Re: RDFa advocacy ideas

Hi all

For those who are unfamiliar with the back-story, Doug Schepers kindly  
asked if I would support a new version of the SWAD-Europe t-shirt  
(still a favorite of many, me included), designed in collaboration  
with Dan Brickley and Libby Miller a few years ago:

http://aeim.niij.org/photos/random/IM000324.jpg/photo_view

Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I'm not in a position to take  
on a new commission right now, but I will gladly support the re-use  
and update of the original SWAD Europe graphic, and also muck in with  
interaction design on any accompanying web application if I can.

On Mar 14, 2009, at 4:06 AM, Manu Sporny wrote:
>
> I'm attaching Tom DeForest on this as he's been helping us with a new
> Wordpress theme for the rdfa.info blog site.
>
> We should discuss it as a community, brainstorm some ideas on t-shirt
> designs + webapps, perhaps even get some money together for a design
> contest for http://99designs.com/, and see what comes out of the meat
> grinder.
>
 
I strongly advise you *not* to go along those lines. The practice of  
spec work is almost universally frowned upon by the design community,  
and very few self respecting designers will have anything to do with it.

You don't need to take my word for it: here's what the American  
Institute of Graphic Artists has to say about it:

"AIGA believes that doing speculative work—that is, work done without  
compensation, for the client’s speculation—seriously compromises  
the quality of work that clients are entitled to and also violates a  
tacit, long-standing ethical standard in the communication design  
profession worldwide. AIGA strongly discourages the practice of  
requesting that design work be produced and submitted on a speculative  
basis in order to be considered for acceptance on a project."

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/position-spec-work

If you have the budget to make a new design, I recommend finding a  
designer whose work you like, and inviting them to discuss with the  
community a new concept, from which you can develop a working brief.  
Not only will your karma be better, you will also get better results :)


> Once we have a good design down, perhaps we could sponsor a hundred
> T-shirts (or put it up on CafePress?) and have them distributed at
> various web conferences as well as SXSWi?
>

Another alternative is Spreadshirt. The quality of their product is  
impressive, although the small print on the original SWAD design will  
be impossible for them.

They even have a Semantic Web shop:
http://semweb.spreadshirt.com/us/US/Shop/

However, when budget allows, a screen-printed shirt is always the  
nicest option.

best
e



Liz Turner
+31627495149

δt.software
timelines for the
semantic web

http://www.iconomical.com/
are against image worship

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