Colour palettes are ranges of pleasing colour combinations taken from a image used as inspiration. I started mine just as an exercise in looking at colour and for use in my textile designs. They are inspired by photographs I take during my travels, around the county, country and the world. It’s an enjoyable exercise and I have built up quite a portfolio of colour!

Many of you will build up a sketchbook collection of your drawing; not necessarily complete, but lines, shapes, textures, etc. Looking at colours in images and building a digital sketchbook or catalogue can be just as useful even before you take the paper and paint in your hand. It’s amazing what unusual colour combinations can be found that move you away from those “safe” schemes we are often lead to.

I don’t need to tell you how to use Photoshop or any of the other photo manipulation packages, but here’s how I approach my palettes:

1. Find an image you really like – for me it’s usually colour that grabs me first, surprise, surprise!  I’m afraid I can’t do “neutrals”, as hard as I try, colour always creeps in.  Flowers – wild or cultivated; the countryside – Derbyshire, British or more exotic locations all appeal in quite a soulful, intuitive way.  Urban landscapes are a good source of shapes for weavers and will often throw up interesting colour combinations, as in the “London Colours” palette.  Having said I find neutrals hard, this image illustrates how colour within a fairly neutral palette changes the dynamic making it much more “friendly” to me!
2. Crop your image if necessary. Fussy, overly big images can be too distracting, so focus on the area that really appeals.
3. Copy and paste your image onto an A6 white background.
4. Decide how many colours you want in your palette, an odd number is more pleasing than an even one.
5. Decide what shape you want your palette to take.  I like oblongs as they are more suited to my woven fabrics, but circles or squares are all acceptable. If your image is large and you only have a small border at the side or bottom, then the smaller, circles or squares are a better bet.
6. Create your shapes and select the most prominent colours using the colour picker tool. Drop the colours into your chosen shapes using the bucket tool. Sometimes the colour combinations work immediately, sometimes you need to change odd ones and shuffle the order of the shapes for them to work in a pleasing way. That’s for you to try out yourself, but just as you’d keep sketching a particular shape in your sketchbook then you keep shuffling or changing the colours in your palette.

It can be quite frustrating trying to select the correct colour that your eye sees as the colour picker tool selects only one pixel at a time; your eye sees a group of pixels that make up the colour. The “Bungle Bungle Colour” palette illustrates this phenomenon, there is quite a lot of purple in the rocks, but it was almost impossible to select the right colour. This is where paint and paper come into their own – attempting to mix the colour, in any medium, helps you to become more familiar with that colour, making it easier to use with the other colours, especially if you’ve tried to mix those too.

Having built up a collection of palettes, you now have a library of colour combinations that can be used in a variety of situations. These become your own ranges to offer clients, rather than using “off the peg” colour templates or swatches.

Award winning textile designer, Alison Yule, creates luxury hand woven fabrics that fuse contemporary design with traditional fibres and techniques and targets both the domestic and corporate markets. She specialises in unique products that are individually designed and hand woven for each client and can include wall panels, rugs, cushions, throws and window hangings.

Visit Alison’s website at alisonyuletextiles.co.uk and then follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Think like the big boys?

I recently asked Erik Spiekermann for his advice to any designers considering taking on speculative work. His response, simply; “Do not, ever.”

Speculative work is a stain on our sector. So why do we allow it to happen?

We allow it to happen because we can’t sell. Creative people don’t always make the best business people. We don’t think we’ve got what it takes to convince people on the merits of our record that we are worth hiring. So in a last vain attempt, we give away our most prized assets (our ideas) in the hope that someone might recognise their genius and agree to pay for them. The problem is, when we give our ideas away for free, we give away any ounce of credibility we ever had. I’ve had fellow designers tell me how they’ve been screwed by clients who’ve taken their concepts and given them to another company to reap the benefits. I experienced this myself when I worked for a previous employer; one of my rejected designs for a company later became the layout for their website, without permission or payment of any kind. They’re angry, I’m angry, but can we blame people for taking advantage of us when we ourselves don’t value our most prized assets?

What about charity?

If opinions are split already, I’m going to split them again. Some people think Spec work is bad, but not when it comes to charity. I’m going to disagree again. If a charity approaches you to do some free work, then fair enough, it’s your call. But if a charity approached us, as well as ten other agencies, or gave an open invite on the web, I’d respectfully decline. I think it’s wrong to waste so many companies valuable time and assets. I’d much rather they chose who they want to work with and stick with them, have faith in them, and allow them to see it through.

Pitching process

If we’re asked to pitch for business by presenting previous work, and by discussing our overall approach, that’s absolutely fine. We’re excited talk to people about why we do what we do, why we’re different from others, and how we can help them best achieve their goals. We want to work with good people, who have great ideas and great businesses. People who share our values, value our time, and recognise the power of good design. If they can’t hire us based on our credentials, and they want to see some sort of mock-up, they’ve shown they don’t value or understand our process, and they probably aren’t the clients we are looking to work with.

We recently interviewed a graduate for a position in the studio. When we mentioned that we do not take part in free pitching, the student looked shocked, “That’s a radical stance.” It’s sad that students are not being taught the value that design has and the power they possess as designers. When we participate in these design competitions/lotteries, we make things worse for ourselves and future generations.

Of course, this problem will not go away, it has infected our industry from top to bottom. Some companies have become very good at playing the game and have a vested interest in keeping the system as it is. I do not expect this article to change the status quo, I’m not that naive. I’ve sat with other designers for hours discussing and debating this issue, and whilst people may agree it’s not a great situation, they don’t want to be left out, and are happy to accept things the way they are. The only way the status quo will change is if everyone in our sector says “ENOUGH” and “NO MORE.” The problem is, there will always be someone who’s willing to work for free in an attempt to impress a potential new client. We’ve lost work where we were in a prime position to win because we refused to put forward some free ideas as a goodwill gesture, and someone else was. It costs something to stick by your principles. May the best designer win? Rubbish. The best ideas don’t always get chosen; clients can be subjective rather than objective, an existing relationship can help sway things, and sometimes it comes down to who’s cheapest.

I’m convinced more than ever that refusing to pitch is the right thing for our business. I would rather spend my time working with clients who value and respect our time enough to pay us, than play the design lottery. If a client doesn’t want to pay for your professional time, that client isn’t worth working for, I don’t care who they are!

Thanks for reading.

Andy Cogdon
Cogdon, Clark & Tranter
Twitter @cctcreative

P.S. Ok, so I know I’ve been reasonably provocative in the discussion. As I said, these are my views, not necessarily CIN’s. BUT… What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Am I an idealist, or do I need to get with the real world? Please comment on this blog to engage with the discussions, or if Twitter is more your persuasion, #nospec will put you in the thick of it.

For further information, visit www.no-spec.com

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development provides guidelines to UK businesses who are considering whether to take on an intern. The Internship Charter states that:

“Ideally an intern should be paid a salary reflecting the contribution they make to the organisation, and at least receive the minimum wage (or London living wage where applicable). However, we feel that the quality of the experience for the intern is the most important factor, as the short-term economic costs of an internship can be off-set by the long-term advantages to the intern’s career, but this is only true if the internship is of sufficient quality.”

Obviously common sense needs to come into play here. There are businesses who simply can’t afford to take on a permanent member of staff for whom the only option is an intern; it would be crazy to effectively outlaw valuable learning opportunities in such companies by enforcing unrealistic rules regarding payment. It’s also worth considering that if an intern requires constant supervision and hand-holding, they are effectively being paid with an education. But when an intern directly generates value for a business they should be paid. Yes, they might well be gaining experience – but you could also argue that keeping a slave to cook your meals would give them valuable culinary experience. If you were evil. I’m not saying that all businesses who take on unpaid interns are in the wrong, but we have a moral obligation to treat people with fairness.

We have been talking about taking on an intern in our business recently. We are a small company, but we wouldn’t dream of asking someone to give up their time for free; that would make us no better than those who expect us to work up free design ideas to pitch for work. I believe I’ve mentioned before how I feel about that on my blog . An good intern will allow a small business owner to hand over some day-to-day tasks and concentrate on growing their business. Surely that’s worth a few quid of anyone’s money?

Pete Clark is a web strategist.
You should follow him on twitter here

All views are Pete’s and quite possible nobody else’s.

I recently received a letter from my credit card company explaining the benefits of its new loyalty card programme. My wife also received a letter from the company which I opened (because she won’t) and was interested to note some differences between the two.

The first line in my letter told me the date the programme would be launching and quickly pointed out “There’s no action needed on your part. You will keep the same card and your interest rate remains the same.” In contrast, the letter to my wife began with the slightly over-excited “Get ready for an entirely new and more rewarding shopping experience!”  and made no mention of the interest rate at all. As I compared the two letters I found several other differences, my letter told me that the scheme did not involve vouchers, my wife was assured she would need to worry about any “fiddly vouchers”. My letter finished with a simple typed list of participating retailers, my wife was actually presented with a map to the shops. Thankfully I intercepted this.

Now I’m not saying that this is a particularly good example, in fact I can imagine some women might feel patronised by their letter – although maybe only if they compared it to the more straight-talking ‘male’ version. But what this does show is an attempt to cater to specific audiences. This is as relevant to graphic design, illustration, photography and video as it is to copy writing. The biggest problem that I’ve found is convincing a client that it’s worth spending a little time and money on the research required to get this sort of thing right, but at the very least we should all try to speak to a couple of people who roughly fit in to the target demographic to see if we’re talking their language.

Pete Clark
Cogdon, Clark & Tranter

Stock image libraries are strange places for graphic designers. The rise of cheap, affordable image libraries in recent years could be seen by some as a God send. However I don’t see it that way. I see them as a kind of Hell, Purgatory if you like. A place where a once creative individual can spend hours locked in a world of annoyingly over smiley, slim, attractive American models with perfect teeth. Not that I have anything against attractive American models with perfect teeth, it’s just they don’t always look like they belong. Like Lady GaGa at a W.I. meeting. I’ve lost many hours of my life trawling through these websites trying to find something usable. Hours that I can never get back, and it was killing my creativity.

Have you ever been given a design brief and found the first thing you did was type words into a stock site to see what came up? To my shame, I have. That’s what these sites do to you, they whisper in your ear and tell you there is a stock image for everything. You can have your cake and eat it, all for $5.

A while ago it hit me. I was fed up with being a graphic designer. I hated that my job had become so predictable as it was unpredictability that had attracted me to design in the first place. As a kid growing up I loved art, but when I was deciding what career path to follow I came to the conclusion that artists only became famous and made money after they’d died. I mean no disrespect to artists, but in the words of Brian Clough, “Don’t send me flowers when I’m dead. If you like me, send them while I’m alive.” So I chose the world of commercial graphic design.

It occurred to me that I’d been neglecting the very skills that had brought me to where I was. I can hold a pencil, I can draw, I can paint. I like to create something new, something unique, something artistic. Why was I wasting hours of my life sifting through endless pages of search results? I could be spending my time coming up with a truly creative solution. And with that thought, with the decision to pick up the arts that I loved, I rediscovered my passion for design and my inspiration to do something new.

If you browse our website, I’m sure you’ll be able to spot a few stock images in some of our work. Unfortunately in some cases, stock images are a necessary evil. I’d much rather come up with an illustration or commission a photographer, and where I can, I do. Sometimes though, it’s just not practical, it’s unavoidable. When a client asks me to “just find a stock image to go there,” I now tell them that every time I have to search for a stock image, a part of my soul dies! On a tangent, if there are any photographers out there reading this, my advice to you (free of charge)… Get together a large group of people made up of multiple ethnic groups, all ages and both sexes. That image will make you a small fortune! My advice to my fellow designers though, see royalty free stock image websites for what they truly are… a last resort.

Andy Cogdon
Cogdon, Clark & Tranter

Maybe you’re hankering for a ‘Design Social’ type of a thing involving chat with other creatives over a beer (or a fine wine of some sort). Perhaps you’d rather spend an evening in a group brainstorm focussed on the best way to set rates, hire freelancers and write proposals? Maybe what you really want, is a chance to meet potential clients and explain how, in return for some cash, you could help push their business to “The Next Level”.

Well, here’s your chance to tell us what you’d be most interested in attending. Post a comment here or drop me an email if you’re feeling shy. And remember, if you don’t ask, you won’t get. : )

Cheers,

Pete

Wayne Hemingway – Host of CIN Awards 2010.

Winner of Best in Show – 1623 Theatre (above)

Judges comments: “They were highly impressed with the company’s innovative approach to taking a well known subject and placing it into a contemporary context. The work has been seen at the National Theatre in London and is proving to be a viable business model. They truly embody the creative spirit at large in Derby and Derbyshire.”

Winner of Best Creative Team - Subism (above)

Judges comments: “Very high standard with lots of examples of individuals achieving success in the face of adversity. There were high levels of innovation demonstrable throughout. The winner met all the criteria to a very high level. They have grown significantly nationally and internationally, working with Derby businesses and individuals in the process.”

Shortlisted: Katapult, Origination, Subism and QUAD

Winner of Architecture – Evans Vettori Architects (above)

Judges comments: “The winner demonstrated high design quality standard within a complex set of constraint. Good project management made this entry stand out.” Sea House – Examplar eco-house located in Portloe, Cornwall.

Shortlisted: Pick Everard, Simon Foote Architects & Evans Vettori Architects

Winner of Best Digital Campaign – Katapult (above)

Judges comments: “The winner made the client think differently about digital media. There was an innovative use of technology which featured good use of user generated content. Longevity is inbuilt into this project.” MobFormat – creation of a social media space from around the world to submit their work for Format International Photography Festival.

Shortlisted: Fabulousplaces.co.uk, Strawdog Studios & Katapult

Winner of Best Photographer & Film – Tristan Poyser (above)

Judges comments: “The winner most comprehensively met the entry criteria and demonstrated this clearly. The word added value and innovated new services and demonstrated clearly how creativity can hel business success” Photographic partner for Smith of Derby.

Shortlisted: K-Motion, Tristan Poyser & Smith & Smith

Winner of Best Marketing Campaign – Fluid Ideas (above)

Judges comments: “The winner’s work was the stand out entrant. The work was memorable, demonstrating a great application of creativity. The work was innovative, engaging and well thought through.”

Shortlisted: Origination, Fluid Ideas, Katapult & Moggs

Winner of Best Graphic Design/Illustration – Firecatcher (above)

Judges comments: “This was a strong category and a difficult choice. The winner demonstrated creativity in an unexpected place in ways that makes a different to people and reaches a wide audience.” Mural Design for Royal Derby Hospital.

Shortlisted: Design & i, Firecatcher, Katapult & Moggs

Winner of Best Music, Performance or Live Event – 1623 Theatre (above)

Judges comments: “A really really strong category, almost all entrants challenged convention. The judges felt that the winner showed a great combination of art and commerce working so strongly together.” Emergency Shakespeare Project.

Short listed: Charity Shop DJ, Derby Festé, 1623 Theatre & Subism

Photography by Graham Lucas Commons

Marketing

A warning: Twitter should never be used purely as a sales channel or somewhere to go on about how great you are.

Nobody will listen if all you’re saying is “Buy our products”. That’s not to say that Twitter can’t benefit your business though, you just have to understand the medium to make the best of it. The thing about Twitter is that it’s a level playing field. If you don’t connect with other people, no-one is going to connect with you. The obvious exception here is if you are a celebrity. Assuming you’re not, you need to start making connections. You can do this by ‘Following’ people who have something in common with you or what you do. If they say something interesting; reply to them, or point other people to their Tweets.

This kind of mutual appreciation is where Twitter (and to be honest, business in general) really starts to work. I’m much more likely to consider using a company if a friend recommends them than what amounts to a cold call. But as you build connections, you’ll start to find people much more receptive to your suggestion to check out your “latest update to the website” etc.

Staying in touch with world events, live!

Staying up to date with current events can be tricky. Of course you can watch the TV news and read the papers, but what you’re getting is an organisation’s opinion on what is (and therefore what is not) worth hearing about. Enter the hastag. A hashtag (any keyword preceded by #) is the way for anyone to contribute to a live, unedited stream of information about any topic. Anyone searching for the hashtag in question will get live updates from around the globe as they are being written.

Here’s an example; a search for #ukelection or #leadersdebate will currently put you in the centre of the debate surrounding the impending general election in the UK. Another current example; a search for #ashtag gives announcements of flight cancellations and delays, lift-sharing schemes and other news connected with the Icelandic Volcanos. If I were the sort of person to use a term like ‘grassroots movement’ I would use it now. Thankfully I’m not.

Sharing things you like

Imagine you’ve just heard Tesco is selling everything at half price for the next 24 hours (which it isn’t) you could very easily tell all your followers and share the discount love. And if you were going to post that kind of thing often, you could even think up your own hashtag. #amazingdeals for example. You could become know as the ‘Dealmaster’. Just imagine!

It’s just good fun

And finally, using Twitter can simply be good fun. Only today I got caught up in a rather amusing game, the object of which was to replace the word ‘Heart’ with ‘Arse’ in song titles. Anyone could join in simply by adding #songsthatreplaceheartwitharse to their Tweet. Juvenile? Yes. Entertaining? Judge for yourself. Here are my favourites…

• When The Arseache Is Over – Tina Turner
• Why Does My Arse Feel So Bad? – Moby
• Write Your Name Across My Arse – Terence Trent D’Arby
• You broke my arse in 17 places – Tracy Ullman
• Theres a hole in my arse that can only be filled by you – Extreme
• Quit playing games with my arse – Backstreet boys
• Arse Shaped Box – Nirvana
• There must be an angel (playing with my arse) – Eurythmics

And a few of my own suggestions…

• My Violent Arse – Nine Inch Nails
• Arse Attack Man – The Beastie Boys
• My Arse is the Worst Kind of Weapon – Fallout Boy

You can signup now at twitter.com
And oh yes, you should follow me on Twitter!

Let me know if you can think of any other good uses for Twitter.

Pete Clark
Cogdon, Clark & Tranter

I firmly believe that it is the designer’s job to make sure both text and image work harmoniously. You can’t do that if you’re ignoring the text. Too often I see otherwise excellent design work spoiled by shoddy copy. I’m talking about spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, bad typography or just plain nonsense. Consider the following example (taken from a well known crisp packet) that was recently highlighted by Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert.

Now I’m sure ‘Made with real ingredients’ probably came fully formed from the marketing department, keen to point out that no imaginary potatoes were used in the production process. But in the face of statements like this, I either get depressed or slightly militant. I prefer to speak up. If the client has supplied all the copy, read it and make sure it makes sense. That’s part of your job. The client is paying for a professional service so that’s what they deserve. If you point out something and they ignore it, at least you’ve tried. I know it’s not always easy, but don’t you just love a challenge?

Here’s another one…

‘Full length DVD player’ – as opposed to what? Those kind that only play half a film? At least this model includes black colour. My last DVD player didn’t include black colour.

Pete Clark
Cogdon, Clark & Tranter

I recently discovered this show, called simply ‘Graphic Design on the Radio’, and thought I’d share it with you all. Adrian Shaughnessy is probably best known for writing the essential ‘How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul’ as well as founding the design company Intro. Amongst the interviewees you’ll find Stefan Sagmeister, Rick Poyner and many other influential figures. There’s an archive of shows available to listen to online.

From the site:

Graphic Design on The Radio is a radio show about graphic design. It features interviews with leading designers who talk about their work and play music that has inspired and influenced them.

Listen now and rejoice in the lack of overplayed rubbish! http://www.graphicdesignontheradio.com/

Pete Clark
Cogdon, Clark & Tranter