It’s been some time since going to a creative thing of sorts, and today was a great day going back to it! I really saw an array of stores all over the place, and it was good fun getting to see the different people, and the different types of graphic design going on. There are some thoughts I personally have, as a review for myself, if I were to publish or present work at these fairs.
Presenting limited quantities of work
I think the booths with too much work came off as just trying to sell me things. Worse still, there was one booth that just covered their tags, and I had no idea who they were, and if I’d want to buy things from them. It was just too much at one moment, and there was no proper curation.
On the other hand, booths that had a neat line or a very simple set up with enough space in between the different items, those made me appreciate their wares more. It also helped that they would normally stand up to those coming, or at least sit up straight and appear interested. Some booths managers were very lax in their demeanor and made me feel as if I didn’t matter.
Having work that is really affordable
I think running between the limited quantities, it’s also important to price appropriately. If I picked up a zine that was really thick, and it was charging me about $30 bucks, I might feel more inclined to purchase, if the content looked very interesting and appealing. If it was thin, and just with little content, I might not.
I also preferred functional items over pure aesthetic ones. It was a good reminder to make things that I personally would want to get, cause I think a number of people just made things that were just marketable, forgetting that the other booths would do almost exactly the same thing.
This means that if I was going to sell something, it needed to be something limited, affordable, and somewhat functional. One of the coolest things I saw, but didn’t get, was a fidget spinner that would animate a man running. It was so awesome, but I just had no more money left by then.
I spent most of my money on stickers, smaller zines, and things that I would use, or I could reuse later on.
That’s about it, but maybe after pondering a bit more, and doodling around, I might add more thoughts tomorrow.
