Design creativity in the b2b world

How many times have you been frustrated at your magazine's lack of an art budget? I know that I have grumbled about this many times over the years. More often than not, my magazine is at the mercy of using photographs submitted by engineers working on a system they designed. (Certainly not the stuff an artist dreams of!) We're lucky to have a fantastic art director, and he always makes the most out of what we give him, bless his heart.

Yesterday, winners were announced in the first ever TABPI Design Challenge, a project developed to showcase some of the fantastic artistic talent that we have in the b2b world. But just as importantly, it is geared to get design professionals in our industry engaged in discussions about best practices.

This first challenge envisioned an art director for the fictional Concrete Times magazine caught in a proverbial crossfire. The magazine publisher wants the focus of the April 2008 cover to showcase the fact that it is the magazine's 40th anniversary issue. An important event, to be sure. But the editor-in-chief feels that the main feature story, focusing on the first ever "Top 100 Leaders" ranking, is more important. Of course, there is little or no art budget. So, what to do? TABPI asked b2b design professionals across the globe to weigh in with their solutions to this dilemma by submitting their own cover proposal.

I find the results of this Challenge to be fascinating. You can see the winner as well as five honorable mentions at www.tabpi.org/designchallenge.htm. There are also comments from the judges on both the positives and negatives that each solution brings. I invite you to look at the winners, forward the link to your art director or designer, and start a discussion as to how your team would have handled this issue. Which of the submitted solutions do you feel worked best? Would any of them have worked or not worked specifically for your magazine's audience?

Talking about design with your art director shouldn't be forgotten in these days of increased competition and shorter deadlines. Don't forget how crucial design is to a successful b2b magazine property.