Illustration by Tallulah Fontaine
Maybe by examining the unique experiences shared by creative immigrants, we can begin to grasp the bigger picture of immigration and how it impacts those contributing their talents to arts, culture, and innovation here.
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Photo by WNW Member Julie Glassberg
I'm here to tell you what you need to do to not get a job. This advice is coming directly from a bunch of Creative Directors and Recruiters on WNW. They told me very specifically what annoys them, what makes them skip portfolios, and what nixes applicants right away.
Read MoreWe've partnered up with Skillshare, the online learning community with over 5 million members and thousands of classes in the creative industry, to host a 3-week long workshop exclusively for Graphic Designers. The focus is on building an online presence and getting more work opportunities.
Read MoreTwenty leading designers, illustrators, and creatives celebrated their favourite hilarious, weird, & wonderful moments from previous World Cups. The resulting pieces have been printed onto limited edition beer mats & are being ‘exhibited’ in pubs around London right in time for the World Cup.
Read More“Refusing to look for potential in those we work alongside is just plain shortsighted… Creativity isn’t a precious commodity to be protected… If anything, creativity is exponential—the more we engage in being creative together, the more creativity there is to go around.”
Read MoreWe're real proud of our Webby-nominated WNW members & have already cast our votes for them. See their nominated work here and easily cast your votes. We're also very honored to be nominated for a Webby again this year. It's up to you, our fervent community, to help us win.
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We surveyed our members for the fourth year in a row, asking them which companies they’d kill to work for full-time.
Read MoreThis week’s featured profiles highlight top-notch Stop-Motion Animators. Scroll down to get a light-hearted and food-heavy taste of the stop-motion talent currently available on Working Not Working.
MIKE O'DONNELL / EDITOR
Tell us a bit about your creative background. Who is Annica Lydenberg and how did she get here?
I have been freelancing for 15 years - it wasn’t by choice at first but I certainly made the most of it. I designed a lot of Flash websites in the early 00s that was a thing, but eventually I got sick of websites and wanted to learn hand lettering. I enrolled in the Type @ Cooper program in order to get a proper typographic education and I did a great deal of personal projects to get more relevant pieces in my portfolio. Personal projects both when I was getting started, and still today, have always driven the kind of client work I get.
What was the impetus behind building “The 10 Commandments for Clients”?
One of the big things I’ve been focusing on is bringing more honesty into my work, making personal work that is relatable and will hopefully make someone feel less alone. Of course, I relate to the plight of the freelance designer; we’ve all been there through those terrible client moments. So after having written these maybe 7 or 8 years ago I finally moved forward by inviting 10 other badass lettering artists to execute their favorite one. This made it even more of an act of solidarity with others.
Throughout your career, have nearly all of these commandments been broken by your clients at one point or another?
Yes, absolutely. And none of them only once… I literally had a client who tried to tell me she showed a packaging concept to a focus group. Upon asking questions about the demographics of the focus group, she finally admitted she had just shown her mother.
Do you think it’s ever wise for creatives, either young or well-established, to do work for free? And if so, is that strictly something that the creative should offer, as opposed to the client?
A friend told me recently something that I thought was fascinating; they said the world was made up of ‘askers’ and ‘guessers’. ‘Askers’ just ask for whatever it is that they want with no concern given and ‘guessers’ only ask when they are nearly certain the answer will be yes. As a result ‘guessers’ have a hard time saying no because they fear it was presumed they would, in fact, say yes; ‘askers’ are well aware that no is an acceptable answer. I am a ‘guesser’ and it pains me to say no to people and I have often resented being put in a position where I need to do so. But you practice it and it gets MUCH easier.
All you can do is educate yourself, know your worth, realize your actions impact your peers and don’t be scared to say no. But ultimately only you can make the call. There are other ways a job can have value.
Do you have any advice for creatives to make it even easier for clients to follow these rules?
Be clear from the beginning. Always make sure your expectations are communicated early on and also be sure your client is doing the same for you. I ask a LOT of questions at the beginning of a job and always state what is typical in terms of work process, payment process, and where the job begins and ends. Also, don’t ignore red flags. Sometimes it’s best to walk away.
Aside from creating “The 10 Commandments for Clients,” what can creatives do to look out for one another and make sure their peers are being treated fairly?
The best thing we can do is listen to one another and help each other see what we are allowing in our lives. In figuring out how to treat ourselves fairly as individuals it makes it so much easier to demand the same of our clients. I find great value in these conversations.
I’ve been a freelance designer for well over a decade and have worked with many clients. These relationships have been varied: some phenomenal, some functional, and a few… failures. In thinking about what makes some more successful than others it is clear to me that, just as with any relationship, the rules you establish at the beginning can be very hard to change later. As a freelance designer, you are your only advocate. Be clear about your rules, communicate well, and communicate often.
The 10 Commandments below, adapted for Clients, will provide the much-needed guidelines which, if followed, will make all of you the exceptional Clients we know you can be. The ultimate goal is always to have a relationship of mutual respect for one another’s time, skills and knowledge.
These struggles are not unique to my path as a designer so I reached out to ten of the most talented freelance designers and lettering artists I know to each select and illustrate one commandment. These are people that I believe work carefully, deliberately and deliver the best work a Client could ask for.
– 1 – Thou Shalt Have No Other Designer But Me
Dear Clients, When we work hard and give you lovely design files, please do not change them without us. Do not pass them off to your cousin’s roommate for future updates or hire a different illustrator to emulate the style we developed for you.
– 2 – Thou Shall Not Covet Design Done On Spec
Dear Clients, We would never ask you to do work for free. All work, including treatments, sketches, mockups, and concepts have value. No one goes to a bakery, asks for a custom made cake, and then says they’d like to eat it before they decide if they want to pay for it.
– 3 – Thou Shall Not Use the Word ‘Exposure’ In Vain
Dear Clients, As it turns out, “exposure” does not pay our rent and we cannot use “increased followers” to buy coffee or to cover health insurance. This is not an acceptable form of compensation and we both know it.
– 4 – Respect the Weekend and Keep It Holy
Dear Clients, No Monday deadlines. As freelancers, it is often expected that we
never stop working, but please respect that we, too, would like to be off the clock on
the weekend.
– 5 – Thou Shalt Not Use Opposing Adjectives to Describe thy Project
Dear Clients, Do not set us up for failure. Please be clear about your values, your mission, and who your audience is. Do not ask us to make something for you that is both “whimsical” and “edgy” at the same time. This isn’t a thing.
– 6 – Honor thy Designer’s Expertise So thy Project May Be Pure and Wise
Dear Clients, When giving feedback, avoid giving design direction. This is why you hired us; it is what we do, and we are good at it. Instead try to speak to ways in which the design isn’t fulfilling its ultimate aim and we will fix it.
– 7– Thou Shall Not Request Work Be Completed “Yesterday, hahaha!”
Dear Clients, Unless you can send us the project request “Last month, hahaha!” then this is not helpful. And it isn’t funny. If you want to be funny please send a good dog meme, and then give a timeline that reflects reality.
– 8 – Provide Final Content That Is Final
Dear Clients, Whenever possible please do not change the name of your company after we finish your logo, please do not rewrite your copy after we’ve done your lettering. These are not changes they are a redesign. When a redesign is unavoidable, please expect to compensate accordingly.
– 9 – Hold Sacred All Invoices to 30 Days
Dear Clients, Surely if we can get your project done on time, you can write a check in 30 days. Just saying.
– 10 – Thou Shall Not Consult With thy Neighbor’s Wife for Design Feedback
Dear Clients, Random opinions and personal preferences alone are not useful. Unless your neighbor’s wife is a designer who sat in on our meetings and read the brief then we don’t want to hear it. If you feel a focus group is necessary then let’s do that together. But your mom is not a focus group.
MIKE O'DONNELL / EDITOR
We recently caught up with WNW Member Rainer Plank, the Head of Operations at Zooom in Los Angeles, who opens up about his career path, the relationship between Zooom's two offices in Los Angeles and Fuschl am See, and how Zooom's unique origins inform its trajectory. Founded by Ulrich Grill, who used to be a professional hang-gliding pilot sponsored by Red Bull, Zooom "attracts a lot of outdoor enthusiasts who typically use the products we promote for their own adventures," as Rainer tells us. "This is probably why we are able to promote our clients’ products with authenticity and passion."
We also ask Rainer how he caters his own creative leadership approach to allow his left brain and right brain to coexist. "I fear they don’t coexist at all. Managing the agency mostly requires my left side and the talented creative directors, art directors, and designers we hire make my right side completely redundant. Naturally, I put part of the blame on WNW for making it far too easy to find talented creatives. MEAN."
This literally happened by accident. Sometime in 2005, when I had just finished my degree in Film Production Management in Cologne I was moving back to Vienna. After a long night of packing all my belongings and an eight-hour drive on the Autobahn I stopped by in Fuschl* for a job interview with zooom. At that point, I felt pretty sleep-deprived and it didn’t help that I arrived too late either. At any rate, things (somehow) worked out smoothly and I started working for zooom Austria soon afterward. Half a year later I relocated to Los Angeles to open our US office. I’ve appreciated living in California ever since :-).
*small village in Austria near Salzburg and main office of zooom.
Our first few years in business were smooth sailing. We had a stable customer base, cool projects to work on, and fixed retainers. Spoiled as we were I got ‘comfortably numb’ until we unexpectedly lost two large accounts despite highly successful campaign rollouts. This, in turn, taught me an important lesson never to take things for granted and to better balance project management & business development.
Another challenge for us was to determine the scope of our agency services. In the beginning, our strategy was mostly driven by our biggest clients, to be honest. They had ever-expanding needs and we tried to cater to all of them. Today, we are more narrowly focused on branding, campaign development, and content production and collaborate with specialized partners in other areas.
Dream responsibly.
Our founder Ulrich Grill used to be a professional hang-gliding pilot sponsored by Red Bull. Being an avid photographer, he later started his own photo service agency in Austria. In essence, he managed Red Bull’s International athlete & event shoots and organized the content distribution through redbullphotofiles.com*. Over the years, our shop grew into a legitimate advertising agency offering branding & positioning, campaign development, and photo/video production services as well as content distribution to outdoor brands. As a consequence, we attract a lot of outdoor enthusiasts who typically use the products we promote for their own adventures. This is probably why we are able to promote our clients’ products with authenticity and passion.
*Now known as “Red Bull Content Pool.”
In the early years, we offered the same services in the US as in Europe and spread ourselves too thin with a much smaller team. Over time, we focused our services on branding & campaign development and photo/video production while collaborating with specialized partners in other areas. Apart from that, we became more consistent in targeting clients in our main verticals, which are the outdoor & photography industry as well as selected Fast-Moving Consumer Good Brands (Red Bull, Bundaberg, …).
As for the latter, we partnered up with the consulting firm Entity X and offer branding & marketing services to the Medical and Recreational Cannabis markets in the US. This is an exciting, new industry and we recently succeeded in winning one of the few medical grower & processing licenses in the State of Pennsylvania. Sports & drugs … who would have thought ;-).
Probably the launch of “Red Bull Illume”, an international photo contest for action & adventure sports photography in which the winning images tour the world in stunning outdoor exhibits. Over the past 10 years, this event grew into a huge contest with +35,000 image submissions from over 120 countries. It shines the spotlight on the people behind the lens and has helped kick start the careers of previously unknown photographers. This event, in turn, attracted large sponsors such as Sony, Leica Camera, etc.
I fear they don’t coexist at all. Managing the agency mostly requires my left side and the talented creative directors, art directors and designers we hire make my right side completely redundant. Naturally, I put part of the blame on WNW for making it far too easy to find talented creatives. MEAN.
Advertising now encompasses so many different fields of expertise that it helps to specialize early on and aim to become an expert in an area you are passionate about. That’s not to say that you should focus yourself too narrowly. Areas such as branding, content creation or digital media marketing or even verticals such as sports & photography are broad enough to give you ample room to grow.
Yes, as far as our larger international clients are concerned. We also brainstorm and pitch for selected accounts together. The majority of the projects are handled independently by the local teams though.
The creative is mainly driven by the differences in design aesthetics between Europe and the US. In general, the European brands we deal with tend to have more of a product focus and present themselves as leaders in technology & product quality. US brands – on the other hand - tend to be more lifestyle-focused and aspirational. This, in turn, calls for a very different copy & design aesthetic. Of course, you’ll find a lot of examples that contradict what I just said …. just think of Red Bull Energy Drinks, which is a client of ours that originates from Austria.
We have a beautiful office space right at the corner of Abbot Kinney & Venice Blvd and are offering work spaces to talented freelancers (designers, art directors, creative directors programmers, illustrators, you name it) for $800/month. The idea is to bring like-minded people together in a feel-good work space, inspire each other and hopefully also collaborate on upcoming projects. Freelancers can rent a space on a month-to-month basis or for longer term. Whatever fits their needs. If that sounds of interest to anyone reading this, just drop us a line at office@zooomcreative.com and we’ll show you around.
Maybe Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. His book “Let my people go surfing” is a real inspiration for how to build a thriving brand based on authentic values and caring for the environment. He’s probably one of the most reluctant business men ever and driven by an ecocentric approach of doing business.
Riding my old 1972 Peugeot road bike until one of us breaks down (we tend to take turns), cooking for/with friends, and playing piano when no one listens.
Congratulations to the Working Not Working Members and all creatives and artists named to Adweek's third annual edition of the Creative 100. The annual list celebrates "the masters of creativity" and "profiles 100 unique and fascinating problem solvers from the worlds of advertising, branding, media, technology, pop culture and more." Get to know the names and work of the featured Working Not Working Members below.
Read MoreIn their latest ad campaign, Lululemon, the Yoga-inspired apparel company, walks their yoga pants out of the studio and into the outside world. The campaign consists of a series of mini-documentaries, produced by Vice’s in-house agency Virtue. And it's a natural fit that Virtue chooses to showcase these applied beliefs in the real world in a series of interpersonal and individual contexts. After all, Lululemon touts their mission as “honouring yoga by taking the practice off the mat.” The term “practice” is a staple of yoga, in part a repetition of an activity but much more the application of an idea or belief that can extend into the world. The campaign offers a few of these practiced virtues in action, against the backdrop of a volleyball match, a drum kit, and a surf session. The practice of letting go. The practice of breath. The practice of nonviolence. The practice of devotion. In a way, the pace of the ads themselves mimic that of some yoga forms, with a volley of powerful exertion and quick edits followed by quiet, slow-motion rests before the action resumes. Namaste to the following Working Not Working members behind this campaign: Anthony Coleman (Creative Director), Nick Maciag (Lead Creative), Dena Lenard (Producer), and Erin Kelly (Senior Designer).
