When it comes to client presentations, contextual imagery is key. The use of digital mock-ups allows your clients to visualize how their new brand identity will tie-in with the products they produce, the premises they occupy, the vehicles they drive, the clothes they wear.

Here are three resources for downloading contextual image templates.

PrestoVisual

The new kid on the block, PrestoVisual was launched in 2010. I asked the site owner what prompted the development.

“I guess it’s obvious that everyone uses the internet these days to source images for projects. The last few years has seen the rise of stock photography sites that cater for almost any situation — up to a point. I think that as budgets and deadlines have become tighter the stock image site has come into its own. My experience in the packaging design industry has shown me that there’s a fairly continuous need for imagery based on every-day objects, especially in the drinks sector. I’ve sold nearly 1,000 wine bottle renders on istockphoto over the past three years, which showed me there was a demand for these kind of images, and I thought ‘why not do my own site?’

“I had the dream of creating a virtual supermarket full of blank pack visuals that designers could call upon as and when projects demanded. I’ve launched the site with nearly 600 visuals — all created in my spare time, and I intend to keep adding more images when time allows.”

LiveSurface

The LiveSurface image template library was created by designer and entrepreneur Joshua Distler.

Flickr

It’s much more difficult to find the “right” image on Flickr, and you’ll need to be sure the photographer grants permission for use, but if you have the time, searching through the Flickr archives is another option.

I recommend using the advanced image search, and checking the box to find all photos tagged with the “creative commons” license.

Where do you find your contextual image templates?

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Press play, then HD, go full-screen, and marvel at the wonders of The Known Universe.

For those reading via email subscription, watch in HD here.

Developed by the American Museum of Natural History, this six minute video zooms out from the Himalayas of Tibet, pulling farther and farther from earth to the limit of the observable universe — the afterglow of the Big Bang.

“I liken the Digital Universe to the invention of the globe,” says Curator Ben R. Oppenheimer, an astrophysicist at the museum. “When Mercator invented the globe, everyone wanted one. He had back-orders for years. It gave everyone a new perspective on where they live in relation to others, and we hope that the Digital Universe does the same on a grander, cosmic scale.”

More info on the AMNH website. Via Jason Kottke.

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The taping of the pilot TV program “Design Matters” is next Friday (11th) in New York. Debbie Millman is host, with Hillman Curtis as director. The show is conceived as a design version of “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” and Millman’s first two interview subjects are none other than Milton Glaser and Stefan Sagmeister.

The pilot taping is free and open to the public—seats will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis—and an audience Q&A will take place after each interview. So if you’re in New York on Friday, get over to:

The School of Visual Arts Theater
333 West 23rd Street
New York City

The interviews will likely happen between 2-6pm—probably best to check with the venue beforehand.

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How will design shape our future? How are we, as designers, taking responsibility for the products we help put to market?

The following TED talk by architect and designer William McDonough was filmed in 2005, and posted to the TED website in 2007, so there’s a fair chance you might’ve seen it. But if you haven’t, and if there’s just one thing you watch today, spend 20 minutes listening to what McDonough has to say about design and the world in which we all live.

(There’s a full-screen icon in the top-right of the video panel you should see below — it’s not high quality, but it’s good enough.)

Watch on TED if you can’t see the video above.

A few points from the talk include how design is the first signal of human intention, and we’re asked to consider our intentions are as the dominant species on earth. McDonough talks about design humility, and how it took us 5000 years to put wheels on our luggage. He asks when will we see the end of the age of oil? And mentions how the stone age didn’t end because we ran out of stones.

McDonough expands on these issues in his book Cradle to Cradle — another for the to-read list.

You might be wondering how this translates to your day job. Jennifer Seeley helps explain in a comment she left on a previous post of mine:

Our goal is to make people aware to the point they will always check where the products were made and if there are any warnings on them. I came upon that issue years ago with Gold Paint on mugs. I was designing mugs for some corporate branding. The decision — have shiny gold that looks impressive yet causes cancer (through the materials used), or be morally just and pick the next best option.

Obviously, I chose the safer color.

And here’s a particularly telling quote from McDonough’s talk:

What we need is “…something that makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars into food, creates micro climates, changes colors with the seasons and self replicates,” said McDonough.

“Why don’t we knock that down and write on it.”

Are you taking design responsibility at work?

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It’s been a while since I put the focus back on you. Too long, in fact. So here’s another batch of your thought-provoking comments.

Lee Newham on, “The true cost of rebranding?”

So what’s in a name anyway? If you recognize it’s the previous product, and it tastes the same as the previous product, then do you really care that the name has changed?

Brand names get swallowed up and disappear. In the UK, Austin, Morris, Riley, Rover, Wolseley, Triumph, BSA, Woolworths, Timothy Whites, Lagonda, Vanden Plas. Only MG survived and that was gone for many years. How many people miss the passing of these names? I have nostalgic memories for some of these, but in reality, has it made may life worse not being surrounded by these names?

I’d argue that design and graphics are more important than a name. A name is a bit like pasta. Often boring on it’s own, but add some sauce and it’s unique and appetising.

Douglas Bonneville, of BonFX, on, “Agency vs freelancer — your take”

Some marketing directors choose an agency because of a personal friendship, need to impress a CEO, need to score brownie points with a firm they might join someday, etc.

Another big one is the need for corporate marketing departments to have to spend the budget they are allocated or they lose funding in the succeeding fiscal year. There are so many layers, but agencies serve the needs of corporate marketing departments because they make it possible to spend large amounts of money and keep the wheels greased. This isn’t bad per se, it’s just a simple fact of how things at the corporate level work.

One project I worked on as an employee working with another design agency had a flash banner of seven rotating images that cost (I saw the invoice) close to 5 figures because it involved “project management”, several meetings (that we didn’t need), several rounds of changes (because the agency interactive department didn’t follow the 3 bullet points I laid out), etc. etc. But hey, that Flash banner fed a lot of people that week, and is the reason the hot dog vendors on the streets of NY can stay in business, parking valets can make a living off of tips, and restaurants booking business meetings can keep the single working mom’s in the kitchen employed. Strange how these things work. But I could have made that banner in half a day (with blog breaks) for piddley-cents on the dollar! Maybe I should stop thinking like that, and start thinking about how my more-inflated fees might just help working-class.

Cat Wentworth, of NO!SPEC, on, “AIGA President Debbie Millman on spec work”

“Opting for the pro bono route may give you some experience, but it won’t put food on the table.”

This is another misconception, as a lot of non-profits do have a design budget. You just need to ask.

Basically, it is up to each designer to decide just how much of their time will be donated – probono. I used to cut my charges in half, and the non-profits had to get donations to cover the rest.

Also, designers are usually allowed to approach companies to donate money to cover a part (or all) of the design costs. This is how the real world works when you become a full-fledged designer, so might as well use a system that is already in place.

Steve Morris, of WebMojo, on, “Do you follow logo design trends?”

Design seems to be a regurgitation of ideas with your own spin. Is there any originality? And if you did produce something totally original, would it be accepted in the mainstream?

FG, of ION FreshStart, on, “The design pricing formula”

Another factor that effects pricing: fear.

Being both a freelance designer and business planning consultant for almost eleven years, I’ve found that both the client and I, the service provider, are in vulnerable positions. The client wants a fair price (or a great deal) and wants the end-result to reflect their request or surpass their expectations. The service provider wants to receive a fair price (and get paid timely) and create something wonderful for the client. The client fears they may get ripped off; the service provider fears they may get the run around and never be compensated properly, aka ripped off.

While these things are not actually discussed, I do believe this is an underlying tension that adversely impacts the pricing game. Each side can act defensively without even realizing it. Knowing a client’s budget, timeframe and expectations usually helps ease the pain of this awkward situation, but in my experience, when I’ve asked the client these things, they either don’t know or the answers change after project initiation. Even with a great deal of confidence and experience, every new client brings a new-found vulnerability.

Jon Liebold, on, “Creativity for a moving world”

Here in the US we are seeing the rise of people suing their employers because of the prevalence of this “always on, always connected” world society we have created companies are expecting their employees to be at their beck and call 24/7 and in some cases on an unpaid basis.

While I do agree with the people suing their employers for being forced to work off the clock unpaid (which is a violation of US federal law), we are a lawsuit happy society. My favorite are the injury lawyers. Whenever I see one of those commercials I hear this in my head:

“I was recently involved in a slip and fall because in spite of the fact the sign was written in both English and Spanish, I could not comprehend what ‘Caution: Wet Floor’ meant and fell on my bottom. Because of my bruised ego and sore bottom I got $5,000,000 thanks to (insert blood-sucking lawyer name here)”

Thanks again to everyone who takes time to comment. Although I don’t reply to each and every one, it doesn’t mean I’m not appreciative. I am. Very much.

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Image by Mykl Roventine

Design agencies and studios on Twitter

160over90

Twitter: @160over90
Website: 160over90
This Philadelphia-based branding agency “tweets” news, thoughts, and links that you wouldn’t find through their website. Nicely done. Their award-winning identity for Woodmere Art Museum also gets a thumbs up.

300million

Twitter: @300million
Website: 300million
Think of The Royal Parks logo, or the NHS identity. This studio in London produces stellar design work. Very friendly people, too, they’ll be featured in my upcoming book. After two months of fairly regular tweets between June and July, they’ve now stopped updates.

Brandient

Twitter: @Brandient
Website: Brandient
Established in 2002, this is the first dedicated brand consultancy on the Romanian market. Not all tweets are in English, although it’s clear they actively engage with followers, which is a good sign.

BrandLogic

Twitter: @BrandLogicNY
Website: BrandLogic
An award-winning brand agency in New York and Los Angeles, showing case studies from Pepsi, Texaco, IBM and many more. Mainly self-promotional tweets on an occasional basis, with some “retweets” of brand-related news.

Coudal Partners

Twitter: @Coudal
Website: Coudal Partners
Branded with the surname of founder Jim, exciting projects have sprung from this Chicago-based design, advertising, and interactive studio. Tweets are often personal in nature, and there’s a good level of interaction with followers. How it should be done.

CoreBrand

Twitter: @CoreBrand
Website: CoreBrand
Specialising in corporate brands, the Twitter profile is seldom updated, and then it’s simply to highlight their web articles. With that said, they’re doing more than some.

Duffy & Partners

Twitter: @Duffy_Partners
Website: Duffy & Partners
New entry to the list, on 30 September 2009. Duffy is just getting into the Twitter game. I’m sure others will follow suit.

FutureBrand

Twitter: @FutureBrand
Website: FutureBrand
FutureBrand has a huge global presence, offering brand strategy and experience. Their profile is a placeholder with no updates (not even a hello). Two thumbs down.

Hoefler & Frere-Jones

Twitter: @H_FJ
Website: Hoefler & Frere-Jones
Not your typical design studio, and more specifically a type foundry. Hoefler & Frere-Jones works with leading brands to develop original typefaces, also licensing some fantastic fonts from a library of nearly 1,000 designs. Tweets are engaging and personable. Nice.

Interbrand

Twitter: @InterbrandNY
Website: Interbrand
What started in 1974 has grown into a 40-office brand behemoth. This is the Twitter profile for the New York office, and I like what they’re doing.

Landor

Twitter: @landor_dot_com
Website: Landor
Creators of the gorgeous visual identity system for Melbourne City, one of my favourite recent works. Friendly tweets, helping add some online social character to the organisation.

Moving Brands

Twitter: @movingbrands
Website: Moving Brands
Controversially creating a call for spec work for their London identity pitch, Moving Brands might not be everyone’s favourite, but there’s no denying their calibre of work. RTs, @replies, and friendly chat. A great example.

Pentagram Design

Twitter: @pentagramdesign
Website: Pentagram
A bastion of design, the Pentagram partners have collaborated to create visual identities we see around us every day — Citi, Nissan, The Guardian… Their tweets are one-way, but the stream is regularly updated sharing some high quality links.

Siegel+Gale

Twitter: @SiegelGale
Website: Siegel+Gale
With a client list similar to a “who’s who” of the business world, the firm employs more than 200 people in the US, UK, and UAE. Very infrequent updates, but a few interesting links.

smashLAB

Twitter: @smashLAB
Website: smashLAB
Headed by Eric Shelkie and Eric Karjaluoto, I’ve grown particularly fond of the latter’s personal blog ideasonideas. Friendly updates, although not very often. “Karj” has a personal profile worth following @karj.

Sterling Brands

Twitter: @SterlingBrands
Website: Sterling Brands
Design intelligence personified. Experts in strategy and global positioning, with AIGA president Debbie Millman one of the partners in the firm. The Twitter profile is relatively new, but like with smashLAB, there are personal profiles on the go e.g. @debbiemillman.

Wolff Olins

Twitter: @WolffOlins
Website: Wolff Olins
140 people in London, New York, and Dubai, Wolff Olins have worked on strategic projects for the likes of GE, Sony Ericsson, and Amnesty International. Friendly, regular updates about branding and topics of more general interest.

Social media management

The rate at which social media tools are are being adopted for business is phenomenal. “Social media management” is incorporated into specific agency job descriptions, detailing responsibility for ego searches, profile updating, online communications etc.

Sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, take on lesser importance, operating a “closed”, permission-based system that requires you to “know” the people you interact with. Twitter, on the other hand, is an “open” platform where anyone can see what you publish, and they don’t need their own account to do so. It’s infinitely more transparent, helping to build trust, relationships, and drive web-traffic.

As yet there’s no Chermayeff & Geismar. No Minale Tattersfield. No Johnson Banks or Lippincott. At the very least, they should be “listening” to what’s happening on Twitter, and I’d be surprised if they aren’t.

Any other notable absentees, with or without a profile?

You can find me @DavidAirey and @LogoDesignLove

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(Updated following this comment from James Chartrand.)

No-one knows better than you how much talent you have, and every project specification is different. If your client is asking for a rush-job, they’ll expect to pay a higher rate.

The physical location of my clients doesn’t change what I charge, but it could alter what the client is willing to spend.

Here are some pricing articles to help.

About design pricing

• 12 Realities of Pricing Design Services, by Steven Snell
• Nine Factors to Consider When Determining Your Price, by Collis Ta’eed
• Is Charging More the Right Thing to Do? on Men With Pens
• The Subtle Effects of Pricing on the Mentality of Clients, on FreelanceSwitch

And a few previous ones here on my blog.

• First steps to graphic design pricing
• Design pricing and when to talk money
• How 20 designers charge their clients

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As a little thank you for reading my blog, I asked what your favourite design blog post was from 2008. A fitting way to finish off the year and to bring in the new, here’s what you chose, and why.

1/ Steven Snell, of Vandelay Design

12 realities of pricing design services

This post stands out to me from 2008 primarily because of the response that it received. While it doesn’t get as many visitors as some other posts, readers left a lot of thoughtful responses and several other blogs have linked to the post as a helpful guide for pricing advice. I wrote the post based on the things I’ve seen in my own work throughout the start of my career, so it means a lot to see that others can relate and that my insight has been able to help in some way. Steven Snell

2/ John Boardley, of I Love Typography

15 great examples of web typography

… because, it demonstrates what can be achieved. It’s all too easy to complain about limitations to typography for the screen, when really it’s simply another medium rich in possibilities and potential. John Boardley

3/ Anthony Zinni, of Positive Space Blog

Would life be easier if you weren’t a designer?

This article is my personal favorite of the year because it really opened a discussion about the crazy things designers are willing to put up with for love of the profession. Anthony Zinni

4/ Michael Martin, of Pro Blog Design

The perfect hands-free database backup

It’s not the most exciting topic to read about or the most adventurous post, but it’s simple. In one go, a blogger will never have to worry about their database again, and it doesn’t cost them a penny. Michael Martin

5/ Jon Phillips, of Freelance Folder

5 creativity killers

I chose this post simply because I face those 5 creativity killers on a regular basis and every time I have to remind myself to go back and read my own post. It happens I don’t sleep much because I’m too preoccupied with a project, or get distracted by ’stuff’, sometimes I fear my client won’t like my design mock-ups, and then when I get to the point where I start to worry about money, then I go and read my post. Things always work out in the end. Jon Phillips

6/ Calvin Lee, of Mayhem Studios

Online copyright infringement: 4 ways to remove your stolen work

Most creatives don’t know what to do when their work is ripped off. It’s easier to resolve than they think. It happens often and most don’t do anything about it.

My blog post helps creatives get stolen work taken down in 4 easy steps. Calvin Lee

7/ Chris Spooner, of Spoon Graphics

8 free cute & simple Twitter bird vector graphics

As well as being fun to produce, the vector birds gained some great feedback and exposure, it has been fantastic to see them in use on various sites across the web. With Twitter being a widely used application, I’d like to promote the bird characters a little further in the hope that a few more people can make good use of them on their own website! Chris Spooner

8/ Randa Clay, of Randa Clay Design

Building trust with clients — being honest about mistakes

…it’s somethiing I wish someone had told me early on. As it was, I had to take a rather long road to learn it. Randa Clay

9/ Jin Yang, of 8164

Conformity

I’m choosing it because I feel it addresses a few issues that exist in the web design blogsphere. I feel web designers, especially those who are new to the field, need to learn from inspirations, but not to use them as a crotch. The article also generated some good discussions from readers. Jin Yang

10/ Jacob Share, of JobMob

The 25 most creative designer resumés you’ll see this year

Compiling this list was fun and inspiring. There are some terrific ideas out there about what can be done with something as basic as a resumé. Funny too, in some cases. Jacob Share

11/ Steve Willicott, of Eightyone Design

Why does everyone think they’re a graphic designer?

It only started out as a bit of a rant but it seems everyone has an opinion on this subject — it is by far the most viewed post on our blog and has put us in touch with many new friends. Steve Willicott

12/ Antonio Carusone, of AisleOne

Introducing The Grid System

…my favorite post of the year is the one where I introduce The Grid System because it’s something I’m very proud of. A lot of people find the site very useful and it’s educating more and more people on the benefits on using grid systems in their designs. Antonio Carusone

13/ Gino Orlandi, of You The Designer

6 people every designer should know

I picked this post because I always try to stress the importance of networking. Its much easier to accomplish goals and better yourself as a person and designer with a good network of people supporting you. If you surround yourself with quality, ambitious and like-minded people you will go much farther in life, much faster! Gino Orlandi

14/ Brian Ling, of Design Sojourn

30 essential books for industrial designers

I have always seen books as a “window to someone’s personality”, and for me this post was not only a reflection of my multi-disciplinary and varied interests, but a way that I could share a little about myself with my readers. Brian Ling

15/ Yeal Miller, of The Dieline

Eye Candy

What I found really notable about Eye Candy is the use of packaging itself to convey added layers of meaning. Clever use of of a transparent printed overlay/sleeve reveals a changing message as the sleeve is moved across the package. Yael Miller

16/ Eli Burford, of Design Blurb

Photoshop tutorial: designing a creative blog footer

I’m happiest with this one because of the outcome, obviously. But as I stated in the tutorial, inspiration comes from Alexandru Cohaniuc’s portfolio, but he gave me permission to use his footer as inspiration. The great thing about this was after I emailed Alexandru, he even sent me the PSD file for his footer design. Goes to show how really nice some people in the Blogosphere can be. Eli Burford

17/ Brian Yerkes, of BrianYerkes.com

50 reasons why you will not make it as a freelancer

I enjoyed writing this post, and I was happy that it caused designers trying to succeed to look at themselves a bit, and really understand why they may or may not be failing at becoming a freelancer.

The post title was inspired by a close friend of mine who just doesn’t understand what it takes to become a self-employed designer. I have tried to encourage him and pass on advice from my own experience, but he is still struggling to apply himself correctly. I think there are a lot of designers out there like him. They have a lot of creativity and art skill, but struggle to apply that to the business / marketing world. Brian Yerkes

18/ Andrew Kelsall, of AndrewKelsall.com

Large-format foamex design for Next Distribution

I chose this article because I think it sums-up what I do best as a designer. Whilst many freelancers concentrate on brochures, logo design and websites (which are all great to do), I love to focus on producing custom works that both stimulate and challenge me in a different way. Andrew Kelsall

19/ Andrew Houle, of My Ink Blog

A very snowy tutorial

This tutorial covers so many useful techniques in Illustrator and Photoshop. The skills learned here will help you optimize your workflow, and save you time, which inevitably is a goal of every designer. Andrew Houle

20/ Mirko Humbert, of Designer Daily

44 tools to help you in your design work

Complete designer toolbox, classified by tasks. I think it will be most useful for designers and webworkers out there. Mirko Humbert

21/ Sander Baumann, of DesignWorkPlan

Dutch Government introduces corporate typeface

I chose this blogpost because of the great discussion that started with the topic of visual communication and branding on a government level. Sander Baumann

22/ Vivien, of Inspiration Bit

Meticulous design: dramatic headlines

I’m always inspired by small details that initially may go unnoticed but subconsciously make a great impact, and I’m always intrigued by how one tackles attention to details in design, hence my research on meticulous design, that many others find helpful as well. Vivien

23/ Adelle Charles, of Fuel Your Creativity

Is minimalistic design more effective?

This was one of the first articles I wrote for the Web Design Ledger, I am a very minimalistic designer myself and thought it would be great to show examples, and the discussion that followed in the comments received a great response. A good article for the experienced & upcoming designers. Adelle Charles

24/ Vitaly Friedman, of Smashing Magazine

Smashing highlights 2008

We had so many good articles this year, so it’s really hard to pick the best one. We certainly love all of the articles linked here, though. Vitaly Friedman

25/ Last — and most probably least — Logo Design Love

33 logos in 33 minutes

A look at the brands I interact with first thing each day, and a taste of how much we’re all subjected to branding.

Plus, there were 24 answers to the question behind this blog post, and 25 somehow seems more balanced. Some Irish chap

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my RSS subscriptions this past year, and am sure it’ll continue into 2009. Thanks very much to everyone who answered my question, and keep up the great work!

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AIGA, D&AD, Icograda, DBA… just a few of the many trade associations for graphic designers, but how useful are they?

Graphic design industry veteran, David Hyde, publicly questionned the use of his Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) membership — prompting insightful debate through his blog post comments.

David went on to document his subsequent resignation from the CSD after 30+ years as a member:

…my concern was that my subscription over the past few years was simply allowing the Society to exist: nothing more, nor less, than that.

…fast forward to yesterday evening, when I attended the 33rd Annual General Meeting. I thought this might be the opportunity to re-engage, and to raise my concern in an open debate with those members who govern and take an active interest. And, do you know what? I might just as well have stood up and announced “the King is in the altogether“. This isn’t what the Society wants to hear, apparently, and I was called to be ‘out of order’ several times.

…now I must resign, not because I’m getting nothing in return for my subscription, but because the governing Council has made crystal clear that it doesn’t want dissent. And it doesn’t want to hear uncomfortable truths. As such, I represent an impediment to the aims and aspirations for its hoped-for flourishing future. In short, it doesn’t need members like me.

I’m not as familiar as I should be with graphic design trade associations, so I’m hoping this post creates discussion around their individual qualities (and shortcomings).

Here’s a snippet about some of the larger trade bodies.

• Design Business Association
  “The Design Business Association (DBA) is the trade association for the UK design industry and helps design consultancies become more professional and profitable by offering a range of industry specific membership services, training courses and events.”
  Annual membership fee: £1040 + VAT
  DBA website
• Chartered Society of Designers
  “The Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) is the professional body for designers. With over 3000 members in 34 countries, it is the world’s largest chartered body of professional designers and is unique in representing designers in all disciplines.”
  Annual membership fee: £150
  CSD website
• AIGA
  “AIGA, the professional association for design, is the place design professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research and advance education and ethical practice.”
  Annual membership fee: £212
  AIGA website
• D&AD
  “D&AD is an educational charity that represents the global creative, design and advertising communities.”
  Annual membership fee: £190
  D&AD website
• Design Management Institute
  “DMI members have access to the most up-to-date information through DMI publications, educational events, training, and networking opportunities.”
  Annual membership fee: £270
  DMI website
• Graphic Artists Guild
  “…creatives who have come together to pursue common goals, share their experience, raise industry standards, and improve the ability of visual creators to achieve satisfying and rewarding careers.”
  Annual membership fee: £135
  GAG website
• Icograda
  “Icograda promotes communication designers’ vital role in society and commerce and unifies the voices of graphic designers and visual communicators worldwide.”
  Icograda website

There are many others, and I welcome your experience of them, but the UK organisations from this small sample would cost a self-employed designer like me upwards of £1,400 ($2,000 USD) per year in membership fees.

Cat, from Designers who Blog, advises that you get out of it what you put in, so if you don’t go to meetings, or become involved with other members, paying the fee is pretty much useless.

Your thoughts

Is there really a need to have so many trade organisations? Can’t they pool their resources for the greater design good? If I was to join just one, how — and who — do I choose?

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Paul Howard Arden, advertising creative and successful writer, was born on April 7th, 1940, and died on April 2nd, 2008. This short blog post can, in no way, do justice to his creative influence. What it can do, however, is serve as an introduction to those who are unfamiliar, and as a brief reminder to the rest of us.

Do not seek praise. Seek criticism.

The following passage is an exceprt from the book It’s Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be, by Paul Arden.

It is quite easy to get approval if we ask enough people, or if we ask those who are likely to tell us what we want to hear.

The likelihood is that they will say nice things rather than be too critical. Also, we tend to edit out the bad so that we hear only what we want to hear.

So if you have produced a pleasantly acceptable piece of work, you will have proved to yourself that it’s good simply because others have said so.

It is probably ok. But then it’s probably not great either.

If, instead of seeking approval, you ask, ‘What’s wrong with it? How can I make it better?’, you are more likely to get a truthful, critical answer.

You may even get an improvement on your idea.

And you are still in a position to reject the criticism if you think it is wrong.

Can you find fault with this?

Further Paul Arden reading

• Paul Arden: a true maverick — published the day after his death, on CR Blog
• Obituary in The Guardian — “He was crucial to the rebirth of design-led advertising.”
• www.paularden.com
• Paul Arden: “do not seek praise, seek criticism” — a few comments about the best-selling book, from Dutch blogger, Ernst Jan-Pfauth
• Former Saatchis creative chief Paul Arden dies — on Brand Republic
• Paul Arden on Wikipedia

In this Independent tribute, the following is said of Paul:

He became creative director, and was behind Saatchi’s best decade ever, with work such as the slashed purple material that signified Silk Cut cigarettes, The Independent’s “It is. Are you?” campaign, a British Airways ad that had a huge face made up of people from all over the world, and the Castlemaine XXXX campaign that claimed “Australians wouldn’t give a XXXX for anything else”.

I grew up with those ads in circulation, and remember them well. At the time, I wasn’t old enough to admire their effectiveness.

Now I am.

Paul Arden books

• Its Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be
• Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite
• God Explained in a Taxi Ride

As yet, I’ve only enjoyed the first one, but the others are on their way. If you’ve read any of Paul’s books, or indeed knew the man, please do share your thoughts.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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