FullBleed

This is Part III of a series of solutions to pro-bono design by the Washington, D.C. design community. In this installment, we chat with two groups of local designers who have built upon their work as volunteers with socially conscious causes and created two unique solutions to pro-bono design.

When I started out writing my first article on pro-bono design several months ago, I was planning to write one article. But, along the way, I met some interesting people who were doing some great things in our community, and that one article quickly turned into many.

Two such groups that I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past few months include designers who entirely embody that pro-bono notion. They have founded causes that are close to their hearts, and they created opportunities to leverage their chosen professionals as a means to promote the missions of these causes.

Nguyet M. Vuong and Crystal Curtis, co-founders of Probonafide, and local designer Scott Spector, who started Design Reaction, were already active volunteers with causes and groups in their communities. All of them translated that involvement into an opportunity to use their professions to impact their causes.

“As designers, we know the power of communication and how central it is to the success of any business or organization. We also know the cost is sometimes out of reach,” Vuong said.

World Centers of Compassion for Children International

Probonafide started in 2006, offering discounted and pro-bono web design services to non-profits and charities. To date, Probonafide has helped a number of non-profits including: World Centers of Compassion for Children International, GYPA and Cameras for Cambodia.

“We believe by supporting our clients’ mission, we are doing our part to change the world,” Vuong said.

The five designers at Probonafide would love to eventually expand their offerings at probonafide to being full-time services, but until that day, they will continue to volunteer outside of their full-time jobs toward helping to change the world.

CO2 Reduction by Paul Nini

Design Reaction, which was founded as a resource for non-profit agencies, helps to encourage dialogue and interaction between non-profit groups and activist designers. It aims to give public exposure to those non-profits and designers alongside their worthy causes. These combined goals are achieved through the use of the Design Reaction web site, which allows non-profits to upload requests for posters for causes, and provides a place for designers to upload their posters for distribution and use via the Creative Commons copyright license.

Said Spector, “I hope Design Reaction will serve to educate the general public — and even designers — who are not aware of how design can be used in a socially responsible way.”

Design Reaction currently has close to 50 designers, design educators, and design students from an international community registered as participants, and it is accepting new calls for posters all the time.

These are just a couple of the stories and people that I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with through FullBleed and my involvement with the ADCMW. I look forward to learning more about the ways that the members of our community are giving back and making things a little better.

If you have a story, project or fresh take on pro-bono design — or if you want to give a shout-out to a local designer doing some great work in our community — email your ideas to us.

This is Part II of a series of solutions to pro-bono design by the Washington, D.C. design community.

In this second installment, we take a look at an interesting new angle on doing design for the greater good, then explore a resource that connects designers and non-profits in need.

In 2006, the Art Directors Club (ADC) hosted Designism, an event spear-headed by ADC Vice President Brian Collins, and dubbed by the ADC to be “a debate over advertising and design as instruments for social and political change.” Kurt Andersen, Milton Glaser, Jessica Helfand, George Lois, and James Victore comprised an all-star panel — moderated by Steven Heller — that “debated” the role design and graphic designers play in solving the problems of the world. The talk kicked off a larger discussion in the design community.

Fast-forward to the Designism 2.0 and 3.0 events in 2007 and 2008, respectively.  What started as a debate and call-to-arms has given birth to actual examples of design work for a number of social and political causes.

Another invaluable piece that came from the Designism dialogue was designismconnects, a web site that partners idealist.org and the ADC.  It serves as a forum to connect meaningful social causes with designers by allowing non-profits to post their project needs and designers to post samples of their work.

In a few short years, Designism has evolved into more than just a venue for designers to show-off their meaningful work to their peers and discuss the ills of the world; it has provided an example of “how you can make something that has a larger impact,” as Collins said.

This idea of making a larger impact is what Collins wants the design community to really glean from Designism and all of the discussion surrounding it.

“How can you take these values into your daily dialogue with clients and still pay the rent?” Collins said, adding that Designism provides an opportunity for designers to compare their own work “against people who are really doing it.”

So, who is really doing it? The answer to this question can be debated and discussed, but ultimately the answer lies in how you want your work to impact your local community and society on a whole. Collins believes that designers can — and should — use their own careers for change; that designers should have a seat at the table when it comes to socially responsible design. Instead of dividing your time between work that pays the bills and the work that you really believe in, try incorporating a social conscious into your day-to-day responsibilities so you can have the opportunity to do both socially and financially rewarding work.

In today’s world, companies are no longer solely judged on their “bottom line.” They are also being judged by “the larger contribution they are making,” said Collins. This larger contribution can be measured by the triple bottom line, a widely used methodology coined by TOMS Shoes. TOMS gives a pair of shoes to a child in need, thereby using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good.

Regardless of what side of the discussion you fall on regarding designers as agents of social and political change, our community has always been at the forefront of shaping trends and decisions, and my hope is that we can all bring a little more good to the world through our chosen professions.

Other Good Resources

• Corbis Image Donation Program
• Designism
• Probonafide
• Idealist.org

In our next installment on pro-bono design, we are looking to highlight local resources for connecting designers with pro-bono opportunities. If you have a unique solution to pro-bono design that you would like to share with the community, send your ideas to publications@adcmw.org or leave us a comment below. We love to hear what the community thinks.

This is Part I of a series of solutions to pro-bono design by the Washington, D.C. design community.

There is an old saying that I kept sticking in my mind as I was preparing for this article:  “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”

One of the biggest hurdles in doing pro-bono design is how to manage all of the requests for free design services with the work we do for paying clients.  In trying to meet some of these requests, we as designers are strained for time, so we offer our pro-bono clients a fish.  Not an actual trout or salmon, but maybe a blue gill. In design, that might be a brochure or a poster — that tangible solution to their communication problem.  We are, first and foremost, businesses that have to make decisions as such.

So, how do we find the time to teach our pro-bono clients to fish, or, rather, to give them the plan and strategy that will make that brochure really impact their cause?

One local design firm has found a unique way to balance both its business and its desire to really make an impact for local non-profits.

For the past five years, Basis: A Brand Consultancy has participated in the nationwide Create-A-Thon®, an annual 24-hour marathon of design that offers a soup-to-nuts approach to design and marketing.  Plus, it benefits some of the local regions smallest non-profits in dire need of marketing and communication assistance. Create-A-Thon happens each year on the same day.

Basis’ President Catherine Shaw is the driving force behind the DC-area’s chapter of Create-A-Thon.  She spoke with FullBleed about her firm’s pro-bono work.

“Create-A-Thon is a great way for us to answer those non-profit requests in an organized fashion,” Shaw said. “Lots of clients that benefit from Create-A-Thon are those with very small budgets, struggling to come up with answers to questions like,‘What comes next?,’ and are the most involved at the grass-roots level.”

Create-A-Thon is more than just 24 hours of producing communication solutions.  Basis first recruits volunteer designers, producers, and writers to participate, then determines who will receive these creative services — a process that begins months in advance of the actual event.  And Basis isn’t alone in making these determinations; members of local non-profit communities review applications from non-profits (more than 60 in 2008) to match resources with needs and attempt to find those that can “go to a whole new level with communication assistance.”

“We look at who we have volunteering and how what we donate can make the most impact,” Shaw said.  “This is not just once a year for us; it’s an underlying aspect within our company values.”

This process, while time consuming, is well-worth the effort to Basis, and the time up-front is crucial to allowing them to hit the ground running on the day of the event.  With clients’ needs already assessed and paired with the creative talent, the work that then comes from the event can be focused on a holistic approach to addressing those needs.

“We take a very thoughtful and intricate approach to each client’s needs, and we make every effort to determine what is appropriate for the client,” Shaw said.

Each client meets with its team to develop an articulated communication plan that includes strategy and the creative to implement it — in other words, how to fish.

“It’s one thing to hand a client a brochure. It’s more valuable to help them understand how it fits into their whole communication strategy.”

Create-A-Thon has proven to be a win-win solution for Basis, allowing them an organized way to give back to their community while maintaining a successful business.  Mentoring Today CEO Penelope Spain offers great accolades for this process after her non-profit participated in the 2008 Create-A-Thon.

“A few weeks ago we sent out our ‘annual appeal’ to individual donors,” Spain said. “The response we have received so far has been tremendous!  We have already raised more money than from any prior annual appeal!  We have also received countless emails and phone calls from donors saying how impressed they are with the brochure and with how far we have come as an organization… Also, since we mentioned in the appeal letter that the design of the brochure was donated through Create-A-Thon, folks are impressed with our ability to be frugal with our funds and still deliver quality outputs.”

This is just one of the countless ways that local design firms and designers are giving back to our community.  We hope that this unique approach to pro-bono design will offer you some inspiration and insight into designing for the greater good.  If you have a unique solution to pro-bono design that you would like to share with the community send your ideas to publications[at]adcmw.org.

Other Good Resources

• Designism
• Probonafide
• Idealist.org

Design courtesy of Poccuo

For better of worse, as designers and art directors, the days where we were only print designers or web designers are over. The reality is that our designs have to work in both the print and digital worlds.

To help bring some insight into getting the best of both of these two amazing worlds, I jumped at the chance to speak to Dan Rubin about making the transition from print to web, inspiration, and the stress of keeping up with social media, before his presentation to ADCMW in November. Dan is founder and principal of Webgraph in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and a highly sought after speaker on web standards.

For those of us, who do not specialize in web-design, but are tasked with designing for the web more and more frequently, it can be a little over-whelming to jump into the deep end headfirst. “Don’t fear the web as a new medium,” Rubin calmly states, “just remember to get out of your own way and slowly learn about the technical side.” Easier said than done I thought to myself, with the alphabet soup of programming languages, social media, devices, and all of the other technical stuff that can make the transition a little daunting. As if to set me at ease, Dan offers a very straightforward piece of advice, “Good design is good design, regardless of the medium.” A very simple strategy, but one that helps to softens the trepidation that one can feel when designing for a new medium.

His is careful not to ignore the reality that with any project there are some parameters to work within and a minimum level of understanding about the technology that you have to bring to the table. He stresses another simple point; you don’t have to know how to code HTML and CSS to design for the web. It’s more important to know the limitations of the code and what is and isn’t possible from a technical standpoint. “If you understand the technology it allows you to be able to manipulate it better.” Rubin isn’t promoting that every designer become an expert programmer, but that they should focus more on learning the basics and building from there.

Rubin, who writes the blog, SuperfluousBanter, in addition to many other web projects, is a seasoned veteran of speaking and consulting on the topic of web standards, usability and web design, admits that there are a ton of great sites and social media tools on the web for designers. And that it can feel like a full-time job checking them all out and becoming a part of them. He adds, “There is an implied pressure to checkout every new thing on the web. Don’t feel the need to be up on every new thing, see what works for you, and if it doesn’t, don’t worry about it.” Your network of colleagues and peers is a huge resource for keeping up to date he stresses.

Changing gears a little, our interview heads into the topic of what inspires his design work. Rubin, who counts music, accapella, voice coaching, and photography among his interests, stresses the need for designers to find an outlet outside of there design work. “You can only do one thing for so long before it drives you crazy,” he comments. He notes that when he comes back to the office after a weekend of singing or shooting photos, he brings a new perspective and inspiration to his work.

For those who were in attendance at Dan’s presentation in November, I hope that you were able to get some insight into making the transition from print to web. If not, I hope this is the catalyst for a great dialogue within our design community.

Some food for thought:

• Nine tips for making the transition from Print to Web Design
• Dan Rubin’s From Print to Web Presentation
  

A sampling of some Bad Ass Resources courtesy of ADCMW’s own Samantha Warren

Hello Creatives,

Cayden Walter Clemmer, Nicholas Flynn McCormick, and FullBleed.  They say things happen in threes, and while a child’s birth cannot certainly be compared to our online magazine, all three are sure to give this editorial staff a few sleepless nights.  It’s a time of new beginnings.

We, the editorial staff, here at FullBleed aim to resurrect this publication to a more regular status.  Something along the lines of, “Ah, the new FullBleed should be out soon” and it actually is.

We’re hoping to bring you fresh content, new local talent and the deep, dark secrets of speakers and guests who are soon to grace our fair clubs presence.

We hope you enjoy our efforts and are patient as we try to mold FullBleed into a relevant vehicle for ADCMW.

Thanks for reading,

John Clemmer, Sean McCormick, and Nick Whitmoyer
FullBleed Editorial Team

P.S. We welcome any and all content ideas- Feel free to email us at publications[at]adcmw.org