Posted this and some other new work on my facebook page.
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Printing of my 2011 Holiday greeting poster. Different versions were printed for the others who helped make this project possible.
Credits:
Design: Genesys
Printing: Somerset
Paper: Unisource
Illustration: Ben Weeks
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An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.
— James Whistler (via elclinto)
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Episode 31- The Feltron Annual Report
(Press Play above)
(Above: A page from the 2009 Feltron Annual Report, by Nicholas Felton.)
Nicholas Felton is an information designer. Since 2005, he has tabulated thousands upon thousands of tiny measurements in his life and designed stunning graphs and maps and created concise infographics that detail that year’s activities. The results were originally intended for his friends and family, but the “personal annual reports” have found an audience with fellow designers and people that really geek out on seeing lots of data, beautifully presented.
In 2010, Nicholas Felton’s father passed away, and Felton decided to turn his annual report into a full biography of his father. He took 4,348 of his father’s personal records and created an intimate portrait of a man, using only the data he left behind.
I produced this story with Nate Berg, who is an awesome freelance journalist and blogger at Planetizen (a site you should add to your daily routine).
(Below: A page from the 2010 Feltron Annual Report- The Paternal Report, by Nicholas Felton.)
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Apple’s Core Marketing Principles
Empathy
An intimate connection with the feelings of a customer. We will truly understand their needs better than any company
Focus
in order to do a good job on the things we decide to do, we must eliminate all of the unimportant opportunities.
Impute
People form an opinion about a company or a product based on the signals it conveys. People do judge a book by it’s cover. We may have the best product, the highest quality, the most useful software etc; if we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod; if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute the desired qualities.
Apple’s three core marketing principles were written down on one page by Mike Markkula, a former early employee at Intel. Mike worked with Jobs to create the initial business plan, and extended a $250,000 line of credit for 1/3 ownership. Mike was employee #3 and said, ”You should never start a company with a goal of getting rich. Your goal should be making something you believe in and a company that will last.”
via colinanawaty & Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs book.
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My page from Illustration Now! Vol. 4 by Taschen. Delighted to be included among such a variety of exciting international artists.
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Artists and Rewards
If an artist strives for excellence in their work, economic rewards proportionate to the value that work delivers should be attached. Artists having stable finances means they can then safely create other forms of value that may not pay well like: helping good causes, spreading joy and making their neighbourhood a nicer place to live.
Sometimes markets exploit artist’s work and offer low fees. While value can be hard to quantify, clients can make an effort to determine the effects and reward artists accordingly. If clients are unwilling to do so, artists need to have self control, negotiate or find better clients. The assumption that subsistence living should be a requirement to do good work actually creates a context for market imbalances which undermine the stability of artists. It’s a powerful myth to many but it’s ultimately counterproductive.
Artists are capable of creating great work even in dire conditions. But living in a constant state of self imposed emergency is not a healthy long term way of being. Taking responsibility for all aspects of our careers, learning to be better that the harder parts and conducting everything with the highest degree of integrity and creativity you can I’ve found helpful. May artists everywhere live in a way that’s conducive to long, happy and productive lives.
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I’m in Illustration Now! Vol. 4. by TASCHEN. Yay!
