MPM

Forbes: Graphic Designers are “Snooty”!

The high profile magazine Forbes opened a recent article on spec work with the following statement.

“CrowdSpring aims to slash the cost of graphic design work — and democratize a snooty business.”

The statement alone, let alone Forbes one sided opinion on spec work has generated tons of buzz.  David Airey has a nice article on the subject with lots of emotional comments.  I did my part by asking fellow designers what they thought on LINKEDin.

My favorite response was from Catherine Azarello:

I haven’t seen the article, so maybe I’m talking out of line, but if Forbes is supporting the use of spec work (by CS or anyone else)–isn’t the thing designers should be reacting to is the entire concept of spec work as legitimate???

Snooty is simply a gross over generalization, a caricature of the industry. Kind of like saying all plumbers are like Dan Akroyd’s butt crack character on SNL many years ago. (I date myself

My own opinion on spec work is a bit mixed.

1.  If you’re going to run a contest looking for design talent you should offer a prize in proportion to your overall marketing budget.  So if you’re a huge Fortune 500 company with millions of dollars in advertising it’s really an insult to offer a measly $500 in prizes. Give me a break.

2.  What looks on the surface to be “democracy” is in actuality “OUT SOURCING”.  Whether you’re sending the job to Idaho or Calcutta, when a corporation undercuts industry standards so deeply it all about the bottom line, not about “looking out for the little guy”.

3.  I hate to say it but I think that some of the “elite” firms in our industry have brought some of this on themselves.  And have heaped a whole lot of this on great designers who happen to be caught in the middle.  Maybe they got just a little too comfortable and took their eye off the ball; the ball being quality work and good service.

Needless to say, I don’t see spec-work going anywhere anytime soon.  I just have to keep pushing out great work and look for great clients that appreciate it.

Check out the article HERE.
Take a look and the industry’s response HERE.

Hotcards.com in the News.

When ever I wonder about the future of the print industry, I here a success story like this.  Kudos to Hotcards.com’s Columbus Woodruff (he’s the gentleman int he blue sweater) and his loyal staff (the scribbled in guy behind him). Check out the article and video here.

His secret:  affordable printing, great customer service, and loyal employees.  Gotta love that.

Marketing Tips: The magic bullet of marketing…

Patrick of PWG Marketing has uncovered the key secret to small business marketing success.  And that’s differentiating your business from the competition.

If you remember one thing from this post remember this: if you can’t find a way to differentiate your business from every other business that does what you do and if you can’t communicate that difference in a way that really matters to a narrow target market, then you’re basically in the commodity business. If I can’t tell how one business is different than another then I will use the only thing I can measure – price. Yes, the driving force in the commodity business is always price.

Seems obvious when you first look at it but I know from experience that the vast majority of small businesses tend to compete on price.

Some other points to consider:

Many small business start ups do this because they don’t want to spend the money or time that it takes to effectively distance themselves from the competition.

Big Box Stores will always be able to beat you on price! They have the volume and leverage.  However, you can beat them on service, quality, specialization, and a host of other categories.

When it comes to setting your business apart a branding is always a great place to start.  Consumers have two categories.  Big time and Small time.  Branding will make them associate you with Big Time even when you are a small business.

Top 7 Most Cliche Stock Photos

Came across this post about Cliche Stock Photos (like the lovely call center woman) and I just had to share this with my readers and potential clients.  Please, what ever you do, stay away from these stock photos!  And don’t be too embarassed if you see any you may have used lately.

Slideshow of 2009 Design Trends