Crazy, Brave, Employer/Designer ROI

45x45 inch large format display poster.

I am behind the times to show some promotional work I did to promote the guest appearance of author Joy Harjo at our library last week. She spoke about her publishing work which included her book Crazy Brave. For her author talk event, I produced the following publicity items:

200x quarter page handbills
1x 3.25x5.25 inch publication print ad
1x 45x45 inch large format display poster
1x 11x14 inch author display bio sheet
1x web page banner

Harjo provided access to photos from her website. Unfortunately only about two were usable from her book publicity. I selected one of her and added her book cover to my options. On her personal photo, I noted she was displaying a henna marking on her hand which reminded me that I had a few henna images I had collected from other sources, so I looked to see if I could make something happen out of a combination between our collective sources.

Web page banner

I found and settled on a small illustration of a henna patterned hand and used that as a background pattern for Harjo's event publicity. I also picked up on the dashed lines she used on her book cover. To me, they brought to mind the feathered ends of arrows. Using that reference, I added a few more design elements such as the red bar above her photos and the angled triangle at the bottom right that helped to anchor the photo to the base of the collateral items. Overlapping elements took advantage of empty space and allowed elements to interact more dynamically as well. To work towards a unified typographic styling, I sourced for a display font that shared the characteristics of what was used on her book cover and used that, then pulled colour from the two photos to highlight the key points in the language.

Publication print ad

So how can I be behind on my post, you ask? Well, as I'm wrapping up my second year as designer for the Alachua County Library District, I have been busy not only with the daily flow projects, but also reviewing my department performance over the past 12 months. 

And the tally is in. In the roughly 249 working days of 2011-12, I produced 679 unique projects, up 295 projects from the 2010-11 count of 384. So if I figure there are 1992 hours of annual work time, that figures out to me completing a new project every 2.93 hours every work day for a full year. 

11x14 inch author bio page

That doesn't even factor in all the other things that take place. Things like  administrative duties, meetings, phone calls, countless emails, webinars, printer and vendor coordination, asset management, ordering of supplies, evaluating and advising other people's creative projects, time stuck on surgically removing melted lamination film off heated rollers (oh how I love spending my time on that). There's plenty of behind-the-scenes work that never appears on a visual project itself. Factor all that in—and a week of vacation time I didn't account for above—and I'm sure I'm well below that 2.93 hour mark per project. If you're beginning to see Lucille Ball working on that chocolate factory conveyor belt as it continues to speed up, then you've got the general idea of what my typical day is like. Even when I'm sitting motionless staring at my computer monitor, things are still speeding along "upstairs." I'm either planning a strategy, having a "zen moment"...or in the process of developing a decent brain aneurysm. Whichever it is, don't interfere; just let it happen.

Hey employers, hows that for ROI? Both a little crazy, and a little brave—but on whose part? On the upside, there's something I like about reviews. It gives me time to assess what my ROI is too.

The large format display poster installed on site.