I think that it was either Ben Franklin, John Lennon or perhaps Socrates who once stated, “Free work only begets you more free work.” This may be true, but if, as a designer, if you live by the following rule –you at least get the satisfaction of working without a creative leash and often times the finished product is payment enough.
Here is THE RULE:
If you are asked to donate your time and talents for FREE, you may accept the job but only if you have full creative freedom (assuming, of course, that you are willing to accept the project parameters and production budget). In other words, there is to be limited commentary from the peanut gallery! It doesn’t matter if Mrs. Smith’s daughter does NOT like the color green. YOU picked green – and green it will be!
Over the past few years, my firm has completed a number of projects for the Cohasset Education Foundation. Like many cash-strapped towns in Massachusetts, the public school system depends on personal contributions that extend beyond taxpayer dollars.
As a member of the CEF board as well as the organization’s creative director, we were able to enact THE RULE and it has been a fun ride ever since. Above is our Event Mark for the annual spelling bee. To the left is the Cohasset Education Foundation logo.
OK. Now back to the work that pays the bills.