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Friday, January 9, 2009

My first bit o' hatemail

I've been buried in some longterm projects so I've been neglecting this blog, but here are some quick jobs I did for Sue Foster at The Wall Street Journal.

The first was as spot for an article on mattress toppers. I got this while in Colorado meeting a client. I'm learning the busier I am socially, or the less I'm in the studio, the more work I get. Pays to have a life I suppose.
And more recently I completed a job over the New Year's weekend. Again, make plans to be out of town and boom, new assignment. This one was about the top 10 best and top 10 worst jobs. Mathematician ranked top best while Lumberjack was voted worst. Pretty straight forward.
I wasn't told, initially, whether it was vertical or horizontal, so some early thumbnails were landscapes. The idea came fairly quickly, and I decided the best way to tell the story was to keep it simple and direct. Some of the more oblique viewpoints didn't convey the idea as clearly.Less than a week after this was published I received a strongly worded email. Now, I may live in NYC, but I wouldn't assume that instantly makes me an elitist. But who knows? I use an iPod regularly and voted Democrat. And obviously, I raise a pinky while drinking a beverage. Regardless, here is the email:

"Your image with the mathematician/lumberjack, with the smug mathematician’s look and the defeated lumberjack was a classist attack on the working man. Images like this make it harder for the hard working men we all depend on to find a mate, to have a family and a rewarding life. They are looked down on, literally, in your image and as a result are disrespected and unwanted. The frowning tree practically demonizes the lumberjack. At least give these men an image they can be proud of. They deserve better, their lives are hard enough already.


I’m just curious, do you own anything made of wood?"

...How great is that? Another milestone reached.