Shameless arrogant self promotion or a genuine heartfelt appeal?
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- hellobotto0
To echo monospaced, great debate and thoughtful conversation today.
- kingsteven0
I get you Yaki, of course now is not the time to bring it up RE: Japan... and that screenprint is not the worst example I've seen.
Andreasm's comment in this thread (on Haiti relief) is spot on...
http://www.qbn.com/topics/622612…
- jamble0
I think the worst part of it is that people should need to feel rewarded by purchasing something as a way of donating money.
I don't think the designer is particularly an issue, more that people need to be convinced to donate.
Either give money or don't. Don't expect a reward for it. That's what the problem is for me.
- Miguex0
– Josev6/7
how can you say the well known designer has better intentions"hahahahaha
no man, I never said that, because that's just silly.
What I said is:"t's different if the person is already famous, and is using their name to attract hundreds/thousands, etc to donate money (while the intentions might be the same, at least you think, well this person is already known so is not that bad)."
Meaning that a famous person (not just a designer, but any recognizable character, singer, actor, paleontologist, pornstar, breakdancer, politician, badminton player, action film star, etc)
Can use their own name, to attract considerable attention and collect lots of money in a short amount of time, I didn't say their intentions are better than the guy doing a poster.From an existential point of you, any action of careless giving could be considered selfish because it brings us joy.
- monospaced0
Look, buying the shirt and having the proceeds go to the fund, that's great. But, the shirt is a walking advertisement for the website which is just a way to give money again. The design is iconic enough to get the point across to anyone who sees it on the street. Promoting a charity fund still makes you uneasy? I don't follow your logic.
- see the comment that kingsteven is talking about and you'll see the angle I'm getting at.yakismaki
- I never said promoting a charity fund made me feel uneasyyakismaki
- you said exactly thatmonospaced
- yakismaki0
@kingsteven thanks, nicely put. If only I wasn't so crap at articulating my emotional responses to things. And now certain people feel I have a problem with dontation, design helping the world... ah jeez.
- I'm sorry, I read Andreasm's comment on the Haiti thing and I disagree 100%.monospaced
- ok then.yakismaki
- I just don't understand. I wear a band tshirt to tell people I like the band. I wear a fund tshirt to spread a message. All good.monospaced
- gotcha. After all it was a debate to get others views on the subject. Thanks for your comments.yakismaki
- nice way of telling me to shut the fuck up...monospaced
- you can look at it how you want but I am genuinely interested in both sides of the argument.yakismaki
- by your own logic you wear the fund t-shirt to tell people you support the fund. it makes you warm twice.kingsteven
- i'm not slagging, it's human nature.kingsteven
- dibec0
my 2 1/2 cents ...
I find it utterly disrespectful. Degrading a great country, with prints and images of a horrific event. It is not so much the art, but rather the symbolism behind the image. "Japan got fucked, here is a cool image". Did we see 9-11 donation shirts of the towers falling? "Hey America got fucked, wear this around to show your sympathy" Why not show the beauty of the Japanese culture, ie their strength, honor and resilience? ffs. I remember on 9-11 people hanging the American flag off bridges, every bridge and overpass, it was every where. It was the American spirit. It was beautiful. There are a lot of beautiful things going on with Japan yet we have failed to capture that in the graphic community. Instead we have turned the beauty of helping and compassion into a "cool" Japan got fucked image contest.
/end rant
- cannonball19780
It's self serving under the guise of being well intentioned. "Look at this project I did for this cause. Look at my concept." is what comes out of it for the designer, which is opportunism.
I also think it's a crock of shit that design thinking can't be applied beyond the purchase funnel of a merch operation. It underlines just how narrow-minded your practice is.
Then there is the fact that being a designer is not intrinsically linked to being a human being. Send some money or fly out there and haul sandbags if you want to be helpful and stop wasting paper.
- utopian0
Is everyone jumping on the bandwagon to help Japan by pawning their work?
- monospaced0
So, quick question. If a major band (like U2) were to have a huge concert to raise funds for the disaster in Japan, would that also make you feel uneasy? It's not that different, really.
- We all know that Bono walks on water.utopian
- Not uneasy but certainly angry because they would be gaining something and that is where it feels just that little bit wrong.yakismaki
- he could just donate some of his millions I don't know. anonymously maybeyakismaki
- U2 are using their fame to promote the cause, not their musickingsteven
- Totally, and that designer is using the design to promote the fund, not themselvesmonospaced
- yes, but they're simultaneously promoting themselves through the disaster.kingsteven
- SteveJobs0
corporations often do this as well for publicity. a recent example is the homeless man with the golden voice. everyone and their dog was lined up to give this man a second chance at life offering him a job and even a mortgage. maybe we're just jaded, but it's hard to see all of this as a genuine effort to help... though maybe that speaks to a much larger problem with our society.
- bumdrizzle0
it is at least 90% cynical self-promotion with these t-shirt and poster designers.
and 100% with that cunt bono.
- odds0
shirt/posters raise the point, donations don't
- p.s.odds
- be sure to disagree with hatred and contemptodds
- I agreemonospaced
- < obviously, but not the point of this thread.kingsteven
- which is the intentions of the graphic designers, not the intentions of print media...kingsteven
- Josev0
^ I don't see it as the dark side of a person trying to cash in on tragedy, it comes off to me as slightly clueless. Or maybe that design has lost touch with the world and thinks that these objects are solutions. Someone mentioned raising visibility? Who doesn't know this tragedy is happening. And do the visual solutions we've seen make powerful or touching statements? The red circle? It's hard to make something more visually powerful than the video of a tsunami tearing through a town. Clichés arent going to do it.
I have nothing against posters, I collect them.
- opinions are not facts. note the differencetopic
- hey dude, I get that. I posted my opinion.Josev
- assholeJosev
- I was focusing on the action, anything on the specific design is subjectiveMiguex
- But I see where you are coming from...Miguex
- I do disagree that there's a difference between the "unknown designer" and a well-known designer doing this.Josev
- how can you say the well known designer has better intentionsJosev
- utopian0
AT&T, Verizon offering free calls to Japan
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/stor…- while their phone lines are busy as hell. they are promoting to clog it up even more.pango
- utopian0
T-Mobile & Sprint are also jumping on the PR Bandwagon...
http://getcell.wordpress.com/201…
- lukus_W20
It's just a bit tacky.
- 20
i think it's better than the most common alternative - i.e. doing nothing.
yes, making a poster or whatever might not be the best way to help, but if it's what someone comes up with, it sure beats doing nothing at all. if even one sale is made and one dollar is donated to charity that otherwise wouldn't be, i'd say it was a net gain for humanity.
- I agreemonospaced
- 100%monospaced
- I disagree. Bad posters = loss of paper value and underlying ill will. Net loss.cannonball1978
- poster = publicity = awareness and awareness leads to fundraising. Definitely a positive net.monospaced
- I doubt the public awareness value set against lost intrinsic value of the paper.cannonball1978
- er, not a net loss if the poster maker donated $.2
- Be quiet I am right you are wrong.cannonball1978
- pressplay0
When a desaster happens, the nameless designer just feels the uncontrollable urge to design, promote and sell a tshirt. It‘s just a natural reaction of the inconsiderate cynical being that he is. We have seen him coming out of his hole when the earthquake in haiti happned, we will see him now putting up websites to sell his prints (possible motif: hands reaching out for help out of a wave, a red circle in the background, maybe some müller-brockmann style in there or saul bass but in every case including some stereotypes about Japan). Yor favourite blog will keep you informed.
- autoflavour0
Bandaids are for scratches, Japan has its leg broken and is bleeding violently