CKC Blog

Design in Haiti: A lesson in the use of color (and lots of it)

craig@ckc411.com — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:43:07 +0000

I am sitting under a tree in Port-au-Prince, listening to the music coming from a local bar, traffic, roosters, and the occasional firing of tear gas (I am near the Palace and the center of recent and growing protests). I just finished reading a book entitled “Travesty in Haiti: A true account of Christian missions, orphanages, fraud, food aid and drug trafficking.” It is hot and damp and like many people in Haiti right now, I am hungry. More than that, though… I miss home. I have been in Haiti for the better part of the last four months. I just finished editing riot photos and my pondering, logically wanders towards, what else? Design. I have not worked in my chosen profession much since the earthquake in Haiti pulled me into the country that I have long felt connection to. I have given up trying to figure out exactly why, but I do find myself missing the often unreasonable client demands, deadlines and what has always been (at the very least) a creative outlet for me. I have always been an artist, so to speak. While my current focus is photography and video, I have spent my entire professional life in just about every area of the arts, from painting and sculpture to graphic and web design. Some may argue the merit of graphic design as at form, but I will save that argument for another time. Anyway, in Port-au-Prince, everything is a bit loud. The music coming from the bars, the cars, the animals, the people (I don’t mean that in a bad way), and the colors on their signs and even more so on their public transportation known as tap-taps.

The colorful tap-taps on Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Tap-taps are, basically, trucks ranging in size from small two-seat pick up trucks to retired school busses and painted with intricate patterns and bright colors. Often they are adorned with celebrity renderings, political figures or deities, but they are almost always covered in rich, bright colors and dimensional adornments of all shapes and sizes. And they almost always far exceed the manufacturer’s recommended weight capacity. An old Haitian joke: How many Haitians can you fit in a tap-tap? The answer: One more.

So what my pondering (and perhaps pining) has led to is the simple fact that the Haitian people have marketing design down to the basics. Stand out.

I continue my work in Haiti and I continue to miss my home, my family and my work, but it is good to get a fresh perspective, meet new people and see new places. Who knows? If things don’t work out for me in advertising and design, maybe I can buy a few old pick-ups and a dozen cans of brightly colored paint and see if I can’t bring a little excitement to the United States in the form of a fleet of tap-taps.

For more information on our work in Haiti, visit www.FollowMeToHaiti.org.

The neglected blog

craig@ckc411.com — Tue, 11 May 2010 03:25:51 +0000

I broke my own Golden Rule of blogging. Give your blog a little love each day if you want to see that love returned to you. Having spent the better part of the past four months in Haiti, my business blog may feel replaced, unloved and downright ignored. That is not the case. In fact, not a day went by when I did not think of my blog. Internet access in Haiti was spotty at best and non-existent at worst, so I had to prioritize basic and priority communication, I am sorry to my blog and to those who looked to it for marketing, design, advertising, photography, strategy, insight and discussion. The good times will return, I give you my word. Until then, I encourage you to visit our current priority sites: www.FollowMeToHaiti.org and www.CKC411.com Thank you for your understanding and please look for a return to form in the very near future. It will be well worth the wait.

The business of generosity

craig@ckc411.com — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:26:05 +0000

Having spent the better part of the past month in Haiti or focused on supporting those Haitians most in need, I quickly realized the similarities between business and charitable efforts. First, I want to clarify that the Haitian people are not interested in charity, per se, but support and assistance as they struggle to educate and care for their families — a struggle that began long before the earthquakes took what little Haiti had and set the resilient people so much further back on the road to a better life. My business centers on communication and that has been key to the success we have had in maintaining support for our efforts in Haiti… communication. In business, we learn about consistency, but we also quickly realize that basic communication is vital and every opportunity to convert a consumer to a customer is one that should be maximized. In today’s short attention span society, it is easy to lose the focus from a market so eager for immediate gratification and one constantly bombarded with marketing noise. At its most basic level, marketing is all about “yes” and, of course, an awful lot about avoiding “no.” Every missed opportunity is one likely to never return again so when someone calls with an item to donate, no matter how small, our response is an enthusiastic and genuine “yes.” We are keenly aware that the smallest contribution (or the smallest client) can lead to something special, something lasting. When lives are on the line, it is easy to recognize how much even the smallest amount of support can mean to success. It might be worth considering the value of this recognition with your business — just a thought.

Follow Me to Haiti grows with your support

craig@ckc411.com — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:30:45 +0000

Follow Me to Haiti enters its second month with state recognized non-profit status, which means donations are tax deductible and we can create the foundation that this crisis necessitates. Things were bad before the earthquakes and the rain is going to make things so much worse. We need your support and that comes in many ways: aid, financial support, emotional support, and word-of-mouth promotion. The more people we work with the more opportunities present themselves. From flight options to cargo ships, every step we have made has been based on caring individuals working together to support those most in need. It is working. We fly out Sunday and back Wednesday to prep for the next flight. Meanwhile, we are working with several shippers to find the most affordable bulk options. We have been printing beautiful, professional photographs and placing them in galleries and retail establishments with information to help build awareness and we placed a large order for very cool limited edition t-shirts that will be available for ordering next week.

Back from Haiti, now back to Haiti

craig@ckc411.com — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:25:34 +0000

www.FollowMeToHaiti.org

I just returned FROM Haiti and am now preparing to return TO Haiti. The people of Haiti need your help and support – today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. Please let me know if I can help you help Haiti. If you are not working with a group or organization on Haiti relief, please join the Follow Me To Haiti effort. Thank you for all you are doing.

Follow Me To Haiti

craig@ckc411.com — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:37:54 +0000

www.FollowMeToHaiti.org UPDATE

As has been the case this week, lots of changes from moment to moment. I cancelled my American Airlines flight when I was offered a flight direct to Port-au-Prince, eliminating the more limited cargo space and the long and dangerous trek from Santo Domingo into PaP. This will get me into PaP faster and also allowed me to pick up the generously donated tents from Boy Scout Troop 732 (200 much-needed tents). Cherie with Reach Out To Haiti (www.ReachOutToHaiti.com) has been instrumental in coordinating this flight along with emergency aid and transport earlier in the week. The Hearts Out to Haiti (www.HeartsOutToHaiti.org) group reciprocated the emergency relief by getting some people from Cherie’s team out on one of their flights and it has inspired me to see everyone working together with the same goal — helping those who need it most.

We are still looking for fuel to support additional flights next week, but are finding that asking more and more of you to spread the word is opening many doors and creating many opportunities to get things done more efficiently and effectively… so keep up the good work. By working with many groups, we are isolating areas with the most need and working together to take immediate action. Please keep us posted on needs that you hear of or from groups you are working with and do not hesitate to ask us for help.
Check the website for the latest and stay-tuned for updates.

Lots of people to thank and I want to get that list out there, but for today… you know who you are and we could not be doing any of this without you.

Three reasons why we are working so hard to get aid into Haiti and distribute it to those most in need.

Visions of Haiti – 2009

craig@ckc411.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:50:51 +0000

I shot these images (and many, many, many more) last year in Haiti. I returned with a profound sense of sorrow. I could not believe that this beautiful country with such amazing people could be in such a state of poverty. Haiti was so close to us, yet so far away.

Finding joy in Haiti - 2009

Now that I see how high a price Haiti has paid to finally receive the attention it deserves, I wonder what the future holds. How long will the support last? Will the Haitian government make the changes it must make to survive and will the people be amenable to the change? Will the support end when the images of suffering cease to dominant the nightly news and the daily papers? Will we do what we do in spite of our promises following every global catastrophe… forget? This is far from a political blog, so my desire to drone on and share my strong feelings on the subject will end now. In closing, I just want to ask that we take the incredible capacity for love and giving that we so richly embrace following tragedy and never, ever forget.

Adaptation

craig@ckc411.com — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:58:39 +0000

My dogs live a very structured life. For example, when I let them out this morning, they sprinted twice around the pool, relieved themselves in the yard and then enthusiastically bounced to their food and water bowls. I always keep their bowl full of fresh water and their morning ritual begins with a fevered slurping from the stylish skull & crossbones decorated dish. Today was different. I could see from inside the house that the bowl was filled to the brim. yet the dogs kept looking down at the bowl and then back to me with a perplexed look. It seems the atypical South Florida cold snap created a phenomenon that neither man nor beast had encountered before (well, at least not this man or those beasts). The water in the bowl was frozen solid and as I looked around, I noticed icicles on the large oak tree in the yard and frost on the window.

A January morning in South Florida

Having an uncanny ability to think on my feet, I gathered up my winter gear and headed out into the freezing temperatures to bring some small sense of normalcy to these two very sweet and innocent creatures of habit. To avoid further disruption to their routine, I put both dogs in their sweaters and took them for their morning walk. Aside from the humiliation each must have felt at having to wear matching argyle sweaters, they went about their day. They have no idea why their water was frozen, nor do they seem to comprehend why they sometimes they have to wear clothes. I do these things for their own good.

Dogs are not always good at adapting to changing circumstances and sometimes business people are not either. I mean no disrespect. Being locked into the details of a growing business can be a tremendous challenge and sometimes it is difficult to see change coming and even more difficult to quickly adapt to it. Dogs rely on their humans to take care of them, watch over them and guide them.

Today was frigid and my dogs needed me to refill their ice bowl with fresh (liquid) water and they needed me to cover them in a cute and fashionable outfit to keep them warm on their walk and they needed me to bring them in from the cold despite their desire to play outside. I am not saying business owners and managers are like dogs, but I am saying that we all need someone to watch over, to keep us out of the cold and guide us in the right direction from time to time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

admin — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:22:01 +0000

Close-up of sparkler on New Year's Eve

01022010

admin — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:08:06 +0000

01022010 is a date palindrome. A palindrome is a word of phrase that reads the same forwards or backwards. There are only 335 days among 12 centuries with this type of date pattern. Thanks to photographer Mark Alberhasky http://www.imagema.com/blog for this interesting fact. I hope this bodes well for an amazing new year.