Category: worth mentioning

Posted on

The Slippery Slope of Spec Work

It seems the City of Portland is experiencing the spec-creative backlash as we speak.

Yesterday, the news got out that the City of Portland has proposed a design contest to redesign PortlandOnline.

From Silicon Florist:

Now, you can try as hard as you might, but few things can be as insulting to people as telling them their work is worthless. Which is basically what the City is doing by asking for designers to work on spec.

Web developers, graphic artists and visionaries to transform the navigation and design of PortlandOnline, the city’s primary web presence. Winners will be fully credited on the website for their work – a website that receives over two million visits a month and includes over 140,000 pages.

That’s right. Or to paraphrase, that work that you do? It isn’t worth anything more than a link.

And today came a response from the Portland Advertising Federation’s President, Jerry Ketel —  The City Should Know Better:

This is simply the wrong way to go about designing an important communication tool in our fair city. The idea of this kind of contest is a perfect example of how much the city fathers value the contribution of the design community in Portland. I am certain that there is a very good Web design firm here in town who would work for pennies on the dollar to help the City of Portland to polish its presence on the internet. Not only would they provide design look and feel, but they would provide navigation and strategic expertise. This is Portland after all, craftsmanship is in our DNA. Our community wants to be a seen as a creative magnet in the world—it is a source of pride. So why don’t our elected leaders get that?

and:

Now is the time for the Portland creative services industries to rise up and plant a flag in the sand. We need to be recognized for the contribution we make to our city. We should start by writing letters and emails to the city about this disrespectful contest. And then we need to join together and strategize how we can become a force that cannot be ignored. It is time.

While this is not happening here in Idaho, it is an issue that shouldn’t be ignored.  I’d encourage those of you with contacts in the Portland area to get involved, and make their voices heard.  Contact the PAF or the City of Portland.

Jerry is right:  It is time.

Posted on

Anniversary: SOVRN Creative

Congratulations to SOVRN Creative, who celebrated their first anniversary earlier this week.  If the past year is any indication, there is going to be a lot more great work coming out of the agency for the foreseeable future.

Posted on

A Note to the Available Talent

To those of you who are listed in the Available Talent section of the Idaho Ad Agencies site, please be sure to keep us updated from time to time as to whether or not you are still available.

And, if you’re not on the list, drop us a line so we can add you to the list.

Posted on

BSU Portfolio Show

The annual Boise State University Design / Illustration Portfolio Show is coming up once again.  Each spring, students share their work with the community at large.  This year’s event takes place as part of the First Thursday festivities in downtown Boise on Thursday, May 7th.

A few more details about the show that the students passed along:

Busy Thursday night? Clear your schedule.
Long day at class or work? Take a load off.
Have nothing of any merit to do? You do now.

Head down to Beside Bardenay on First Thursday in May to check out the portfolios of Boise State’s Graphic Design and Illustration students. Stimulate the economy by giving us jobs, or support the arts by telling us how awesome we are. If it helps to tell you that we’ll have a bar, then, well, we’ll have a bar. We’ll be there between 5 and 9 PM, so be there or feel really bad when all of your friends show up and wonder where you were.

Featuring the talents of:
-Ferijala Balic
-James Calentino
-Jackie Elo
-Cody Evans
-Allen Gladfelter
-May Hernandez
-Sarah McCarthy
-Tara Roark

Take the time to attend.  You’ll see some talented students who would love any feedback you’d give them.

Posted on

Hey Seattle, Need a Vacation?

The folks at the Idaho Travel Council, with the help of Drake Cooper and North by Northwest, want to send a family from Seattle on vacation in Idaho.

The catch?  They’re going to film the vacation as part of a reality show on Idaho travel.

Still interested?  Take a look at the Adventures in Living casting call page for all the details, submission requirements and such.

From their site:

The winning family will enjoy an all-expense paid, 8-to-10-day vacation in Idaho, including stays in Boise, Sun Valley, Coeur d’Alene and more.

The adventure vacation will be captured by a film crew to create a new web reality show. In addition to the trip, the family will receive spending cash, an adventure guide and a wake up call from life as you know it.

Filming will take place approximately June 19 – 29 and we are willing to make adjustments to this schedule to accommodate the right family, including working with their employer. As a thank you for participating, the family would be welcome to stay and enjoy Northern Idaho at no cost for three additional days – without the cameras.

Deadline for entry is May 7th.