self-promotion?
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- jonaschafer
anyone have any good ideas on self-promotion / mailers? recently have become freelance and am looking for ideas on what to send out to firms as a sort of attention-grabber.
i heard of a guy who bought pizza for a studio for lunch and included his resume on it as an example.
right now am thinking of a fold-out poster or some kind of coaster. meh?
thanks in advance!
- GORADIO0
break into their offices at night and tag your name on all their computer screens
- innovativelukusW
- hah.akrokdesign
- shows initiative!
inhaler97
- waterhouse0
- I wonder if cheesy shots like these would be able to get business.andrewwwahlin
- steve heller?jaylarson
- You too can be an analrapist.dontsueme
- lol, analrapist... i loved that show.refunktion
- jonaschafer0
hahaha! duly noted.
- ukit0
Could be a good idea to just get to know the ADs at studios you think are good. Make an excuse to have lunch or just chat. 9 times out of 10 they might know someone who might have work for you even if they don't.
- meatball0
- this is just plain fantastic!Meeklo
- Oh, my!GetRefresh
- That is amazing.dontsueme
- lvl_130
my wife is going through this same situation. the biggest thing about sending something out is making sure it's at least somewhat substantial (the concept or the send-out itself). something that grabs the attention of the CD (or the intended recipient)...and that can get kinda tricky.
I'm interested to hear some other ideas as well. (tossed in amongst hundreds of ridiculous ideas as well of course :D)
- lukusW0
get some dirt on them -> then bribe
- magnificent_ruin0
I personally an turned off by "clever" novelty-based promotions such as might be written by an ad agency or featured in HOW magazine, and instantly throw them away. I may not be typical in this, however.
- hmmm, interesting. what would it take to peak your interest then? surely emails and mailed cv/cover letters are tossed even faster, no?lvl_13
- ...faster, no?lvl_13
- for instance?_salisae_
- yeah, really unusual, designers usually not only like these, but "collect them" as well.Meeklo
- I like interesting, I just don't care for the obvious agency speak variants that sound like they were thought up by a cipywritermagnificent_ruin
- copywriter. But what the fuck do I know?magnificent_ruin
- ok, this looks like some sort of tangent on the thread, this guy is a freelancerMeeklo
- a lot of photographers seem to package their work around bogus concepts instead of just shwoing really cool workmagnificent_ruin
- jonaschafer0
i like that weed idea. magnificent - i hear ya. there's a fine line, i think. sending out a fish tank is ridiculous but maybe a perpetual calendar isn't ?
- jonaschafer0
yah, not buying - creating.
- lukusW0
the best gift is the promise of hard work driven by a ferocious talent
- jonaschafer0
maybe i'll make a card that with that and send it off. would you hire someone if they did that?
- Hanseatic0
How about having some decent work that you show them on a postcard.
- gramme0
On a related note, does anyone know much about intellectual property and how it relates to showing work on one's portfolio website?
Let's say you worked at a design firm, and when you leave you'd like to show work done at that firm on your website. You already know that it's necessary for ethical and legal reasons to state that the work was done for the aforementioned firm, for their clients rather than your own. I know what AIGA says about ownership, and that on a website it's easy to imply ownership of clients. But I think if one's careful and clear, this wouldn't be a problem.
Can a design firm refuse a designer's request to show work done there? Can they actually enforce their refusal through legal action? I'm wondering because I've seen some designers become subject to cease & desist nightmares, when all they were trying to do was show what they'd been doing with their lives. As some of you know, I'm working on my own portfolio site as we speak, and would like to avoid getting sued (nothing of the sort has happened yet). I'd also like to remain on good terms with former bosses.
- yes they can refuse, they own any work you made there.doesnotexist
- How lovely.gramme
- Meeklo0
^
yes, an agency can refuse the right for a designer to show work developed by them, even when the designer is being clear about when was the piece produced, for what agency, and what was his roll on the project.Eventually those agencies will start to get talked down on designers group and will find it harder to find new talent, and its normal, everyone deserves to be recognized on every project, the agency may have a final goal, but by denying the recognition, you are denying the individuals on the team the right to feel proud of being part of a team.
Your best bet is too always ask in advance.
and unless you are sagmaister or one of the 10 designers of that caliber in the industry, I doubt that the agency will go an inch over a cease and desist letter because you have it on your website.
- What if I've already asked, and have already been denied? Should I plough ahead anyway, and ignore it if I get a cease/desist?gramme
- cease/desist notice?gramme
- Basically, I've been banned from showing about 70% of my best work online.gramme
- I have permission to show it in interviews, but not online. It's absolutely insane.gramme
- that sucks, grammemagnificent_ruin
- shari had a discussion about this recently--may have to go to a password protected areamagnificent_ruin
- well, if you ask and they said no, you shouldn't. it sucks, but now you will consider twice about working for that same placeMeeklo
- placeMeeklo
- shit. shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.gramme
- Well of course I wouldn't work for someone like that again. It's so thoroughly demoralizing. I've worked so damn hard for that company.gramme
- company. When I left, it was with a healthy severance so I could "have wings to pursue my own goals."gramme
- Interesting language, because if this isn't a clipping of those wings, I don't know what is.gramme
- That sucks and is ridiculous. Why would they care?ukit
- Paranoia? Insecurity about the fact that my website will make theirs look bad? Who the hell knows.gramme
- Can they come after me, even if there were no written agreements?gramme
- SHAMAN0
what about a zine style portfolio - i know it's been done a million times before and i have been seeing people on the qbn down them a little but i find them to be very interesting, cost-effective ways of presenting work
- akrokdesign0
8 Tips and Tricks From The Self-Promo Pros
http://www.howdesign.com/article…
- jonaschafer0
thanks akro!