a hearty welcome to the Rupee Symbol

   On July 8 of this year I blog posted about the coming Rupee symbol. I had been waiting, knowing

it was coming. Sometime in late August, or early October, all the hurdles cleared, and the world had a new currency symbol.

   It's not as if I had not noticed, and life has a way of postponing certain things. But I did want to double back and acknowledge this wonderful event. It has implications for global business, clearly, and represents a synthesized triumph of typography.
   A free download of the font can be found at:
http://www.4shared.com/file/PsTquKna/SymbolINRupeeForadian.html
and choice source material may be read at:
http://hubpages.com/hub/New-Rupee-Currency-Symbol-and-downalod-INR-Rupee-Font-also-meaning-of-currency-symbols
   So while this may be belated, a hearty welcome to the Rupee!

Ad Campaign thoughts on AIDS in India

Abstract

This document constitutes a brief consideration of that which might likely be best as an approach to an ad campaign in India regarding AIDS.


Evocative Portrait of India

Ad campaigns necessarily include Creative’s, and right brain people, in attempting to assimilate the larger picture, tend to seek out the sensory. Therefore, we will serve us well to seek out a feel for that which we are looking to embrace.

India is a unique blizzard of sensory experience, unlike anywhere else on the planet. India may be the most colorful of any country. India may be the most spiritual of any country. While clearly a global leader in technology, with enormous, bustling cities, the vast majority of what is still a subcontinent remains a Third World embarrassment. Just for perspective, the country's first four-lane highway (between Mumbai and Poona) completed in 2003. With 43 full-fledged graphic languages, there remain hundreds of dialects. With fisticuffs occurring in Parliament on a regular basis, the recent conclusion of a civil war off its southernmost coast (Sri Lanka) and the ongoing nonsense with Pakistan, this recently turned 50-year-old government is still trying to wrap its hands around its own larger picture.

Without too extensive a tangent, the sheer complexity, coupled with its massive vastness as well as its evolved history finds India with an established parochialism throughout the country; variously flavored from location to location with superstitions and other stains of ignorance (IANS, 2010).



Working with what we have

It turns out India is one of the hardest hit countries when it comes to AIDS. With 33.4 million living with AIDS worldwide (and a global population of 6.7 trillion), contrasting that with India, a population of about 1 billion, and 2.3 million with AIDS, that works out as follows: AIDs occurs as one in every 35,000 for the world and a little more than one in every 500 for India. Clearly a problem, about which sub demographics (women versus men, children, homosexual versus heterosexual, the sex trade and drug use) neither make this any easier to digest, nor would they inform our broad-brush stroke ad campaign (“Avert“, 2010), (Google, 2010).

Why there is any consideration for a broad brush-stroke campaign has several responses. One is to take care of communicating as broadly and widely as possible, effectively the lowest common denominator (which, basically, begs for a simple, graphic response). Another consideration, in line with keeping things simple, includes being culturally sensitive in "the land of a million mirrors". There is also the onerous stigma, so while this campaign may target populations and behaviors that flirt with danger, the communication needs also to be accessible to the general population. One might say this approach finds a vague balance between being direct and indirect, emotional and rational; and even more vaguely still, somewhat both informative and persuasive. Should this be so, while not the most elegant or innovative of ad campaigns, it would prove to be a success beyond hope (UNAIDs, n.d.), (World AIDS Day, 2010).

The entity most naturally poised for partnership with others is NACO (the National AIDS Control Organisation ; an arm of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India). The campaign, as is conceived, also has an emphasis on thrift, further extending its reach. As such, any further form, integration or communication may be built upon this; either by NACO itself or taken in various directions by the subsequent receiving agencies. Naturally, the conscious use of such a generic approach would also lend itself to a wide variety of sponsorships, as well (NACO [Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (Govt. of India) ], 2007).

The Proposal

There has already been a survey of a balance between the culture, as disparate as it may be, and that of the key archetypes as they are. The consistent underlying element is graphic simplicity, and this would affect color, type, shape, etc. There is a need for economy on type. Color needs to be highly saturated and bright. Forms would have the greatest connection to a synthesis of the culture; consequently, the most generic of these would be a circle or something circular. Such a shape is represented, alluded to or otherwise present in the visual catalog of all the world’s religions; many of which share a mandala expression.

Henceforth, the following visual material, designed with the intention of papering, plastered, inserted … created to flood the market in any and every appropriate way. The native design is intended to fit “two up” on a single page, so that it may readily go viral at the consumer level where people can print out their own (and receive two images for every print).


Conclusion

That which is being offered, as a base ad campaign, is not being offered up so much as a presumption as it is a synthesis based on the challenge at hand, its inherent request, and the marriage of the best possible response the Creative’s are able to articulate. Consciously made were the shifts in background balance, specific color choices (bearing in mind color theory and therapy), and consciousness of word sizing and stacking. The English on the left is not merely a translated representation, as it would serve as the other pan Indian language, along with the Hindi on the right.

Despite reiteration, this should yield greatest and widest communication at the lowest general expense, with generous latitude for customization agency on agency. May it move the kind reader to further creativity, if only within one’s own imagination.



References

Avert. (2010). In India HIV AIDS Statistics (, pp. -p. ). : . doi: Retrieved from http://www.avert.org/india-hiv-aids-statistics.htm

Google. (2010). (World Population) 6,775,235,741 - 2009. In Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved from www.google.com/publicdata

IANS, (2010, Jul 22). AIDS stigma drives HIV in India: World Bank study. THE TIMES OF INDIA (Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.). Retrieved from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/AIDS-stigma-drives-HIV-in-India-World-Bank-study/articleshow/6200405.cms

NACO [Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (Govt. of India) ]. (2007). NACO [National AIDS Control Organisation]. Retrieved from http://www.nacoonline.org/NACO:

UNAIDs (Ed.). (n.d.). UNAIDs. Retrieved from http://unaidstoday.org/

Usunier, J., & Lee, J. A. (2005). Marketing Across Cultures (4th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

World AIDS Day. (2010, ). 2010 National AIDS Trust [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.worldaidsday.org/

Sustainability [01]

   From the business perspective, the idea of sustainability tends to be weighed in a cost-benefit analysis. It may seem the idea leaves a taste of immorality and may feel somewhat insulting. We will get back to that in a moment.
   From a design perspective, sustainability represents just one more challenge among the several that constitute working with what you have. Fortunately, much of this conversation should unfold in the process of your learning your particular artistic direction. There is certainly plenty that has been and it is being published to this end, and to more fully moved in the direction of mastery you really owe it to yourself to appreciate the fullness of this new aspect. This section will close out with a cursory view of some of the more significant sustainability considerations, major by major.
   Back to business. There has been a fortunate increase in sensitivity toward social responsibility. It nonetheless remains true there are still plenty of multinational corporations that will move operations where they can continue to pollute. It is also true that sometimes a cost of operations is seen as outweighing an extra expenditure that would find the product safer (for the environment and or the consumer). Bear in mind, corporations (especially those publicly traded) have an obligation to increase shareholder wealth. Even capitalism has its flaws.
   So we understand the downside. The best way to address it seems to be to focus on the upside. It has already been acknowledged here that there is increasing consumer awareness toward being green. All by itself this has yielded huge dividends to companies that have paid heed. Going green no longer has to always translate into paying a premium either. Being socially responsible also yields huge marketing dividends.
   Then, of course, they're the companies that are laying the foundation for other companies to go green. Konica Minolta has been working on a new line of fabric dyes of extraordinary brilliance that are also environmentally (and human) friendly. This is no small thing. In the bad old days there were many dyes that were outright toxic. In struggling economies where dyeing cloth was done manually (and, of course, some of this still lingers) people simply worked as long and as hard as they could, and eventually died from contact with such chemicals. Without lingering too long on the fashion industry, just think of all the chemicals that go into leather (that, eventually, leech transdermally into the wearer).
   Where companies can go green they do. It's moving beyond this low hanging fruit that the global community is now wrestling through. Ultimately, some more gains we make, the lower the cost, the easier it is to do and the better off we are. We are moving in the right direction.

Advertising: Illustration Graphics & Production
   Our little example a moment ago with the clothing dyes certainly had analogy in this area. Actual cobalt is a real toxin, yet used to be powdered and mixed with the medium, exposing artists by breathing it in or exposure to the skin. Beyond significant examples such as this, there have always been issues with ventilation surrounding all the solvents.
   Tremendous gains have been made on this front over the last half-century. However, we have now moved from an entirely organic paradigm (as faulted as aspects of it may have been) to now using a significant amount of synthetics.
   That was a brief consideration from the design perspective. From the business perspective this is the aspect of the industry that does a tremendous amount of printing, and where packaging designed lives.
   As regards printing, we have plenty of recycled paper product, and there are also “green” inks. There are even eco-friendly fonts! The issue here, of course, is how much of this can be translated into something the client will want (and be consistent with what they need).
   When it comes to packaging design, the iconic mistake would be bottled water. Possibly dangerous from all the chemicals in the plastic leaching into the water. Beyond that, the packaging costs significantly more than its contents, and maybe around in landfills for generations so that someone would have refreshment across a brief period of time. And perhaps the saddest aspect is that most developed nations have perfectly good drinking water coming out of its faucets at hundreds of the cost.
   Packaging has a purpose, and is not going away. Nonetheless, this is something that, by its very nature, will be discarded. There is an increasing effort afoot to make this experience is biodegradable as possible.
   As you may have already noticed, the sustainability consideration tends to be about balancing a myriad of considerations. Keeping it in the forefront of your consciousness will certainly go a long way in your contribution being as environmentally friendly as it can be.

Positions for the Applied Arts (revised 06) Advertising (including Graphic Design, Illustration, Production & Exhibit Design)

Entry Level
Production Artist
Presentation Specialist
Production Coordinator
Graphic Designer
Document Specialist/Desktop Publisher
Imaging Specialist
Mid-Career

Production Manager
Senior Production Artist
Designer
Proposal Manager
Presentation Supervisor
Traffic Manager
Designer
Production Artist
Account Executive
Project Manager
Art Director
Senior Designer
Communications Manager
Publication Manager
Proposal Manager
Print Shop Manager
Service Bureau Manager
Pre-press Specialist
P.O.P. Display Designer

Pinnacle
VP Production
Communications Director
Presentation Director
Art Director
Project Director
Creative Director
VP Creative Services
Director of Design
Creative Director
Publications Director
Production Manager
Print Shop Manager
Service Bureau Manager

Success Secrets of the Graphic Design Superstars

   Will Sherwood has put together the blog that is a smorgasbord of inspirations on how to thrive in the industry as an illustrator or graphic designer. Most of the feedback given seems the strivings of good to great educators looking to inspire their flock (which is a good thing).
   I confess I did not exhaustively deconstruct the site in its entirety, so I may have missed some examples; but I didn’t see any hard core technologies. That is to say I did not read anything along the lines of “here’s step one, there’s step two”, or, “in the current environment use this type of folio” … nothing concrete. That in no way minimizes the value. It’s a great site to have as an rss feed; a little sunshine in your front page to start your day (when there’s a posting; it isn’t daily).
   Mr. Sherwood heads The Sherwood Group, states this came about through a masters degree project and is intended to find its way into a book; a “best-of-the-best designers and creatives”. Still, if the blog was in response to queries the likes of “what do I need to do to succeed?” and “how do I get big clients and/or big projects?” it may have been useful to see some of that harder core technology (which, again, may exist buried in the archives).
   If you’re in the industry, just getting started or need a refresh, it is nonetheless of real value.

http://willsherwood.com/?page_id=2

Solif!

   Russian designer Mikhail Smolyanov, aka Solif, is like the clean fresh breeze after the storm to the cartoon posture of viewing anything designed in or by Russians over the last fifty years is somehow inferior. Smolyanov ROCKS!

   My fav is pictured here, the Arx 3 (yes, there’s a “2”…and a trike, too!). It’s sci-fi meets the 50’s (which, after all, seems the beginning of sci-fi). SO elegant.

   Apparently he uses 3D studio max, and is considered a graphic designer. Beautiful stuff – please check him out.

His blog:

http://solifdesign.blogspot.com/

invention / innovation: the sticky note cube calendar receptacle

   I’ll be working on more textbook modules today, and I had this thought come to me this morning; so I’m offering up this sketch. Effectively, the plug in units for this as yet un-offered product are already in existence: the 3-M company makes post-it cubes. They’ve pre-printed them in the past as well. What this as yet unrealized product would need is 31 cubes pre-printed with each number in a limited choice of colors that would fit into a custom crate that hangs on your work space wall (with color coordinated blank cubes to fill the excess). The days of the week would be actual cubes in matching colors. The months, as well, would follow such a consideration (though they’re not represented in the sketch).

   Alterations to the basic sketch might include a sizeable hole in the back of each cell to push cubes out when necessary. And the individual vertical cell walls might slant at an angle from the top back to the bottom front; also for ease of use.

   The value of this is for folks who make notes on their calendar, then feel compelled to transcribe them to post-its as small carry-around to do lists.

   I don’t mind including this idea for a product design on the blog since it embraces a number of tag lines already established here: applied arts, business, etc.

   So tell 3M – maybe they’ll pay me some desperately need moola!

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

   I went back to the Bureau of Labor Statistics tonight. They’re pretty succinct on defining terms. Under the heading Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement I’m struck by a few things that had escaped me in the past; simply because I just knew it and took it for granted.
   A bachelor’s degree is “usually required”. Okay, but two things: [1] usually required should likely read nearly always, and [2] it’s true, not even that if one can somehow winnow ones way in.
   I was reminded of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design; which I’ll explore more later.
   And under other qualifications there ostensibly aren’t any; though it does enunciate skills of well rounded-ness: communication, soft skills and the like. No licensure, no advanced degree; for there are no delineated strata to which to aspire requiring such a thing.
   I know this is similar for Illustration; as well as many of the applied arts. We could wait forever for this to evolve on its own, and it won’t. I wonder what configuration of circumstance, what form, what path such an insistence for further advanced study might take. To be truly view as a professional class it seems something senior to the status quo may be required.
   Or not. I’m sure the business world enjoys relatively cheap domestic labor.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm

money money money money

   The means by which one measures consistently seems to be monetary. Here’s another potential resource; which I likely won’t use. Second Wind is a resource for small to mid sized ad firms; seemingly for anything they can offer, best practices, etc. Can’t blame them for wanting to make money, but I can’t see paying the $99.95 - $139.95 for a 37 page survey. It purports to cover all things salary from across 800 agencies: benefits, hourly’s, salaries and trends (and not much else).
   Thing is, this seems to be the easiest information to gather from elsewhere. Odd, when there’s clearly so many things one could ask.

http://www.secondwindonline.com/publication_details.asp?pubid=8&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecondWind+%28Second+Wind%29&utm

Related Research already done

   While salary is simply one measure of my research, it is so because it is, literally, the “coin of the realm”. With this in mind (and if you are a regular reader of the blog you may recall this from just a week or so ago) I dipped into, collected and synthesized what the department of labor had to say about Illustrators and Graphic Designers.
   To have come across this nugget today seemed a treasure trove. For a decade now the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) has been doing the survey annually since 2000 on its own. In 2009 they aligned with Aquent. Aquent LLC is a global talent agency headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Since the alignment with Aquent the survey has changed, it should be noted; however, seemingly for the better. Somewhere across the last decade an association with Adobe Corporation was established. Though the latter seems a background association.
   Anyway, if you’re a professional in the field you likely want to be aware of the download-able pdf (now through http://www.issuu.com/).

   Maybe money is the easiest thing to measure? Is it the main thing we’re concerned with? Maybe I really will have to await the results of my own survey to flesh out all the other concerns. Money was not my priority; just one measure. However, the graphic shown is from this current edition and is perhaps the most abstract graph. It seeks to make visual the confidence levels from across this last decade, the twenty hundreds. As an Artie Shaw character from the Laugh In days used to say, peeking out from behind some shrubbery, “very interesting!”. (remember: click to enlarge).

2010 - http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/salary-survey

The Abstract and Introduction [v01]

The Abstract

   The problem is that professionals in the Applied Arts, Illustrators and Graphic Designers, most closely allied with the Marketing industry, may lack full training in marketing themselves.

   To prove or disprove such a supposition may employ a mixed methodology, though at this time, there is only a quantifiable survey within the design.

The Introduction

   The hypothesis is that to the degree to which Illustrators / Graphic designers have been (or may yet be) exposed to Business topics in their training has a direct corollary to the degree to which they are able to thrive in their chosen field.

   The purpose of pursuing such an inquiry is to determine the validity of the hypothesis; along with whatever associated implications may be gleaned. As of this writing, the guiding research questions appear across a survey.
   The survey will be limited only by unforeseen circumstance. Databases have already begun in preparation, as has networking with current practitioners of said arts. Research is also under way to determine which professional publications may carry the survey.
   The history for training, in these arts in particular, has often found the focus on the content of the particular expression; classically lacking in the context for how such training may be applied, post academic experience. However, also true is that in recent years this has begun to change. It is worthy of definitively proving through research if exposure to such business coursework is found to be truly useful, or not, for such practitioners.

CreativePublic.com

   In related research I came across this web site today. Of itself it doesn’t make my case that more exposure to business coursework would be useful to the future success of Illustrators/Graphic Design majors. However, it is a veritable course in its own right; leading to the conjecture that there does remain such a need.
   As I’m looking to specialize in Marketing, I zeroed in on those articles in particular, and found no less than 40 well thought out articles covering virtually every nook and cranny of the topic area.

   The site is for Graphic and Web Designers; though much of the material is immediately or otherwise easily translated for other Applied Arts. It offers resources for creative professionals, forms, contracts, pricing ... for collective promotion, education (tutorials; video and otherwise), ethical business practice and more. While I found much of the site was free, there is a charge of $19.95 to join.

www.creativepublic.com/

HOW’s Design Salary Surveys

   I’d like to find, and may yet, the statistical behind the scenes raw numbers; but as it stands what gets published (near as I can tell) is an analytic narrative. The last time they published was ’08 (2008 Design Salary Report October 13, 2008 - by Bryn Mooth, http://www.howdesign.com/article/08SalaryReport/.) So, we’re just shy from the latest.
   The thing about these e-zines is it’s hard to keep up with what exists! Looks like I’ll be re-visiting HOW more often!
   Also, for all pertinent links: http://www.howdesign.com/googlesearch/?SearchString=Design+Salary+Survey

DOL stats - my second and third foundational sets

   I've been in pain all week, and just finished grading over a dozen business plans, so I'm not exactly effervecent right now. But do allow the stats to entertain.
   Per my previous threat: the Graphic Design set ... and for bonus, an overlapping set! (okay - I feel a nap coming on - - - SeeYa!). Remember: click to make larger.

sketch - survey version 01

in process - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JQH2XV7

   This survey takes an average of _______ minutes to accomplish. We truly appreciate your participation. This information is for research and will remain completely anonymous. It is comprised of nine questions.

My work in the applied arts is more:
• graphic than illustrative
• illustrative than graphic

My area of my expression is best typified as:
• Creative Director
• Art Director
• Illustrator / Graphic Designer (classic)
• A niche (CAD (Architectural, Engineering), Marine, Medical, Scientific, Children's Books, Catalog work, etc).
• Branding (packaging, logo work, etc.)
• In-house (an ad firm or art house)
• In-house (other than an art house or ad firm; i.e., a magazine, a corporation, etc.)
• Educator
• Art Therapist
• spectra comp color proofer
• sign maker
• other

I had training (please choose the one best answer – if “Formal” please note highest degree achieved in your applied art):
• Self taught
• Informal - an apprenticeship
• Informal - I come from a family of artists
• Informal - mentor / tutor
• Informal - coursework (exclusively by remote) by postal service, television or online
• Formal Academic – Certification
• Formal Academic – Associates
• Formal Academic – Bachelors
• Formal Academic - Masters
• Formal Academic - Doctorate

During this training I was also exposed to materials, literature, exercises, projects, etc. that grew my understanding of the larger business that I would be operating within. Within such a learning objective:
I learned from or was aided by (please choose all that apply):
actual business classes - less than three
actual business classes - more than three / less than seven
actual business classes - more than seven
actual business software - less than three
actual business software - more than three / less than seven
actual business software - more than seven
exposure to working studios, firms, agencies, etc. - less than three
exposure to working studios, firms, agencies, etc. - more than three / less than seven
exposure to working studios, firms, agencies, etc. - more than seven
professionals from the field as guest speakers - less than three
professionals from the field as guest speakers - more than three / less than seven
professionals from the field as guest speakers - more than seven
the school has a career placement department - this affiliation only aids me as I graduate
the school has a career placement department - this affiliation lasts my lifetime
I was exposed to “hard” professionalism skills - resume (or CV) writing, cover letter writing
I was exposed to “hard” professionalism skills - how to and/or the importance of network
I was exposed to “hard” professionalism skills - interviewing skills exterior (researching the specific entity, timing arrival, how to dress, what to bring, how to behave, etc.)
I was exposed to “hard” professionalism skills - interviewing skills interior (previous practice, creating one’s own questions, reviewing how to answer certain questions, what to be on the lookout for, etc.)
I was exposed to “hard” professionalism skills - how to create an e-folio
I was exposed to “soft” professionalism skills - taking an “organizations temperature”
I was exposed to “soft” professionalism skills - knowing when to engage various behaviors
I was exposed to “soft” professionalism skills - knowing who to say what to, to be heard
I was exposed to “soft” professionalism skills - gauging the degree to which, if any, one presents oneself as different
I was exposed to such practical knowledge as - being able to self identify and address one’s own issues
I was exposed to such practical knowledge as - being able to self assess one’s own progress

With regards to time (10,000 hours is approximately three hours a day, every day, for ten years)
I have, through training, on my own or otherwise, logged about - 1,000 – 4,000 hours of effort into perfecting my art
I have, through training, on my own or otherwise, logged about - 4,001 – 8,000 hours of effort into perfecting my art
I have, through training, on my own or otherwise, logged about - 8,001 – 10,000 hours of effort into perfecting my art
I have, through training, on my own or otherwise, logged about - more than 10,000 hours of effort perfecting my art
I have been working in my field - Under one year
I have been working in my field - One to five years
I have been working in my field - Five to ten years
I have been working in my field - More than ten years

My total employment experience spans - Under one year
My total employment experience spans - One to five years
My total employment experience spans - Five to ten years
My total employment experience spans - More than ten years

With regards earnings
I make - zero to 1/3 of my income through my chosen field
I make - 1/3 to 2/3 of my income through my chosen field
I make - 2/3 to all of my income through my chosen field
I make - Under 11,000 per year
I make - 11-45,000 per year
I make - 45-100,000 per year
I make - Over 100,000 per year
I am the breadwinner for a family numbering -
I am the breadwinner for a family numbering - 1 (just me)
I am the breadwinner for a family numbering - 2
I am the breadwinner for a family numbering - 3
I am the breadwinner for a family numbering - 4
I am the breadwinner for a family numbering - 5
I am the breadwinner for a family numbering - More than 5
I create this income - by myself
I create this income - with one other household member
I create this income - as part of more than two household members

I live in:
a US location other than the continental 48 states
California CA
the Northwest WA, OR
the Southwest NV, AZ, NM
the Mountain Midwest UT, ID, MT, WY, CO
the Plains ND, SD, NE, OK, MO, IA, MN
the Central North WI, MI, IL, IN, OH
the Central South AR, OK, TX, LA
the Central Southeast KY, TN, MS, AL
the Southeast WV, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL
the Mid Atlantic NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD, DC
New England VT, NH, ME, MA, RI, CT

regarding Marketing
• I consider myself part of the Marketing Industry
• I do not consider myself part of the Marketing Industry
• I feel my competence to market myself is (a five being best / one being not at all): ___

dissertation theory v03 and defining terms

   The degree to which Illustrators / Graphic designers include Business considerations in their training has a direct corollary to the degree to which they are able to thrive in their chosen field.

   I was looking to be less adversarial in the tone, as well as strike more balance and, if possible, be yet still more specific. This seems to accomplish that the best so far.
   So I'm (nearly) on to developing possible surveys when I notice I can no longer keep from paper what I have in my head. Googling was of modest help, I had to create the document. And so this is a first draft to define terms just on that which constitutes and Illustrator / Graphic designer.
   While comments are always encouraged, I tend to say as much when I'm running a highlighter over the notion. This is one of those times.

Positions held by Illustrators / Graphic Designers

   This meld of what is commonly referred to as two distinct professions is not without purpose; and one could justifiably include Cartooning here. While Illustrators may tend to be more directed in their expression in alignment with painting and drawing and Graphic Artists tend to focus more on the abstractions of the visual elements themselves (shape, shade, composition, color, etc.), for purposes of occupation they blur together. Since the 1980’s the inclusion of digital expressions is presumed.
   Sometimes these positions work with other applied artists (animators, video game designers, etc.); though sometimes they’re called upon to do these jobs as well.

category / occupations / brief description of the position

manual versions
spectra comp color proofer Someone who classically works in a “production house” mixing liquid color of various media to match exactly once silkscreened on a given surface (which also varies) once dried.
sign maker A wide variety of configurations, from being a solo paint on window glass artisan to working with a shop that has to address such issues as wind shear and other architectural considerations in a construction.
professional versions
Creative Director Classically a principal in an ad firm who has the responsibility to co-ordinate the right blend of art director and copy writer
Art Director It is not unusual for an art director to include him or herself within their own stable of talent. A “look” is developed. An Art Director is responsible for marrying the right artist with the copy person to address the clients need best.
Illustrator / Graphic Designer The classic position is a freelance position, where one takes in assignments and, through various stages (thumbnails, mock ups / sketches, etc.) develops toward a finished work.
CAD (Architectural, Engineering), Marine, Medical, Scientific, Children's Books, Catalog work Specific, niche versions of the straightforward Illustrator. These occupations were developed along a specific path for a variety of reasons; specificity of understanding (medical), the wealth of those looking to participate (children’s book), etc. Catalog work might involve drawing twenty different watches, for example.
Branding Centered around logo work, this expands to include the related ephemera: stationary, envelopes, letterhead, etc.
In-house (an ad firm or art house) Work varies depending on clients from televised commercial work to menu design (and subsequent interior design) … really, anything.
In-house (other than an art house or ad firm; i.e., a magazine, a corporation, etc.) Depending on the “house” (business) this could mean anything from working as an interior ad agency, to working with an ad firm, to simply developing internally. Its expressions are just as broad; e.g., internally may be restricted to internal design work of charts and graphs, memos, etc. However, this may be as far reaching as creating the skin look for a company motor pool, billboards, television video and so on.
Educator All manner of instruction; pre-K, K-12, secondary, et. al.
Art Therapist Married with the proper background in psychology; an aspect of psychology.
exceptions
Fashion Fashion Illustration is usually done by Fashion Designers (for which the design of the fashion is the primary expression)

1st lit map attempt

   Appears much is tracking properly; but I'll have to be vigilant about refining. Here's the 1st lit review map.

Purpose statement

   The purpose of the inquiry is to uncover the veracity of the theory; the irony that a key occupation in the marketing equation may, upon completion of formal academic study to some varying significant degree, leave individuals unprepared to market and thrive themselves.

   By analysis, the methodology of which may be mixed, an understanding seeks to develop and reveal what may or may not be lacking in this larger equation.

dissertation theory

   Dear reader, please excuse my excessive tangent this week on this particular topic. I presume a resumption of the larger thread soon. If you enjoy this different flavor of the same topic matter, stay tuned … otherwise, you may want to peek back in a week. I have a thought tomorrow might find a little more of this.
   I do want to thank Elizabeth Whelan for her timely kindness.
   Here’s the latest incarnation; with theory, the beginnings of a problem statement, etc.

theory:
   The majority of training / schooling for commercial artists (Illustrators / Graphic Designers – those most closely aligned with the industry of marketing itself) leaves them feeling unprepared to create a living for themselves (market themselves) in their chosen field.
problem statement: – where was the breakdown?
- in the formal, academic training / preparation?
- with the individuals personal lack in skill set, passion, commitment?
- with the larger culture (if the secondary education is consistent in its lack of meaningful support, might one then not conjecture that the larger culture simply does not have the established conversation to acknowledge the importance of such)?
Be aware:
There may be a moving component of how education has shifted over the years:
• For profit vs. not for profit; and the “franchised school” phenomena
• The establishing of the online dynamic
variables (for metrics):
Connectivity to the Business paradigm
Timelines (a particular timelines)
Mastery [Gladwell/Outliers]
Professionalism

data collection: [headings] Variable / Consideration - - - How (to collect data) - - - Who (to collect data from)

---Connectivity to the Business paradigm: Differing learning institutions and their offerings (business / no business classes, exposure to working studios, firms, agencies, etc. Professionals from the field as guest speakers, whether or not the school has a career placement department, etc.)

Create a survey of these components and e-mail key individuals at all the secondary institutions of higher learning. There is a database of (all?) the art schools already developed that needs to be reviewed.
I may have to re-research for specific individuals to e-mail to directly.

Career services departments, department heads, deans.


(the following variables necessitate communicating directly with the Illustrators / Graphic Designers themselves) This may prove most difficult. Might I get co-operation from enough institutions? Can I network online somehow through social media? I would need a pool of respondents large and random enough to establish the work credibly. Once that pool is established the rest is a matter of one survey.


--- Connectivity to the Business paradigm: Differing learning institutions and their offerings (business / no business classes, exposure to working studios, firms, agencies, etc. Professionals from the field as guest speakers, whether or not the school has a career placement department, etc.) .

Repeat survey questions, now asking the artists, current or former students, the same questions asked of their institutions. Add a Likert scale as to how they found each of these as value.


the pool of Illustrators / Graphic Designers

--- Timelines – working within their chosen field one year later, five years later, ten years later, twenty years later.

Same survey: ask the timeliness question in detail; but map in key increments. 

the pool of Illustrators / Graphic Designers

--- Mastery [Gladwell/Outliers] – Has the student logged enough hours of practice executing (before and during) their scholastic experience to warrant/merit being integrated into a profession?
 
Same survey: ask the mastery question in detail (4K/8K/10K hours, and how many years practice); … map in key increments.


the pool of Illustrators / Graphic Designers

--- Professionalism – Before or during their scholastic experience have sufficient soft skills and Practical Knowledge been conveyed? (Taking an organizations temperature, so one knows who to say what to, when. Gauging the degree to which, if any, one presents oneself as different. Being able to self identify and address one’s own issues. Being able to self assess one’s own progress.).

Same survey. Add a Likert scale as to how they found each of these as value:
- ask the soft skills question by topic (Yes/No).
- ask the practical knowledge question by topic (Yes/No).
e.g.; In any manner do you feel your training / schooling prepared you for professional communication for your career. Yes / No …

the pool of Illustrators / Graphic Designers

potential Dissertation: The Marketing Plan of Illustrators and Graphic Designers

   I have drilled down my dissertation focus. I’ll spare you the process, and it might yet shift again. The overarching consideration is that it become more specific. I still have some tightening to go, but I think I’m headed in the right direction (so stay tuned). Meanwhile, close as I can, an article a day or there about seems malleable. So, for now, the dissertation is this blog posts’ title.
   In an initial foray to begin exposing myself to this specific material I happened upon an online article: Developing Your Marketing Focus, by Elizabeth R. Whelan.
   Right out of the gate she acknowledges trending all that produces income and distilling the numbers. She then affords some nice questions to reassess the various focuses of the business. After such a reassessment, if a re-vamp is in order, she then suggests including “your team”.

   This is all valuable, academic information for an established firm or studio (yet nonetheless echoes what might be a model for the entrepreneurial practitioner). However, the calculation guides from the Missouri Business Development Program website for overhead, pricing and their percentages would prove valuable even for someone first starting out. The organic nature of re-assessment and trending is a useful admonition of effort to begin integrating. And the willingness to not be allergic to numbers is a welcome left brain activity, usually dropped out from right brain conversations.

   Apparently, Ms. Whelan is a sharp and altruistic sort. I thank her for insight. And if she reads this I want her to also know that I was moved to tears by her acumen; as an illustrator she’s a journeyman of the first caliber. I hope to scour her site further soon.

Elizabeth R. Whelan

http://www.elizabethwhelanillustrator.com/resources.htm

[the article] http://www.elizabethwhelanillustrator.com/resources/profit.html

studio@elizabethwhelanillustrator.com

508.693.6986

Martha's Vineyard, MA