Recently in Duplicity Category
A Changed Man
One of a proofreader’s tests for checking leading consistency in text heavy copy is turning it upside down and looking for uneven spacing or single characters that shouldn’t be there.This works because it removes distractions. Right side up, one might be tempted to get involved with reading copy or enjoying the accompanying illustration. Call me crazy, but when I saw these two video captures next to each other, it sure looked like different people. If you ignore the window dressing and just concentrate on the frame, are they the same? I was wondering what some real experts in Photoshop thought. Post your comments and convince me it’s the same guy.
Photoshop Tips—Creating a Political Faux Pas
with experts Adnan Hajj & Ohio Republican Mike DeWine
One of my dentists was recommended to me by a friend from California. "Open wide." I spent way too much time in that torture chair when I was a kid—nobody told me wedging that Atomic Fire Ball behind my last molar for an hour after lunch everyday was a bad idea. The sound of a drill in close proximity to my inner ear was enough to convince me that frequent brushing and thorough flossing was the only way to age. So when I was told that I had 4% bleeding and the dentist recommended a deep cleaning for anyone with over 3%, I was suspicious. That deep cleaning included scraping your gums down to the root and cost around $2000—good profit margin for the dentist since her hygenist did all the work. I thought I might have imagined I was pricked and pierced in a few places with that sharp little tool she poked me with, but it was the hard sell after the exam
that convinced me I was being manipulated. My dentist had crossed the ethical line required in the medical profession—between what I really needed and what she wanted to sell. Maybe that’s why the American Medical Association dragged it’s feet to allow healthcare professionals to pursue business with advertising. Yes, Frank Zappa was right when he said, "Hmmmm . . . no foolin’."
Maybe you’ve heard about the recent foofah concerning Adnan Hajj, a middle eastern based freelance photographer who submitted doctored photographs to more than one well respected news agency. It was discovered by Charles Johnson who has a website named Little Green Footballs and a background in graphic design.
“I can’t tell you why graphics people do things.”
—Mike DeWine, Republican/OHIO
Oh, those silly graphics people—I had to use “choice words with them “that you can’t print in a family magazine.” That’s what Mike DeWine (OH—R) said when a journalist called him on the doctored images used in his political ad. Mr. DeWine used an image of the World Trade Center under attack to discredit his opponent’s weak stand on National Security and it was reported in this U.S. News & World Report article. He was so shocked, naturally it was all without his knowledge or approval. Hmmm . . . no foolin’
As graphics people, you and I both know nothing is done without client approval. In the case of a political campaign, not only with proofs signed by the client, but also the required prepayment. So how many of these stacked cow chips (TX talk for BS) should be scraped off the “graphics people” and smeared on Mr. DeWine’s finest suit? Let’s not forget the bane of every political ad voiceover: “Hi, I’m Mike DeWine and I approved this ad.” Hmmm . . . no foolin’
Understanding Net Neutrality
We are about to lose the only opportunity we may have to free ourselves from long distance bills, even the ones for overseas. I know I would like to call my pal Brian J. Dooley in New Zealand for a chat without imagining my money flying out of my pocket, free to speak until I’m well spoken. I bet you would, too. You’ve probably heard all about net neutrality; how the IPs want to have a two-tiered service, saying they want to charge more for premium content like movies. Well, that’s not what they’re really after. If they told you what they really wanted, they would never get it past Congress. Here's the skinny on Net Neutrality from the mouth of a fellow artist.
As designers, we are privy to advance information and the inside workings of many major companies simply because we prepare their marketing proposals and annual reports. Back in 1988, when the price of oil bottomed out, almost every small Texas entrepreneur suffered cash flow problems unless they were smart enough to diversify. Business in Houston, especially, depended on some facet of the oil economy for healthy cash flow. One evening after a board meeting at my luxury high rise, I struck up a conversation with a neighbor who worked for a big oil company. I asked him what he did at his forty-story office tower in downtown Houston. "I'm one of the big nasties that sit around all day and decide how much you'll pay at the pump," he chuckled. He was a career marketing man at one of the big four oil companies. The whole country was in an uproar about the recent rise in gas prices and it was a hot topic of conversation.
Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but won't taste very good.
Joe Paterno
There it was, someone's dream job, advertised in the Sunday paper. The art director's position with a well known, long-established studio and headed by the President of the local Society of Illustrators. It sounded like an opportunity to work with people who knew what they were doing. As I waited for the owner to arrive, I flipped through the studio's portfolio; lots of quaint illustrations in ads all laid out exactly the same. But the walls were covered with sophisticated, multi-planes-in-space editorial illustrations signed with the same name as the studio owner. I was impressed and eager to meet him. Oh, sure, we use computers here. It didn't take long to realize he was not the man who did the fabulous illustrations. I came to know him as the man who threw his chair into the wall when his airbrush clogged and as someone who displayed his brother's illustrations to imply they were his. Oh, and yes, they had a computer; the one used to invoice clients. Hmmm . . . no foolin'
