These past few days have been especially muggy, haven’t they? However, thanks to my work, my mind has been at Mardi Gras—the bright colors, the lively masks, the music and more! I recently designed this themed-flyer for Imagine Homes, and it was such fun to put it together! Truth be told, I’ve never been to Mardi Gras, have you?
Right now I am fired up creatively. I’ve been working on such amazing projects that I am just pumped to take on the week! One of the pieces I’ve designed recently was for my talented client, Renee Joseph. She is the founder and CEO of ecoEDI, a college accelerator program offering educational support services for students, families, and individuals that are economically disadvantaged. I had the opportunity to design multiple pieces for her last year—a trifold brochure being my favorite so far—but our latest collaboration was to create a credibility statement flyer for her company. What’s motivating your work this week?
Every year, my amazing clients, Steve and Louana Tyson, put together a FREE Gingerbread Man Decorating Party! Kids of all ages come to have a fun morning decorating and eating delicious cookies! BlackStone Studio has designed the promotional flyers for this event for a few years now, but I’m especially proud of how this year’s flyer turned out! Check it out above! And, if you want to join the party, visit this link to register: http://bit.ly/2PSOdp6
‘Tis the season for holiday-themed flyers! First, we have Fall, then Halloween and last but not least, Christmas! These days, BlackStone Studio is busy with tons of requests for themed flyers. I love it because it’s one of my favorite things to work on! And when the theme is Christmas, well that makes it even better! For the past few weeks, I’ve put together fun and festive promotional flyers like the ones above, which were designed for different home builder clients. Check them out!
Texas State Financial & Health, one of our favorite clients, has many fun and informative events throughout the year. Whether it’s a training night, a company overview meet-up, a women’s entrepreneur gathering, a wine & wealth function, or a networking event, there is always a custom designed flyer to promote it! BlackStone Studio has created various unique and exciting flyer designs for Texas State Financial & Health. Check out some of this year’s above!
Upcoming Events:
Wine & Wealth Event on September 20th
First Day of Fall Networking Event on September 22nd
Earlier this year, BlackStone Studio designed a five flyer promotional series for our number one client, Texas State Financial & Health. The custom set of flyers was created in late February with the purpose of reaching out to people with different professions who are looking to earn extra income. Every flyer is tailored for each type of occupation, and they include a licensed stock photo to represent that group and content explaining the different benefits of joining Texas State Financial & Health. The entire series of flyers is consistent in design, layout, and purpose. It was crafted specifically for one client’s use, Texas State Financial & Health.
So why am I posting about this project now? Well, this past week one of these flyers was stolen. The thief removed the company information and placed a poorly cropped flag photo (probably looted as well) on top of the Texas State Financial & Health logo. He’s using it on social networks to represent his own business although he is well aware that the artwork does not belong to him. He has been told he does not have permission to use it and has been asked to take it down, but he has yet to comply.
My first emotion was anger. Frustration followed next. In this day and age, most people are fully aware that you can’t take an image from online and use it as your own. Copyright infringement is a serious issue. This person’s blatant disrespect and disregard for one’s hard work and for my client’s time and money investment is just appalling. However, I am not going to share this thief’s name here or anywhere else. I don’t like online shaming. Sadly, I also don’t believe this person would even be ashamed based on his response back when asked to take down the image. But I do think it’s important to share this experience for three reasons:
If you see one of these custom designed flyers online, specifically the Active & Retired Military themed one which was created with our amazing veterans in mind, and you don’t see the Texas State Financial & Health brand on it, then please be aware that they have stolen the flyer. I am not asking that you bring this up with them because this is not your fight. But I do, however, ask that you reconsider doing business with them. While they can rip off the artwork, they can’t steal the character, integrity, and quality of service that Texas State Financial & Health offers.
Imitation, or in this case thievery, is the sincerest form of flattery. Obviously, the work and effort put into the series were worth stealing. I spent time planning and designing each piece carefully with Texas State Financial & Health. The layout and message are simple yet strong. So instead of being angry, I now find myself feeling flattered that they liked my design so much they had to take it. I also feel sorry for the thief, who doesn’t believe enough in his own business to want to invest in it and create his own promotional pieces, but that is neither here nor there.
For those out there who still think it is ok to take online images or artwork to promote your business, please know that it’s not. Don’t copy/paste or save images from online and use them for commercial purposes. Always ask permission from the owner and respect their decision. Also be conscious of the fact that some artwork may incorporate licensed graphics. The person who snatched my design is not only stealing from BlackStone Studio and from Texas State Financial & Health, but also from the stock photo company we used to purchase and license the images. Unfortunately, we can’t do much to prevent people from stealing online artwork, but I’m hopeful that this article can at the very least help educate those who didn’t even know they shouldn’t be doing it.
Full Disclosure: Texas State Financial & Health is my number one client because their owner and leader, Justin Holland, is my amazing husband! BlackStone Studio does all of their custom web and graphic design work. I genuinely believe this occurrence solidifies what an incredible job they are doing helping people with their health insurance and life insurance products and the great career opportunities they offer. People only copy or steal from those they admire or feel envious of, so that means that Texas State Financial & Health is definitely doing something right!
