» Blog Archive VANOC makes good on mascot RFP

VANOC makes good on mascot RFP

There’s been plenty of negative press lately surrounding the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee. It’s about time we heard some good news, isn’t it? Well, here’s some great news. VANOC has just released a public RFP for the design and development of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics mascot - and it isn’t an open spec contest!

Most of us in the industry remember the media frenzy over VANOC’s handling of the 2010 Olympic emblem design contest. Perhaps they’ve learned from past indiscretions, or perhaps they just want to avoid another media fiasco. Either way, it seems they’ve listened to professional design associations such as the GDC, and even if they don’t quite agree that ’spec’ contests are unethical, disrespectful to professional designers and potentially harmful (not to mention the disservice to the clients they can create), they at least agree not to engage in this process anymore. Perhaps, and hopefully, Catherine Morley of Designers who Blog’s NO!SPEC Campaign is taking hold? At the very least it’s a great tool to help educate and wean clients away from spec pitches/work.

Well done GDC and congratulations VANOC.

Branding a branding company

If you are a business owner working on the development and growth of your own company it can be a challenge no matter what industry you are in. This can range from generating more sales, creating or finessing your marketing plan, sourcing manufacturing or creating a new brand for your business. It is your business, your baby, you want to make the right decision and you often question what the right decision or direction is. And, at the end of the day, it’s your bottom line that is affected so you’ll want to make a good decision.

So when Industrial Brand Creative choose to re-brand we knew it was going to be an interesting journey.

Continue reading "Branding a branding company"

Continue reading "Branding a branding company"

Posted by Matt SamyciaWood on November 14, 2008. | No Comment

Partner for good times and bad

I was recently asked to submit an article about partnerships for the Small Business section of Business in Vancouver magazine. The article, called Is a partnership the right choice for your business to weather these stormy times?, found in the Small Business section of this month’s issue is reprinted below:

As the economy sags many business owners are starting to think pretty radically about what they can do to preserve and prosper. Some are look for ways to reduce spending or downsize. Others might consider merging with a competitor. And still some wonder about taking on a partner to share the burden. But is a partner the right choice for you? This choice comes at the cost of giving up ownership of the company you worked so hard to build, so be very careful, do your homework and protect yourself.

Continue reading "Partner for good times and bad"

Continue reading "Partner for good times and bad"

Posted by Mark Busse on November 14, 2008. | No Comment

CAPIC: How to sell your work as a Photographer

I was recently honoured to be invited to sit on an expert panel at a CAPIC event for their Portfolio Series called Your Body of Work: Launching a Creative Vision for your Photography. The event was about how image makers such as photographers and illustrators can best promote themselves using portfolios, websites and marketing initiatives.

The panel was made up of me, Anya Lewise and Cathy Mullaly from Canada Wide, John Edmonds from Grey Vancouver, Tim Hoffpauir from DDB and Chris Peacock from Cossette—all experienced in choosing and working with photographers. We were all asked to consider some key questions which we then later discussed in an open forum, sort of townhall meeting style. The questions plus my notes and thoughts are reproduced here now:

Continue reading "CAPIC: How to sell your work as a Photographer"

Continue reading "CAPIC: How to sell your work as a Photographer"

Posted by Mark Busse on November 7, 2008. | No Comment