d be leading you down the wrong road if I said you shouldn’t participate in at least a few of your choice. But by all means, unless you’ve got a budget and a staff whose sole job is to handle every social media site, be choosy.

When all those invites come in to join this group or that network, don’t impulsively jump. Let it sit. Check it out. If it feels right, you may want to climb aboard. If it feels a lot like “ugh, do I have to?”… then don’t.

Either way, don’t miss that walk in the park in order to get a front seat on the next social media wave. If it really sings to you, you can join in after your walk.

November 12, 2011 In branding, business, communication, design, graphic design, intelligence, marketing, presentation, social media, web design By Patricia Saxton

Orchestrating a Website

You need to bite the bullet and create a website. Or your old site is in dire need of an update. No big deal, right?

Maybe, maybe not. There are easy ways and harder ways, less expensive ways and more expensive ways. But whichever way you choose, you have to understand that there are moving parts involved.

It’s a virtual symphony of information and imagery, with varying degrees of interconnected elements that create the whole song. And as with song, the parts can be arranged well or not so well ~ and the audience can tell the difference.

So before you begin, do your homework. Know what your site is about, and organize your content ~ at the very least a simple outline. Figure out who your audience is, and speak to them ~ try to put yourself in their shoes. Look at what your competitors are presenting … discover what makes you/your business unique. Play to your strong points while being as authentic as you possibly can.

Consider what your main topics will be, your sub-topics, what you want to say and how you want to say it. Whether you want a blog, a website or both. Whether you’ll tie in to social media, use videos, slide shows, shopping carts. Whether you’re enamored by bells and whistles or truly need them to boost your message. Whether a template, a modified template or fully custom is best. Whether you need a very simple web presence, or a full-fledged living website.

When you’re ready to make the plunge and toot your horn, there’s help out there to get you started and/or take you through the whole orchestration. We’re one of those places. Talk to a few; find the match that suits your needs. And whoever you choose, make sure communication is clear and open in both camps so that the flute solo comes in on cue and the trombones don’t drown out the violins.

September 30, 2011 In business, communication, design, social media By Patricia Saxton

“The Big Three” in Website Building

Designers, programmers, end-users ~ what’s your favorite web platform? WordPress? Joomla? Drupal?

This topic may make some of your eyes glaze over, but for those of you interested in the new, ever-changing, made-easier and more-manageable world of website building (as opposed to the old, more static world of straight html, java script, etc.), I found this nifty chart back in July, and thought it might be useful/interesting for the visual learners out there who haven’t yet stumbled upon it. (That was quite the long opening sentence, eh? Sorry if I lost you…)

If you’ve read this far, you probably already know that it’s pretty much an absolute must that any modern website be prepared in a CMS platform. (CMS = Content Management System… which provides user access to the content of your site, in human terms, instead of learning the dreaded code yourself or going back to your programmer for every word change.) The question is, which one?

Personally, I’m a huge fan of WordPress (yup, it’s not just for blogging), but Joomla and Drupal are respected giants in the field.

As a designer, not a programmer (see “Why I Don’t Paint Trucks, etc…”), I can maneuver my way nicely around WordPress. For seriously heavy-duty customization all 3 are viable options though, so I often leave the “which one” decision to my gifted web programming partners.

If you (as designer, programmer, or user) use these platforms, we’d love to hear about your experience… thumbs up, thumbs down, and maybe a little bit of why. For the rest of you, maybe this chart (courtesy Devious Media) will spur movement on that new or upgraded website you’ve been putting off.

August 16, 2011 In appreciation, art, books & stuff, branding, communication, creativity, design, illustration, imagination, inspiration, networking, social media By Patricia Saxton

52 Weeks of Peace / Peace Starts Here

Excitement! The “52 Weeks of Peace” book is almost ready…!

In the meantime, we’ve established a 52 Weeks of Peace / Peace Starts Here facebook page ~ please come on over and join in, “like” the page, let your voice be heard, spread some peace, share the love… see you there!

July 6, 2011 In advertising, art, branding, business, communication, creativity, design, illustration, social media By Patricia Saxton

What's The Big Deal About Branding (part 3)

Since it’s National Ice Cream Month, I thought I’d use a famous ice cream company for Part 3 of my branding chatter … after all, “it’s only fair…”

What’s so good about this is that the video not only shows the integrity and consistency of Ben & Jerry’s folksy branding in action, it’s also a great example of authenticity.

Just to clarify, authenticity means that the message (the visual voice) rings true. And there’s very little that can replace, go above or beyond being genuine.

In this particular case, the element of authenticity underscores a product that’s been proven worthy and continues to breed the important ingredient of trust, therefore keeping ~ and gaining ~ a loyal following.

I really like how Ben & Jerry’s found a way to keep their classically down-home look, feel and messaging steady, vital and relevant in a technological environment. From the start they’ve been about extra good ice cream with an organic bent and a social conscience, and they haven’t skipped a beat.

(Makes you want a quart or two …!)

July 1, 2011 In advertising, branding, business, communication, creativity, design, imagination, marketing, social media By Patricia Saxton

Beer, Chocolate and The Web

Beer, Chocolate and the Web … for some reason makes me think of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” ~ maybe not with such an intricate storyline, and I’m not sure C.S. Lewis would like the comparison, unless perhaps, he was a beer and chocolate person… but either way he would certainly appreciate the imaginative quality.

So, thanks to my good friend and fellow designer Jim for knowing that I would love this. Sagres, Portugal’s leading beer brand, launched a new product this year: Sagres Preta Chocolate, a chocolate flavoured stout beer.

I can’t attest to the beer itself, but their decision to launch the product with a website crafted entirely from chocolate gets a big thumbs up from this corner.

Personally, I’m not convinced of the “rightness” of beer and chocolate co-mingling in one drink, but I definitely give these guys credit for ingenuity. And (for possible future reference) I’d have gladly been on the team that made all the chocolate pieces!

Here’s how they did it:

And here’s the final website for Sagres Preta Chocolate. Enjoy!

May 12, 2011 In business, social media, words and language, writing By Patricia Saxton

To Blog or Not To Blog?

A playground for some, good business for others, there are literally hundreds of millions of blogs out here in the blogosphere. So many that I think the counters have probably stopped counting. And with those kinds of odds, one may wonder, should I bother?

For the uninitiated, no doubt these questions (and more) have crossed your mind. But only two of these carry any weight: “What would I write about?” and “Can I keep it up?”. Toss the rest in a pile labeled “ways to hold myself back.”

As for the two that matter, definitely ask them … unless of course you have zero interest in blogging about anything, ever, in which case you can skip this entire essay (or share it with someone who might be interested!).

So ask, “What will I write about?” Think it over. Most people have something they feel passionate about, are experienced with or excel at…. and most people have a voice, an opinion, a thought process. Those with a business have material in the palm of their hands. The key is that your voice or topic be authentic.

So then the task is twofold: 1.) decide on the gist, or theme/subject matter of the blog, and 2.) share that voice! If you’re really stumped, ask friends or colleagues for ideas. Sometimes others see things about you that you may not realize people would value.

The second question, “Can I keep up with it?”, is sheer practicality. My feeling is that if you write about something you’re interested in, you’ll enjoy the process. You’ll make the time ~ whether it’s once a month, once a week, once a day. The number of folks blogging suggests that the time invested is worthwhile, but it’s certainly a question you should ask.

And remember, if you’re in business, especially you entrepreneurs, it’s almost a “must”. Just know that that “must” doesn’t have to be a drag, and there’s hardly a better marketing tool these days.

Maybe you have services to promote. Maybe you have a book in the works. Maybe you have a thing for animated films or sinister pets.

(Which reminds me, I should mention that you don’t have to be a writer ~ though, granted, it makes it easier to consider a blog ~ some “blog authors” post historical information, funny quotes or pictures of spaceships. Of course another option, if you have a budget, is to hire a writer to maintain your blog.)

The possibilities are endless, and there’s bound to be someone who was glad you shared what you did. And besides (for those afraid of commitment!), it’s not binding… so why not?

Should you bother? Yes. Because you have something to share. Because you can, and because you’ll benefit from the visibility.

If you want the chance to be heard ~ yes, even amongst the millions of blogs out there ~ I encourage you to jump in.

No budget? No worries. Free blog formats abound (I happen to be a huge fan of WordPress) with all kinds of cool built-in features. If you want to dress it up, you can hire someone like me. Just keep in mind that blogging has become a powerful and bona fide communications tool allowing people, businesses and organizations to broadly connect with each other in “the world out there” .

One of the things I like best about all this blogging business is that you choose, and you make the rules. And once you get the hang of it and find your groove, you’ll also discover how to make it work for you.

But first things first… ask the questions, and have at it!

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