FullBleed

Illustration by Donald Ely.

We have all had client relationships that were, or are, the equivalent of a bad marriage. What first seems like bliss can nosedive into an abysmal mess. Sometimes neither side is “wrong” — but for a variety of reasons known and unknown, the chemistry, goodwill, and other positives found in good client relationships are just not present. Neither party is fulfilled. Question is, when do you move on and how do you justify it to yourself and your accountant? What are the criteria you use and how does this make sense from a business perspective?

I am a firm believer in taking yearly stock of clients and being strategic in who to take on, and who to let go. The “letting go” part can be tough, but take heart; as Mother Superior says to Maria in “The Sound of Music,” “When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.” You do not have to be Christian to appreciate the sentiment. Having put this into practice I agree whole-heartedly.

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Generally, the holiday I like to focus on with my business is Valentine’s Day, because Anne Likes Red! My winter holiday cards have been haphazard at best, because I’m always so busy. But this year, I planned a little bit ahead, and am having holiday cards printed. They double as an at-a-glance calendar (by the quarter with a one-month overlap), and I will send them throughout the year, a different color for each card. Happy wishes for happy days all year long — positivity bears repeating.

—Anne C. Kerns, Anne Likes Red, Inc.

My advice on holiday promotion is to start on them in January as it takes forever to get them done/ready for the holidays – that’s what we do!

—Jake Lefebure, Design Army

Part Labor of Love … Part Shrewd Strategy: How One Firm Has Turned Holiday Greetings into a Marketing Tradition
By Eric Stewart

Crabtree + Company, a communications firm based in Falls Church, VA, has an unbroken 28-year tradition of sending out holiday messages — all but one of which was a physical card or three-dimensional mailing. “We did send out an e-greeting seven or eight years ago,” recalls the firm’s founder and president Lucinda Crabtree, “and it got exactly zero response. So we went back to creating physical pieces that we can write notes on and sign. I think that print pieces just have this sneaky way of feeling more meaningful to the client.” Continue reading…

The Iron Horse Taproom was the place to be on October 25, for the much-anticipated revival of the ADCMW’s famous Art of Beer event. A bustling, lively crowd listened to the presentations and tasted several great beers, while enjoying a gourmet chili buffet.

On hand to talk about their logos, label art, packaging and beer philosophy were Penny Muire from Rogue Ales, and Adam McGinnis from Flying Dog Brewery. The audience was treated to a fascinating history of the breweries, their logos, designers and products, from the colorful characters of Newport, Oregon that gave Rogue the inspiration for its early ales, to the story of a climb to K2 that led to the birth of Flying Dog at a bar in Pakistan.
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The Art of Beer is Back

One of the more popular ADCMW events from the late 1990s, discontinued in 2003, is making its comeback this year. The Art of Beer is about creativity – the inspiration that goes into making the brew, and designing and labeling the bottles that contain it. The result is a multi-sensory experience of tasting the beer, looking at the labels, listening and talking about the art with its creators. Presenters are chosen both for the quality of their beer and the exceptional nature of their label design.

This year’s event on October 25th will feature two powerhouse breweries: Rogue Ales from Newport, Oregon and Flying Dog Brewery from Frederick, Maryland. Both have a rich and fascinating history of both brewing and label design. We spoke with Penny Muire, principal designer at Rogue, and Ben Savage, Marketing Manager at Flying Dog, about their approach to beer and label design.
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©2011 Michael Glenwood Gibbs.

Creativity is a funny thing. For that matter, so is graphic design. It inhabits a weird netherworld of a profession where it looks really easy when done really well—I think of it as figure skating in that way—but is actually pretty demanding: requiring research, analytical thinking, discipline, constant practice, and ample amounts of intuition. All that before any knowledge of software.

Many clients have no idea, nor appreciation for, what we designers go through just to pull decent ideas out. We are an underappreciated profession, and thus our work is not valued as much as, say a lawyer or dentist, but I think we are all savvy enough to know the value we creative types bring to a brand. Nike gets it. For every item sold in a store a huge percentage of the cost of that running shoe covers design and marketing. Look at what Under Armor spends to compete with Nike in terms of marketing. Gobs of cash. A lot is at stake as brands compete for market share.

Who comes up with the design and marketing campaigns that support and promote products? Creative types such as ourselves. And the pressure to be creative on a consistent basis is hard. One week ideas are flowing and the next nada. Panic ensues as deadlines get closer and the pressure is on to stoke the creative fires. What to do when stuck? How does one feed and nurture creativity year round to keep ideas, and thus income, flowing? I am sure anyone who is reading this article who is a creative has had moments when the Creativity. Just. Stops. It’s just that our methodologies sometimes fail us.

Design is this weird profession that for the most part follows a process such as writing the creative brief, beginning a word list, sketching ideas, getting on computer, taking many coffee breaks, looking at design annuals for kernels of ideas that can be woven in to our design such as what we see in Communication Arts and Print magazine, coupled with intuition, whose cumulative effect will ensure a winning design. But sometimes none of that works.

If one has a tendency towards procrastination the instances of good ideas not coming to fruition are increased. Good design really does take time. No, really it does.

What happens when the ideas dry up?
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Photo courtesy The Art Institute of Portland

Recently, I spent a few hours in a dark room under interrogation spotlights reviewing student portfolios. Most of the students needed a great deal of work before heading out for their first real interviews. There were a few outstanding books that brought a tear to my eye due to their level of craftsmanship, grasp of theoretical technique, and downright snarky creative prowess.

Yet, pangs of guilt have begun to creep into my consciousness – was I too hard on the struggling creatives? What are the students’ instructors telling them? What advice did the creatives receive from the other reviewers?

I realized that part of my criticism and outlook was fueled by years of looking at portfolios that demonstrated experience but lacked an expert grasp on crafting dynamic creative. At the portfolio review, I witnessed the start of the exact same mistakes currently being made by seasoned professionals. Based on these observations, here are few portfolio-damaging mindsets to avoid:

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“I started working in graphic design in 1953, when it was called commercial art,” said Pat Taylor, a lifelong member of ADCMW. Over his career, he’s exercised his branding talents for agencies like Advertising Art & Copy, publications like LOOK Magazine, and the Creative Group, Inc.

He specialized in logo development and magazine design through his company, Pat Taylor, Inc., since 1969. Plus, he volunteered his free time with ADCMW and beyond by helping to build the Washington, DC, creative community.

“In 1971, I moved to DC and started all over again. I also taught at the Corcoran College of Art and Design for 10 years. Later, I received the Honorary Life Member award from the Art Directors Club of Metro Washington and the Fellow award from the AIGA-DC.”

So we wanted to know what someone with such recognition as Taylor — who retired in 2008 — considers the defining moments in his career.

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Illustration by: Kendrick Kidd

In the lovely state of Virginia where I reside, citizens are not required to designate a political party affiliation when registering to vote. For that reason, I’m hesitant to unveil my affiliation to all the designers in the DC metro area.

But, for the sake of this article, I’ll say that if Virginia did require citizens to declare their affiliation, my voter registration card would have a check in the box next to “Republican.”

It wasn’t until college that I realized I was somewhat alone in my political beliefs. During my freshman year, my roommate and every other girl on my floor was a die-hard Al Gore supporter. I never openly expressed my view of Al Gore because I was nervous to be seen as an outsider. Instead, I carried on and didn’t say much during the closest election since 1876.

From then on, I became acutely aware of my place in the political spectrum — especially among the girls who lived in my dorm. Surely, the designers with whom I was studying at the time didn’t feel the same way.

I was wrong, not to mention confused.

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I started to weave Randi Meredith’s answers to our Fresh Face questions into a narrative, but I felt compelled to leave her responses as-is. There are far too many details describing her that would otherwise be dropped … and then you wouldn’t get the full scope of Randi Meredith. Which would be a shame. – Steph

I’m from Shamokin, PA. I lived there for the first 18 years of my life then moved to Chestnut Hill, PA, for 2 years of school. After that I lived in King of Prussia & Phoenixville, PA for 6 years. Then off to Kutztown, PA for 4 more years of school.

I’m 29.

I’m the middle of three children all very close in age and raised by my mother. We are a very close group.

I only speak English but I can read Spanish in context. I love to travel and do so as often as possible. I’ve been in Cambodia, Thailand, Jamaica and took a sketching tour of Mexico. I’ve also traveled through the entire eastern seaboard and some of the mid-west.

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The Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington turns 61 years old this year. That’s an incredible amount of history and heritage, especially for a city of transients like DC. If you haven’t already, take a look at our history.

What you might already know is that, since the 50’s, ADCMW has put on a great variety of events and competitions for the local creative community. But have you ever wondered who makes this all happen?

The ADCMW Board of Directors comprises a group of passionate creatives who volunteer their time to organize events and work behind the scenes ensuring that DC creatives have the opportunity to network, compete, and hear great presentations from some of the most famous faces in design.

I’m just finishing up my first term as VP of Publications and am looking forward to being involved with ADCMW for a long time to come. Serving on the Board has been an eye-opening experience when it comes to understanding how much planning and effort it takes to to organize a successful event. I’ve gained a huge appreciation for the Club’s role in our community and have worked — and become friends with — some of the most talented creatives around.

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