ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Designers and charities can both benefit from pro bono work.
Directly
translated, pro bono means for the public good. What it means in
reality, however, is that designers donate their services or charge
significantly reduced rates to support good causes. Pro bono creative
is central to the existence of numerous not-for-profit and
philanthropic organizations-without it, many arts groups and charities
wouldn't be able to raise necessary funds to keep their good work
going.
There are many valid reasons to do pro bono work. In
some cases, it presents an opportunity to experiment and show different
aspects of a designer's capability. For Dave Coates of Ion Design in
Vancouver, work for the theatre group Shameless Hussies involves not
only the design of posters and promotional materials-the types of
things the design firm does on a daily basis-but also set and costume
design.
Second, pro bono work can facilitate some formidable
connections. "It's a way to network," says Michael Dangelmaier of Karo
Calgary. "Charities often have boards of directors drawn from senior
levels of business. Work done pro bono is often a good demonstration of
our capabilities for them."
And, perhaps most importantly, it
just feels good to give back and really make a difference to a worthy
cause. "It isn't just about design, it's about helping organizations
communicate with their stakeholders," says Elena Rivera of the
Vancouver-based Rivera Design Group. "And creative freedom is icing on
the cake." Thankfully, pro bono usually also translates as good
collaboration: charities reach the people they need to in an effective
way, and designers produce what they consider exemplary, signature
work.
Unfortunately, however, not all pro bono projects go
that smoothly. ("You get what you pay for," is how one disgruntled
designer describes his experiences). Being coerced by an important
client to do work for the client's favorite charity is not an
auspicious beginning for pro bono work. Friction increases when the
charity gives the designer little creative freedom, is inconsiderate
with the use of his or her time, and is just plain ungrateful about
donated efforts.
On the other side of the coin, some
designers assume that donating work means that they can be cavalier
with timing, production estimates or quality control. Or that they can
ignore a client's concerns for relevance to its brand, appropriateness
to target markets, advertising impact or simple readability.
Inexperienced designers may think they can ignore the client when
they're doing work pro bono. Wrong.
So how do you ensure a
good experience? An important first step is to decide which charities
and organizations you want to support and why. The kind of pro bono
work a company decides to do can have long-term implications. Just a
corporation's brand can be shaped by the kinds of sponsorships and
donations it makes, so can a design firm's profile be influenced by the
kind of pro bono work it accepts-especially since a lot of pro bono
work involves high-profile fund-raising activities. Some design firms
make their decisions about pro bono on a company-wide basis. Robert L.
Peters of Circle in Winnipeg stresses the collective nature of the
firm's pro bono work: his eight-person office must reach a consensus on
the projects they take on. For instance, everyone in his office feels
passionately about Victims' Voice, an organization that supports the
survivors of people who have been murdered. "It's important that we all
agree; we become advocates for the organizations we do pro bono work
for."
And it's important to devise a method to determine how
much pro bono your office is going to do, as well. Let's face it, there
are a lot of worthy causes out there, and it's tempting to take on more
than is financially prudent. When her accountant asked her to sit down
and total up the amount of pro bono work her firm had done in 1998,
Catherine Bradbury of Bradbury Design in Regina was taken aback. "We
always give our pro bono clients an estimate of what the fees would
have been, just so they're aware of the value," she says. "It ended up
that we did about $30,000 of pro bono work in 1998, and the same for
the year before. If we were a really large company with a lot of fat,
it would be different. But we're six people in total. It's a sizable
chunk."
That realization caused her to take a look at who
they're helping out, and why. "It's hard to say no, and I tend to be a
bit too generous. It's not that we're regretted the work we've done,
but we just have to take a more prudent look at it." They're currently
devising a plan to be more selective; it may mean picking only four
projects a year (one in each season), or asking potential clients to
write down a detailed description of what's required. And Bradbury will
make sure both parties are clear on what they want to get out of the
experience.
Since design firms invest considerable time in
pro bono work, it's reasonable to consider it an important business
decision. "We do pro bono work in the arts community because of its
obvious connection to the creative business we're in," says Bev Tudhope
of Tudhope Associates in Toronto, which has donated work to causes
including Opera Atelier and Art with Heart, an art auction to benefit
the Home Hospice Program run by Toronto's Casey House. "If you focus
your pro bono stuff in a certain area, it gives you a valid reason to
say no when you get asked to do other kinds of projects you really
don't want to do."
Indeed, it's easier to say no when it's a
policy decision rather than a specific rejection of an individual's
worthy cause. And it is important to say no. If you don't, you'll do
too much and limit the enjoyment from the projects you'd otherwise
relish.
Whatever the reason you takes on a pro bono project,
there is only one way to do it after you accept. As Paul Haslip of HM
in Toronto says, "Once we've decided to do pro bono work, we treat the
project as carefully as any other in the office." On the flipside, it's
important that clients not take a design firm for granted, once they've
agreed to come on board. "We've had good experience with pro bono
work," says Susan Mullin, executive director of the Casey House
Foundation. "We always attempt to make it very clear at the beginning
of a project what we understand is being donated and on what terms."
Charities
are always looking for ways to do things inexpensively and maximize the
profit for their enterprise. And this has design implications.
Designers often have only one or two colors and less than wonderful
production values to work with. And you can end up canvassing printers
and paper suppliers for donations. "Sometimes pro bono work is modest,"
says Tom Howlett of The Farm in Toronto. "Often the design has to be
considered in the context of minimal production budgets. While you
always want to show what you're capable of, you have to start with an
assessment of what the client really needs. Even when it's free it's
about them, not you."
And the mechanics of direct mail and
advertising are a significant hurdle for some designers to get over.
Designers unfamiliar with the basics of fundraising should have their
pro bono client explain the fundamentals to them before they express
strong opinions about how fundraising material should be designed. A
designer's dream of creative pro bono freedom can be severely limited
by the reality of what gets the best response when you send out 50,000
flyers requesting donations.
In the end, is it worth it? When
the piece achieves its objective and both parties are happy with the
results, the answer is a resounding yes. Tudhope Associates' work for
Art with Heart-an annual art auction whose proceeds go to Casey
House-is a case in point: "We did an absolutely professional-looking
catalogue for them this year, along with posters and other collateral
material," says Bev Tudhope. "And the auction made more than $250,000,
which was mindblowing. The executive director said she felt that the
increasing quality of the promotional material has directly contributed
to the success of the event-this year it looked so professional that it
brought out a better crowd, and people took it more seriously. She was
thrilled. And so were we. The stuff did what it was supposed to. It
really worked."
For the designer:
1. Don't feel obligated to say "yes" to everything. Have a process for
deciding what your firm takes on, even if it's as simple as everyone in
your company agreeing that it is important. Try to find pro bono
projects for organization and causes you believe in, that also have
outstanding creative or future business potential. Question the value
of any client who coerces you to do something for free.Make sure you
understand the client's expectations upfront, including how many pieces
you are creating, the timing and all cost implications. Good pro bono
clients pay for presentation materials, couriers, and are very careful
with disbursements. If there are tax receipt implications, get them
clarified before you begin.
2.
Make the client aware of your creative expectations before you agree to
do a project. ( "Our approach to this likely would be...") By the same
token, insist that your pro bono clients reveal all the creative
restrictions inherent in their projects, including the dreaded, "We
want it to look like it did last year."
3. If other suppliers are
involved, such as photographers or illustrators, make sure they
understand the timing and cost parameters. Don't force your suppliers
to do favors for you.
4. Once you've taken on a pro bono project,
treat it with the same care as any other in our office. Free or not,
your company's reputation rests on how you do every job.
For the client:
1. No designer owes you anything. Don't expect favors. While it's a
tacky practice, if you must dangle the carrot of subsequent paying
work, be completely confident about delivering on it.
2.
If the designers are doing you a favor, keep this in mind as you work
with them. Don't keep them waiting for meetings, miss deadlines, or
make endless revisions.
3. Make all your expectations clear at the
outset of the project. By the same token, expect that if a designer
agrees to do your project, he or she will be diligent about meeting
deadlines.
4. Understand that serious designers will be making
their best efforts to produce exceptional materials for you. Learn to
enjoy leading edge creativity. Open up to the new possibilities of
communicating your message. That said, don't be surprised when a design
firm takes a conservative approach if their portfolio is full of
classic examples of print. In other words, don't expect firms do things
that are unnatural for them.
5. Say thank you. Say it in person,
at events, and in print. You can't say it too often, including to the
people back in the studio who spend hours in front of a computer screen
and ensure your project is perfect.
About this article
The above article by Kelvin Browne is reprinted from Applied Arts Magazine, with permission. 1999 by Applied Arts Inc.