I’ve commented before on the danger and widespread damage that competitive crowd sourcing can wreak on the design industry. Yet, some deemed it necessary to give some of these cowboys an award for their work.
But that’s Ok. Every industry has an award or two for what they deem to be the best of the best. Some are voted by the people, some are elected by peers. Some people welcome them with loving arms, while others prefer to stay home and shrug. “Hey, I was just doing my job.”. I, for one, would jump at the chance to demand being called Sir, or have some useless trophy clutter up my mantel piece, but some people wouldn’t -
Keith Richards didn’t want CBE after his name. Maybe he thought it was an Inland Revenue trap.
Marlon Brando was offered an Oscar for Best Actor in 1972, but it was an offer he actually could refuse.
Sinead O’Connor declined to accept the award for Best Alternative Music Performance for “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” in 1990. And she didn’t get what she didn’t want.
David Bowie turned down the opportunity to be called Sir David Bowie in 2003. Perhaps he didn’t want to change the lyrics to ‘Sir Ziggy played guitar’…
… and the list goes on, with a different real reason for each. So it would appear that getting an award is not as prestigious as it may appear. After all, these people have already been rewarded for the work they did. One more figurine in a basement cardboard box has little meaning.
I’m not going to get bent out of shape about it. And no, I’m not jealous! However, when I saw who else has been awarded Some Kind of Better Than You thing at the Brit Awards, I felt a whole lot better.
If Lady Gaga can be deemed Best International Female Artist, then I can live quite content with the idea that thousands of designers will not get paid, while one website gets an award for bringing mediocrity to the masses.
Meanwhile, it is very important to note that Spec Work hurts clients, it hurts designers and it reduces the quality of customer service and brand building that is essential to your business.
If things are just not moving like they should with your business, take a look at your stationery. For most customers, this is the first time they see what you do and how well you do it. A great looking business card or flyer gives you the impact and lasting impression you deserve. Folders and brochures hang around in other peoples homes and offices, constantly reminding them of your business.
Move people with great looking stationery that isn’t stationary. And for a lot longer than eight seconds.
The last time I had a Facebook account, it got out of hand. Too many hypotheticals, imaginary games and silliness. Not on my behalf, just in the endless Comments/Updates stream of crap that you end up with when you befriend everyone with a mouse. So this time around, I’m going to see if I can maintain control and actually use the site for real, practical purposes.
By the way, I use the term ‘Friends’ loosely. I understand that this is not collecting friends. Friends don’t add you to a virtual list, they call you. Friends don’t invite you to build an imaginary farm, they invite you to coffee. Friends don’t throw virtual custard pies, they throw real ones.
So by all means, visit my Facebook page and become a fan. Find out what NBurman Design is up to, check out the portfolio, leave a message and follow me on Twitter. I’ll even follow back! But if you want to be a real friend, let’s do coffee.
Two heads are better than one (unless one is Jethro’s) and in marketing that is particularly true.
I have recently teamed up with writer and author Simon Rose to provide copywriting services to my website design and development clients. In addition to his novels, numerous articles and teaching work with both adults and children, Simon also provides writing services, including creating content for websites, copywriting, editing, proofreading, brochures, advertising, marketing material, newsletters, regular blog entries and more.
Don’t be confused by the accents – we are not brothers. Not even close, geographically. But Simon is nevertheless a great person to work with, and we both look forward to being able to help you look your best online and in print.
Not sure if copywriting is for you? Drop me a line at contact(at)nburmandesign.com, or email Simon at sorcerersletterbox(at)gmail.com with any and all questions. You can also find more information about Simon on his website, Simon-Rose.com
Ever since signing up for Twitter a few months ago, its practicality has been growing on me. More than just a way to get fed endless streams of endless news, I have found it to be a rather useful community!
Case in point- yesterday’s fiasco.
A client of mine had trouble with her site. She couldn’t get it to appear in her browser, even after emptying the cache. I assured her that the site was live and could see it perfectly well in my browser. There are few things technologically frustrating than when someone else says ‘well, it works for me!’
Off to the Twitter community for testing.
Within seconds of sending a message with the website link to my 800 followers, I got the reply I was looking for. From Vancouver BC to New Hampshire, the site was alive and well according to five replies. This helped me narrow the problem. I was then able to assure the client that everyone else really was able to view her website. This was good news, since my client was due to appear on television the next day and hoped to draw attention to her (working) site on the air.
Except for hearing what people you’ve never met are doing in places you’ve never heard of, Twitter is a very useful, and practical community that allows people to communicate instantly. All of sudden, this social network has become a vital tool in the web and graphic design testing process.
Those that you have in your community will affect how useful it is. As a graphic designer, I don’t want to exclude other graphic and multimedia designers from communing with me. Creatives tend to be communal types anyhow, and even in other industries, it is often very useful and practical to be able to bounce ideas off others and get instant (or nearly instant) feedback.
How have you used Twitter in a practical way in your business?
By the way, thank you to all who responded. You’ll be on my #FollowFriday list (if you don’t know what that is, sign up on Twitter and follow me. See you Friday! )
Imagine the energy and excitement of Great Big Sea, Bare Naked Ladies and Buckwheat Zydeco under one musical banner …
The Kimberlites, a fun-loving five member band, have been doing just that for their audiences for well over a decade. Their infectious melodies warm the rooms of a variety of venues and keep dance floors abuzz, combining strong vocal harmonies and unique instrumentation into a party driving mix of rocking celtic-cajun-zydeco.
The Kimberlites blend their own music with some classic folk/rock hits of the past three decades, and even add a dash of world music influence; key ingredients to what can only be described as a musical jambalaya, a circus for the senses. The music is filled with hope, joy, and a celebration of life, making each of their performances an experience to remember.
Their new website features illustrations by Lincoln Agnew from their new CD, Nothing to Worry About, and reflects the same energy and passion that The Kimberlites are known for. Check out their music, find out when they are playing next, browse the gallery and order merchandise.
NBurman Design is pleased to announce the launch of blusapphire.ca
BluSapphire.ca supports self-awareness, conscious learning & personal development through life coaching programs, workshops, and seminars and is built on SiteCM, a hosted content management system by ideaLEVER in Vancouver BC. The site features CSS for it’s layout and is upgradeable to accommodate almost any feature the client needs.
Visit blusapphire.ca and let Neelam, the site’s owner, know what you think of her brand new online presence. I know she would be glad to hear from you.
Designs were requested by the production company for Rain, the only Beatles tribute band recognised by Paul McCartney, for their new line of t-shirts. Unfortunately, these designs were not chosen by the band even though the production company were very pleased.
The designs intended to show a more current representation of the love theme, as well as an adaptation of one of The Beatles’ most famous tunes, All You Need is Love.
Toyota have really outdone other car manufacturers this time. Not with a green SUV, with stratospheric MPG; this time they’ve stepped into the world of typography.
The iQ font was created by digitally tracking a Toyota iQ as it was driven in circles, bends and curves by a professional stunt driver. The lines tracked by markers on the car were then transferred to a font building application so that it can be used.
I’m not going to get bent out of shape about it. And no, I’m not jealous! However, when I saw who else has been awarded Some Kind of Better Than You thing at the Brit Awards, I felt a whole lot better.
