Graphic Design for Next to Nothing!

I've been a professional graphic designer for about thirty years now. When I first started, logo design was an esoteric art, done by hand, and expensive. The tools of the trade were special illustration board, black and white ink, and a variety of pens and brushes. Developing and refining a logo was a labor-intensive process of inking the board, standing way back, and squinting at your work. When all the lines were smooth and exactly as desired, the finished product was printed by making a negative of it, stripping it into a larger negative of whatever the logo was to appear on, making printing plates, and printing it. Freelance designers who did logos generally got $1000 or more for their efforts (in 1976 dollars, mind you) and some of the big studios, such as Landor and Associates, often went into six figures in implementing a logo across a wide variety of media for a large, global company.

Now, computers have taken much of the tediousness and complexity out of the process, and it is now possible to create a serviceable logo and print it in a matter of minutes. What computers can't do, of course, is create the best possible logo out of the universe of possibilities...this still takes a trained eye and creative vision. It may well take the same amount of time it always has to create a world-class logo, if one factors in the creative process of arriving at the idea, and exploring various possibilities, but the "instant gratification" that desktop publishing ushered in has created a perception that a logo can be done in, like, an hour. Hundreds of companies have sprung up on the internet, offering logos for as little as $100 and turnaround in one day. These "one size fits all" logos seem to work for the companies that commission them, especially given the cost. They fall far short of the type of personalized branding that a great logo can provide, but those who wind up with them apparently either can't tell the difference, don't care, or both.

In order to be competitive in the face of these developments, I have seen the price I can charge for a logo drop steadily over the years, from $1500 or so, to the point where $500 seems to be as much as anyone seems to want to pay...when I can even find someone who hasn't already ordered a logo online. Other service businesses don't seem to be affected so much (my mechanic and my doctor aren't charging me a third of what they used to) but in the face of technological advancement, I have had to accept the fact that logo design isn't the commodity it used to be.

Having said all that, it still chaps my hide somewhat when I come face to face with just how devalued this craft has become. Yesterday, on CraigsList, I encountered the following post:

"I own a Hot dog cart and i need a logo.

For $75 i need...

1. I want a scalable vector based logo in .psd form. I Want it to be a versitile logo that can be on t-shirts as well as promo material. I would like to incorporate the outline of a dog, the barking variety. The rest is up to your creativity.

2. I would like a 8.5 x 11 promo brochure. I will e-mail you the basic format, it just needs some creative touches.

Send me an e-mail with a concept of the logo, and i will let you know if i would like your services."

Let's review: This person wants a logo created in two different formats, appropriate for a variety of applications, and also wants a promo brochure that just needs some "creative touches." (such as words and imagery?) Then, this person wants to see what you come up with before they will consider hiring you. For $75.

I responded by posting the following:

I'm hungry and i need a hot dog.

For 75 cents i need...

1. I want a hot dog that can scale to a foot long bun or a standard one. I Want it to be a versitile hot dog that tastes good with mustard as well as sauerkraut. I would like to incorporate an artistic squiggly line of mustard. The rest is up to your creativity.

2. I would like a side of fries and a strawberry shake. I will provide the styrofoam, it just needs some filling up.

Give me a sample of your hot dog, and i will let you know if i would like to buy one.

Well, several people at CraigsList flagged my post (perhaps the hot dog vendor multiple times) and it was taken down. Apparently, someone found it offensive.

Personally, I'm much more offended that someone expects a graphic designer to do a logo and a brochure for which they might get paid $75.

The Brain Tumor Guy

A few months ago, a friend of one of my children told them "I saw your dad on TV last night on VH-1 playing a guitar." When this news reached me, I was both intrigued and clueless. I did put out a CD a couple of years ago to widespread indifference, but that did not begin to explain how I got on VH-1 playing a guitar. Then I heard from someone else that they had seen a photo of me on the Food Channel, Soon we figured out that the National Brain Tumor Foundation was running TV spots to promote its annual Angel Adventure fundraiser, and they were using a still photo of me playing a guitar, in front of my small collection. The photo was taken by my wife, Ellen, for use in the Foundation's annual report. Apparently, MTV was running the same spot. And both the Food Channel and VH-1 were running it a lot.

More phone calls came in. "Dan, you're famous" said our friends, as they recounted afternoons in which they had seen the spot five or six times. It became sort of a ritual...the Food Channel would be on in the kitchen, and someone would say "hey, Dad's on TV again" and everyone would look at the TV and the photo would be gliding across the screen, along with some others. It was the kind of exposure musicians dream about, and yet: No name, no CD title, no web address, nothing except the Brain Tumor Guy strumming his guitar. It would have been crass to have used the Brain Tumor Foundation to promote my career, I know, but still...if I had known I was going to be all over VH-1, why didn't I sneak the web address into the shot somewhere (www.danreichandfriends.com!) or hold up the CD (Bigger Is Better, Available at CD Baby!)?

Then it began to sink in that I was being "outed" as a brain tumor patient. My friends and relatives have all been aware that for the past 3 1/2 years (or three more than the doctor who diagnosed me thought I would last) I have been a Brain Tumor Guy. But now, anyone who recognizes me from the TV spot probably thinks "Gee, I know that guy. He has a brain tumor?" This could make for an awkward job interview..."Say, aren't you the Brain Tumor Guy with the guitars?" I imagine a perfunctory interview, and after I've left, a conversation like this: "He's talented and a nice guy, but we can't afford to invest a lot of time in someone who's going to die." "Right."

But this is part of who I am, and there's nothing to hide. At least not any more. I collect guitars. There, I said it.

Ginger the Wonder Dog

Ginger the yellow lab sits on her ridge in San Rafael, surveying the neighborhood from our house to the ridgetops where she occasionally gets to run free after the odd jackrabbit or turkey. When she is at her appointed station, the family of deer that live in the open space respect her authority, and don't try to sneak into the garden to nibble on a new rosebud.

Ginger was diagnosed with bone cancer and given four months to live without invasive treatment, eight with. We elected not to do surgery or chemo, but I included her in my own daily self-healing regimen and gave her some of the nutritional supplements that I have been taking to aid my own recovery.

That was more than three years ago.

Now, as I watch her chase a tennis ball or jump into her favorite pond, it's not hard to believe that she is the happiest dog in the whole world.


(cool PhotoShop filter art by Ellen Goldstein)

Renaissance Man

Thirty years ago, I had no idea whether I was going to make my living as a musician, an artist, a writer, a graphic designer or what. So I created this business card. Unfortunately, there weren't very many jobs for renaissance men in those days, and I'm not sure it is much different now. The truth is, I still haven't decided. Perhaps the appeal blogging holds for people like me is that whatever you are...and whether you know what that is or not...is OK. Like they say... on the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.

As a Renaissance Man, part of the job involves bringing forth Art (or what they now call content) as it is my belief that offering interesting content will encourage visitors to return, and to build a community. (If I were seeking venture capital, I would re-word that to read "Offering best-of-breed content to maximize ownership of subscribers and upside potential," but there's no elevator here.)

Here is a sampling of content. Enjoy.














Photo by Ellen Goldstein ©2003 "Cows"

Here's a modern folk song about SUVs

Then there's the brain tumor story

Thanks for looking and/or listening. I'm off to look for interesting blogs. See you soon.