The Process (a.k.a. Designing The Stop Sign Video) - ORIGINAL

[cinzonridge]

so who says the private sector has all the answers?

[gavacho131313]

Wow I love this vid. I'm a graphic designer, and I feel like I've been in this poor guy's shoes more than once in my life...

[Kakenyi]

Advertising is becoming more of a #fail as we go along

[SolonQuinnStudios]

Apparently 24 clients watched this video as well.

[2grdesigngraphic]

Hola, un video excelente, enhorabuena.

[cyberspaceturbobass]

toronto yeah!

[DaPartyAnimal1]

Drunk people run stop signs, high people wait for them to turn green.

[claynyse]

originally posted by patajah: "Ok, and now how about balancing this with a video in which the client presents a clear, straightforward brief and the agency presents proposal after proposal that is way off-brand, totally disregards key messages, and utterly lacks common marketing sense?"

haha... really?  I assume you are some sort of account exec or marketing person. The truth hurts and is also funny - and this video is 100% truth. Stop whining like a b*tch - err, I meant account exec

[henceseventytwo]

brilliant

[brownmuscle]

Is that KD Lang?

[idricool]

Welcome to Corporate America.

[chrisherself]

I showed this video to my mom and sister but they didn't really "get it." I don't think it's reaching enough people. How about if you add those neat annotation things that explain what's going on and why it's funny? It would be like that Pop-Up show on MTV. Engage the viewers! I told my mom and sister about this and they think it's a great idea. Also since I came up with the idea I am not going to pay you for implementing it. You can just take it off of the final invoice.

[Trevaynn]

brilliant!



[surfrash]

I Should show this video to all my clients before I make them a logo, haha, hillarious

[MrRofeliak]

I actually LOL'd at 3:23 when the "new" burst hits the screen.

[bmused55]

Yeah, that's about right! I've had my fair share of customers like those. LOL

[Cheatsification]

is that KD Lang?

[BigIdeaCompanyLLC]

Genius! 

[ShotgunRyan]

They should do a government version.

[hyperballad400]

seriously...genius. advertisers pull this s*** in order to create work for themselves.

[uptownsean]

LOL! This is so on point I dont know what else to say. Clients will always over design things when they try to run the entire project.

[mafermononoke]

looooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­ooooooooooool

[tomcatmwi]

WORD!

[bjeaneen]

OMG -- I love it!!!

[dubbys]

I see "do not Duplicate" and It just makes me want to even more...

[jesusmasochist]

this is perfection

[rcartertoe]

Amen.

[theChrisWhiteley]

I figure I can show this video to wife to explain why after a long day of web design I come home and drink.

[NicelyMalicious]

@theChrisWhiteley - My husband works with me. We show this to our friends at the pub when they ask, "But why do you always bring your laptop to the pub?" Because the pub has more booze than our house. Usually.

[onlyhuman41]

How did you guys manage to get Rosario Dawson for this video?

[tritisan]

Hey, I know! Let's privatize EVERYTHING and let the free market decide how to best engineer our public infrastructure!

/s

[lackthereof0]

You nailed it.

[peetarararar]

Haha, I wish stupid people understood. No designer is ever like,"I have a few ideas for your business. Why don't we change the color of the carpet, tweak the products, in fact, let's just trash everything you have now and replace it with new items. Actually, let me call my friend who's another web designer and I'll get his input on your business."

[nymon10]

From a sign installers point of view, this clears up a lot. I used to wonder why quite often.

[Qrazii]

One guy + 3 women.

[askmatthewpotter]

This couldn’t be more true to form. Great job.

[sludgedisciple]

Brilliant!

[ileshious]

hahahahahahahahaha

[dwelwell]

These meetings look very familiar

[greasymullet2002]

oh god this is my life. "HVM's", "really think this through if you could, yeh and we still want it by tomorrow" - priceless

[karlaxwp]

Oh deja vu...here it comes...yup...been there done that...

[siddartharo]

It makes you wonder what disgusting greedy creatures the "creatives" can be to put up with all this crap.

[busdriverjow]

hahahahahahah exactly true. being a graphic designer SUCCCCKSSS sometimes lol!!!

[pixelelement]

nice, anyone in design can relate to this...

[zaixhadouken]

God I know this feeling. reminds me of one of my recent jobs. XD

[thepaledeath]

Geez, this is my Mon-Fri... It genuinely makes you want to shoot yourself.

[dasanjos]

The final design looks like E.U. signs :)

[corinakis]

brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!

[MaksimSSM]

Здорово!

Great!

[PlayForLOLs]

this is exactly what happens!

[Nirdjha]

Wow!  I'm in cable advertising on the production end (I'm the guy actually making the STOP sign) and this is spot-on! Nothing is worse than working with a TEAM on a project - EVERYONE wants to have an input. This is the result.

[MrMacfag]

@Nirdjha oh, you poor

[yatrahal]

Класс!

[izvarzone]

Overdesigned sign :-)

[LenaSlip]

It reminds me of BUBKA, however these people were much easier to work with!

[dubstar55]

Lol! This is probably what would really happen now... can you imagine how many more wrecks there'd be? That sign is so distracting!

And lol at 3:34, "To remind drivers that stopping is not only required, but it's fun."

[lostzombiesdotcom]

I'm so glad i work for myself now

[pavelmelnicovCL]

What if there were no stop signs, and a major corporation was charged with inventing one? They'd brief their agency and let them do it. Sorta. Welcome to corporate creativity, where groupthink and endless revisions help good ideas get executed.

[MegaSindell]

а в конце клиент должен выдать коронную фразу: "дизайнер нихрена не работает, мы всю работу делаем за него" ROFL

[nickopollo]

@MegaSindell ha tochno

[maxnag]

клиенты задрочки!

[retal06]

So true. Aggggrrrhhhhhh.....

[RealCheeseOnly]

a web address!! lol

[Yansan85]

exactly how having dumb managers, is reflected on work :D

[synae00]

lols

[MaidenOfAnguish]

I am freelancer now.

But It was so funny. Theyr faces after "SHUT UP, IDIOTS!!!"

Sorry, bad english.

Just... this is really story of my life :/

[TheClunkingFist]

That's simply brilliant. But you may want to use a more sober soundtrack, as it is a serious topic. And maybe reshoot on a sunny day, as testing shows that darker days make folk feel cold and their bladders feel full. Also, although you have the male/female actor mix about right, can you introduce a bit of ethnic diversity?

[sidewinder3000]

@TheClunkingFist

hey man or lady,

just read your comment from a while back on the "stop sign" video i directed.

while it's always nice to get positive comments from people, it's especially gratifying when they come from someone with such a monster sense of satire/irony.

thanks for noticing.

[cputrdoc]

@TheClunkingFist Thank you for illustrating the point. :)

[Kry8ter]

I recently went through this myself. And while they were the dumbest people on earth, they were paying me a ton, and by the hour, and so, the more they changed it, the more they had to pay me. Bring it on...

[solenraymond]

AMEN! The story of a designers life! Sadly.

[TheSunSunich]

Designers who don't know how to handle such clients are gay.

[DecoySanchez]

It's disturbingly accurate. The horror.

The other woman that appears out of nowhere during the presentation is pure genius.

[dalancroft]

Yes, as an ad copywriter for nearly 20 years, I can attest this hits the nail (painfully) on the head. It wasn't until I started consulting and tripled my hourly fee that clients actually thought I knew something -- and listened to me, at least most of the time.

[derpenstein]

If you stay in the game long enough you can start to pick and choose clients, throwing out the ones who try to run your life or get you to do free stuff all the time.

[tweberfree]

I have a few minor adjustments...

[leafs88nation]

True. Clients Suck

[thecharredremain]

"Yeah some people just don't read, ya know?" lmfao. "And a burst that says "NEW" if it doesn't make it too busy" hahahaha

[thecharredremain]

"Yeah some people just don't read, ya know?" lmfao.

[MrLuigiFercotti]

The designer is left handed.

Hate to say it, but this is the price you pay when you want do creative work and also get paid for doing it. A bunch of talentless pukes peeing on everything, but they pay the bills so you dance to the music.

This scenario is replayed in many other professions besides graphic arts. The person paying the bills gets to play "designer" while not actually having to design anything.

[OMDIgnition]

Does anyone else think the client actor looks like KD lang?!?!

[ianpatrickbuss]

thats why I have all my clients sign the "i know what is best, I have power to override all suggestions based on my knowledge" form...

[sobaord]

this video screams IanPatrickBuss

[susiesoxer]

It's so true - I don't whether to laugh or cry.

[myrridin]

As a designer, lol's all around.

If you enjoyed this, google "Make My Logo Bigger Cream" for more similar humor.

[artbybill]

OMG...... this is so accurate it is scary..... Like "they" say... "A Camel... is a Thoroughbred built by committee"

[2hdwa]

this video isn't funny. at all.

[ginensky]

"A mule is a horse designed by a committee"

[Tysto]

@ginensky That's a camel you're thinking of, chief.

[killupem]

If you think this is bad, try creating a stop sign for NASA!

[NotSpike1]

Software developer here, this is so true it's upsetting!

[pappyakiri]

it looks like clients run creative agency and ad agency a implementers

[gsanson]

This really shows how stupid people are!

[saurabh1983in]

This is the closest video ever to represent my management

[art4med]

TOTALHomeRun!!--- esp the feigned encouragement [in the (political) arena]. Just a few tweaks.....

[nostopnosign]

ROCK N ROLL !!!

[johnmayerhendrix]

Have you seen John Denner 's Guitar instrumental called

NO STOP SIGNS ??

[DetAdMan]

More proof that creatives really are masochists. Why do we put up with this stuff?

[guitarriffoftheweek]

This is really an odd video ???

[TalesOfWar]

If you're a designer this will be very sad but true.

[12guitarsaday]

I love this video !!!

Great Job on the music in the intro

Happy Holidays

[rmdort]

London 2012 Logo ? I bet wolf olins had to go through this shit

[bottleHeD]

Hahah! This is brilliant! I can totally relate to this, I've often had to incorporate asinine "suggestions" in my work...

[jongreek]

"Way to crack the code!" Non-creatives on their PCs and creative on a Mac. Writer Harlan Ellison refers to such morons as parasites and mollusks on the creative process.

[7053productions]

Stellar. Brilliant. Painfully, excruciatingly true. I don't know whether to laugh, or fight post-traumatic flashbacks.

[lmuellerjr]

Laugh it up. This is what marketing, account executives and upper management do to creative all over the world every day. It's happening right now.

[noiseache]

@lmuellerjr I had a single experience of this as a designer in the open market some years back.

Within a month I was working in the education sector.

[bunchoftits]

Design by committee at it's best! It's days like this that make me cry.

[oljai]

This kind of approach makes the design agency rich, alterations are draining but costly.

[dashboardb]

you assume the client actual pays for those hours... apparently you don't realize that the client still expected the budget to hold to the original. aka, we change our mind, you keep your budget static...

[jongreek]

Some clients will try to lock you in on a single, package price, but the vendor has to be very clear the number of iterations they get without before it becomes a change in scope. If you don't so this, it's a fool's errand and you will lose money on top of working for sub-mental dopes who can't make a good decision to save their lives.

[taybo06]

This is sickeningly true... trust me, this video isn't even an exaggeration. This is how it WOULD happen!

[kazmaz82]

God, I HATE marketing people!... NO! Hate is too strong a word.... erm.. NO! NO IT ISN'T.

Marketing people know SWEET FA about Design or even Marketing for that matter. Power to the Designer I say! WoooHooo!!!

[Briarbones]

Amen

[patjah]

Ok, and now how about balancing this with a video in which the client presents a clear, straightforward brief and the agency presents proposal after proposal that is way off-brand, totally disregards key messages, and utterly lacks common marketing sense?

[FiftyNineNinetyFour]

If that's the case: change agency!

[patjah]

Yes, I suppose some clients have that luxury. All I'm saying is that it goes both ways.

[theeponym]

Because it's the exception, not the rule?

[patjah]

Oh please... it's 50/50.

[theeponym]

Hardly. Design agencies thrive/fail on the quality of their work.

If your experience has been 50/50, then it's either:

1) You're really bad at choosing an agency to work with

2) You're the problem and you don't realize it

[patjah]

1) I don't choose the agencies my team works with.

2) I'm definitely not the problem.

I'll give you this - my original comment is based on my experience in Central Europe, where it is definitely 50/50.

[theeponym]

Ah, well, Europe could be an issue.

In many ways, I find European design to be more artistic and creative than North America. Perhaps they're more likely to try and make the problem fit into their grand design, instead of trying to design for the problem.

[KarlSmyth]

It's not even funny because it's just bang on!

[geighlan]

I know the feeling

[RomanFernandez]

As funny as this is, from this day on, this video will be part of my client education curriculum. I will carry it on my laptop along with a fully trained staff who will adapt this video to an interpretive dance routine at client meetings.

[sidewinder3000]

@RomanFernandez

your comment on the stop sign video i made is hilarious. please tell me you will follow through on the interpretive dance meetings!

[tastypistachio]

@sidewinder3000

Hi Sidewinder. Indeed, your video had such a sobering effect on me that I finally mustered up the courage to leave the crazy world that is the advertising industry littered with such neurotic and passive aggressive personalities and made a new start with a much more stable, rational and well-adjusted client base in the music industry. I may still need need your help in the form of a corporate video for tour managers though.

[RomanFernandez]

@sidewinder3000

Hi Sidewinder. Indeed, your video had such a sobering effect on me that I finally mustered up the courage to leave the crazy world that is the advertising industry, littered with such neurotic and passive aggressive personalities and made a new start with a much more stable, rational and well-adjusted client base in the music industry. I may still need need your help in the form of a corporate video for tour managers though.

[popedarren]

Wow... this hit too close to home. When she said, "can you move that one logo up a tad," I almost punched the screen.

[Cechas]

ooo demn ;] most of them are like that, and our job is to make mission POSIBLE

[lucdesaulniers]

Oh so too familiar!

[tigerlilianne]

oh yeah.... we should send this to all clients at all review points! Wonder if they'd learn something. Fantastic vid!

[StormMarc]

Great work!

[levelninetynine]

Where is my privacy??? Someone is recording my client meetings. ROFLMAO Funny but true.

[clerans]

and this is the private sector. imagine gov't.

[TheClutchCargo]

Please tell me you guys haven't been infiltrating our conference room and videotaping our client meetings. Too hilarious, and too true.