I’ll make this brief because this could turn into a real rant.  On Feb. 1, 2010, NEA (National Endowment of the Arts) released a ‘logo design contest’ call for proposals.  On Spec! You can read their Request for Proposal here.

As a board member of AIGA CT and a staunch supporter of the arts for the last 10 years…I AM APPALLED. Here’s the kicker. Despite requesting that “designers and contractors” work for free, the NEA goes on to state, “‘Art Works’ is a reminder that arts workers are real workers who are part of this country’s real economy. They earn salaries, support families, pay taxes. Artists are also entrepreneurs and place-makers, who revitalize towns, cities, and neighborhoods – both the economies and the ethos of them.”  If that’s the case, then why not actually HIRE a designer?  Designers have families, pay bills, and “are part of this country’s real economy” as well. Why not send out a real RFP (request for proposal) based on experience, style and chemistry, and then hire the best team for the job?

As a designer and writer working exclusively with the arts, I have seen how the arts community can work together and support one another.  I’ve seen artists support designers and designers support artists…I applaud and champion this type of networking and camaraderie. Isn’t the NEA a part of our community?  One thinks not after this announcement, given by NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman at a Miami high school (you know about high school…that place where kids go to learn?) which blatantly endorses design spec work.

NEA…I am very disappointed.

Every year for the last 4 years I have looked forward to obtaining the annual calendar from the design team of Cummings & Good in Chester, Connecticut.  Artful and unique, these beautiful creations serve first as an embellishment to any office or kitchen, but then packaged in a canister the happy calendar owner can roll it up at the end of the year and keep a year of events as a time capsule.  These calendars are not just a palette for date keeping, they celebrate a yearly theme… Love, Work, Play, and this year Books. Each month of 2010, a literary theme is illustrated and illuminated… A Book of Photographs, Alphabet Book, Sketch Book, Book Case, Cook Book, and Scrap Book are some of the subjects explored.

The variety of  letterforms, imagery, and illustration on these calendars are examples that have made Cummings & Good the amazing design team that they are. It is a labor of love. For more than three decades the award-winning Cummings & Good have created compelling design solutions for Fortune 500 companies, arts organizations, educational institutions, and special events.  For the past 16 years, the team has created these gorgeous keepsake calendars.

Design of Time: Ten Years of Cummings & Good Calendars, an exhibition, is presently on display at Thomas J. Dodd Research Center Gallery and Corridor, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut through March 5, 2010.  The exhibit highlights the calendars and covers from 2001 – 2010. The creative process is demonstrated from concept sketches to the final printed pages as well as original art, photographs, constructions, news articles, correspondence, and promotional items. Slow Latin Groove Project will play at the opening reception on Sunday January 24 from 2-4pm.

January 19th – March 5th, 2010
General exhibition Mon – Fri, 8:30 – 4:30 PM

Sunday, January 24th
Opening Reception 2 – 4 PM

Peter and Jan would love to see you at the opening.

Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
University of Connecticut Libraries
Storrs, Connecticut
(860) 486-4500

The Dodd Research Center is adjacent to
the Homer Babbidge Library.

View Directions

Get your own calendar from the Cummings & Good Website
Also available at Mohawk Paper’s Felt & Wire.

Visit the AIGA CT Website

What is social media? Are you using it? Here are some amazing facts and figures as to why you might not want to dismiss the social media revolution. As freelancers, artists or designers can your business afford to overlook these opportunities? Have a look.
Found via Debbie Millman – President of AIGA

What happens when you take 20 designers out of their element and place them in the woods to work on a project without Wacom tablets, computers or cellphones? Such was the experience this past weekend when I joined AIGA-CT for the LOTION/Roughin’ It event in the Berkshires where some of the best designers in Connecticut met up to collaborate for a cause.