Pictured above is a mockup of my latest work.
A fresh memory from a recent meeting that happened recently. Someone who is a foreigner that is said to own a brand. In the beginning, he wanted me to make a design project (a logo design), then we’re into initial conversation after we sat in the same table,
“I saw in your portfolio that you have made many logos before, could I see the PDF of the final result?” the man asked
“Which PDF?” I replied
“When you work on a logo project, the finished design has a presentation in a PDF file.” the man answered
Then I explained, “Do you mean the brand guideline? Unfortunately it is confidential, sir. Sorry about that. I made logos and have solid proofs but I cannot show it to you, because of the confidentiality of the project work. However, if you insist on seeing those kinds of files, you can ask the brand owner.”
That man asked again, “Can’t you just show it to me?”
“What do you mean?” I asked for confirmation
He said, “Just show the samples.”
Oftentimes he made some excuses to gain that kind of files. As usual, I kept refusing because of the confidentiality of my clients. Finally, I tried to get into his mind by asking some ‘tricky’ questions. In the end, I know about him by my ultimate question:
“If you let me know, what is your occupation? I’m certain that you have a brand, but are you really only own some brands, or you’re also a designer just like me?”
The kind of answer I get when asking people about this particular topic varies, but ultimately the intent is to get some knowledge about brand guidelines, because they also take design works. What they said about ‘taking design works’ really means that they get the job desk but in many case I found, many people don’t have the capabilities to do the job, that’s why they borrow other people’s hands who can make it better. That’s what ‘third party work’ means.
This kind of conversation didn’t happen only once, but more than 5 times to me. That’s why I never ever take such ‘third-party jobs’. Some friends argued with me saying that I just have to take the job because it also makes money. Of course. It does. Everyone needs money, right? So am I. I agree about that but the problem is that they don’t want me to get in touch directly with the intended client, even if I promised a fair payment. Why is it a problem? Because what’s more important is the designer’s personal branding and identity, not just about money. If the branding gets built, the designer can improve his/her career path. Financial profit is the second after the well-built branding. Build the branding right first, money and clients will follow.
For me, sharing is one thing I’ve done much since the beginning, but for this third-party stuff I just can’t. It’s also because of professional code of conduct I will keep forever. Today remote working systems have quite become a norm recently, but I’ve already done that since I started my own studio. But this kind of work system is mostly applied by digital marketing staff, which field is very broad. I started from marketing tools design, like photography, videography, graphic design, animation and many more, and then I went further to digital marketing. The marketing tools are used and conformed to the intended market target, not just making stunning aesthetic contents (which is also very important) but most importantly fits well with the people.
There are more to write but this is just long enough for now. Anyway, if you need something creative, just let me know. Let’s work together, even from a distance!
