[ssf] flyer design: some comments + some concerns of my own

[Dan]

Allo,

Having spoken to Dave, task number one is to arrange a photoshop 
workshop for some point in the very near future.  The one who controls 
the software controls the flyer. Ha ha!

(And I'm sure if we did this, those with a PC might find an available 
copy appearing from nowhere from the software fairy...)

On contrast: there's a place in Sharrow I get 'em printed and they 
usually come out OK.  We'll see.  They're actually designed to be a bit 
scratchy, to fit in with the radical chic thing that Dave was talking 
about.... ;)

It's confirmed for the Broomhall Centre, Broomspring lane.

As as I've said to Dave, we ain't gonna get people to this meeting by 
just flyers - it'll have to be mainly word of mouth.  What this flyer 
will do, one hopes, is make it seem a little bit exciting - rather than 
just some bland 'come along and say 'yay' for social justice, while 
drinking tea...' 

What I really wanted to do was avoid a gruel-like, inoffensive 
consistency to our publicity: to go for something that had a bit of an 
edge. 

Again, that's where I disagree with D... HANG ON! HOW MUCH ENERGY ARE WE 
PUTTING IN TO ARGUING ABOUT A BL**DY FLYER! UNLESS ANYONE WRESTLES ME TO 
THE GROUND AND BITES MY EARS OFF, I'M GONNA PRINT THE BUGGER!

Thanks,

El Presidente-DictatorBoy-Flyer-Commander-in-Chief
------
p.s. Thought I might use this for the next poster: "Joining one group 
cuts in half your odds of dying next year.  Sheffield Social Forum - a 
health tool for the masses" (What's more, it's actually true as well - 
if you start from a base of no groups...)

p.p.s. There's three weeks to go, so anyone else who has an urge to make 
flyers appealling to different demographics - do it.  I done my 
demographic.  This is a distributed network after all.  And if anyone 
wants a hand with photoshop, let me know.

p.p.p.s. "So you only sent the flyer to the list for a rubber stamp of 
approval, then?"  Er... oh, bugger.  I hate arguing myself into a corner...

p.p.p.p.p.s. I'm currently consulting some slightly less young Christian 
folk I know to see if the flyer offends them.  Market research, eh?  Tsk.

Dan
-----
Chris Malins wrote:

> I think Dave has some valid concerns. I think that the question of 
> tilting at windmills is not a key one; I suspect that if people 
> attracted to the event don't have tellys they will be able to 
> appreciate the point Dan is making quite as well as those who do; I 
> can't see them being put off because they aren't normally attached to 
> the goggle box.
>
> Regarding the 'counter-cultural' flavour of the design, I agree that 
> there is a degree to which this is more accessible to younger people; 
> the second draft for example uses '/'s as dividers which is a 
> formalism associable with computing and the internet generation. 
> However there is a case that raising awareness among young people who 
> have the time to contribute to this type of movement is crucial, and 
> that if we are to capture the interest of a media saturated youth we 
> need these sort of clever advertising style images. I actually think 
> that in the world of increasingly sophisticated advertising images the 
> flavour of this design is not particularly counter-cultural, it is to 
> an extent in the main-stream, although again in the relatively young 
> subsection of it.
>
> I think better than bickering over whether an image is exclusivist 
> towards certain demographics would be to present varied poster images 
> for the campaign where people feel it to be necessary. Personally I 
> think that the strength of the SF movement should be an ability to 
> transcend the desperate branding inherent in the output of many 
> existing resistant political movements and embrace a variety of 
> people. We shouldn't exclude the people Dave mentions, but nor should 
> we allow ourselves to embrace Mozaz's more working class than thou 
> tendencies and limit the people we are appealing to.
>
> Moving on, I have thought a little more about the design, and have 
> some new concerns of my own on a practical level. I suspect that this 
> imagery is not that well suited to photocopying, I don't know whether 
> Dan has tried printing these, or what process you intend, but I would 
> normally be cautious of images which are predominantly in the dark 
> grey area. In particular, the Sheffield Social forum logo which is 
> already a little obscure, I would expect to be incomprehensible if 
> photocopied. Maybe turn up the contrast on the image, are you using 
> Photoshop? If so there is a tool I forget the name of which will 
> gently brighten areas and can be useful to improve contrasts.
>
> Chris
>
>
>
> deave thompson wrote:
>
>> Hello, all
>> Despite Dan’s hard work on the design, personally I am
>> not too keen on the flyer, even though the idea of the
>> meeting is great and I look forward to hearing about
>> the various campigns, iniataives, etc. I like the idea
>> of making it a form of a social event as well: at the
>> Green Party meeting last week with Caroline Lucas,
>> they had tea coffee and cakes and many people stayed
>> behind to talk, plan, etc.
>> I think to a certain extent, the flyer is tilting at
>> windmills though; many of the people who will be
>> attracted to the event won’t have  telly, or are
>> already much to busy to watch it. I also think while
>> not being too PC, if we sent it to for instance:
>> Sheffield Mental Health Action Group, for whom T.V is
>> often a lifeline, they would not be too happy.
>> More significantly, While i think, aesthetically it is
>> a great design, I could show you leaflets I wrote ten
>> years ago during the CJA period which look very much
>> like the radical chic/protest culture that the leaflet
>> exhibits and which I now feel was largely
>> unproductive.  To me, the leaflet highlights the ‘spectacular’ 
>> approach of the emerging SF’s. There’s a
>> danger that it becomes a politics of ‘activism’ that
>> attracts a certain type of person: often young, fit,
>> able, educated and middleclass, it is often abstract
>> and means little to the man/woman in the street.
>> Parties, protests, art and culture, the bedrock of
>> this approach are good things in themselves, but I
>> also think it is diligent hard work on more mundane
>> things like welfare,housing, even the lack of public
>> toilets in Sheffield that will allow us to grow and
>> gain respect and yes, the great work we are planning
>> to do in Burngreave.
>>
>> Having said that however, if we must use the poster,
>> due to time, popular support, etc, I prefer the first
>> draft, , the second sounds a bit over the top and has
>> more emphasis on thecounter-culture in the text. I
>> also wonder if instead of all the pictures of wanton
>> vandalism(joke), just have one, and then we could have
>> some images of positive things that are
>> proposed/happened in Sheffield, perhaps a photo of our
>> launch, the lantern parade, a picture of burngeave,
>> etc.
>> I hope I am not nit picking over something as basic as
>> a leaflet, but how we are represented is important as
>> it will reflect who is attracted to our new movement
>> and how diverse it is. Further, as I have often
>> suggested constructive debate and criticism is
>> esssential if we are to move forward, as is of course
>> praise and positive support, so well done Dan for
>> doing the flyer.. 
>> regards
>>
>> dave t
>>
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