Sep
18
Rick Warren Book Cover Design Contest
ByMy good friend Michael Buckingham wrote an interesting post and open letter to Rick Warren about his latest book design contest for designers. By the responses in comments, I would say that Michael has hit a nerve! I dig his passion and can see a valid point being a designer myself, but I also see the other side of the coin and the opportunity for design recognition.
If you wanna read the article, visit Church Marketing Sucks, but please remember that as Christians we should strive to be Christ-like in our actions and responses.
Thanks James. It’s certainly not a black & white issue and there certainly is an upside to what this particular contest is doing. Though most of these “contests” have very little prize…one not too long ago was looking for a logo, the prize was a dinner gift certificate. That is the norm and are typically an excuse for cheap labor.
For me the downside is too great. And as I said in a recent post at blog.holycowcreative.org: It is about creatives & designers feeling undervalued, unimportant, and unappreciated.
I just think there were better ways to accomplish his goal.
Michael,
You and I have both discussed how churches can place such a low value on designers and our skills and how some ignore the fact that we have spent countless hours going to school, learning the ropes, investing in the tools to do the work, and so on – with the expectation that we do things for cheap or free.
I also see that we as designers do have the option to tell people no to spec work or bad projects, reject doing mediocre work, or have the opportunity to educate others on the value of what we do.
There is a deep appreciation that I have for people like you who have a passion to die on a hill for something they totally believe in. I applaud that!
On the other hand — for me personally — I am sad that so much time has been consumed from so many people on a topic such as this. I think there are a ton of people who feel undervalued in church; youth pastors, nursery workers, tech people, traffic directors, etc, all come to mind. We should ALL be valued as a complete body of Christ and realize that no body part is any more important than the rest.
To wrap up, I don’t fault Rick Warren on his offering or any church who does a similar contest, nor do I find fault in the designers who enter or don’t enter them…we all have free will to do as we wish IMHO.
Thanks for your passion bro – I love it!
As a book designer who has designed best selling books in the ABA as well as the CBA market, I can tell you it doesn’t bring you much recognition. Can you tell me who designed DaVinci Code? Purpose Driven Life? probably not. It’s not going to make your career or give you many opportunities just because you designed a best-seller. It’s very sad that Warren has taken advantage of all these people for his own publicity. He is clearly communicating a lack of value for peoples time, and talent. After seeing the designs, I find it hard to believe Zondervan would allow any of them on a Rick Warren book.