Ay, oh, way to go, Embargo
If anything in this image had actually been embargoed, it would’ve been the shoes.
To make this site even remotely current, I’m up against some classic contract designer hurdles. In particular: The design embargo.
More commonly known in its role as temporary restricted access to scholarly papers before publication, the embargo also describes restrictions on publications outside of academia. Circulars for discount stores may leave some prices blank or encrypted until minutes before publishing. The risk is that high. (Of being undercut by the competition? Perhaps just the risk of having to honor lowest price guarantees? Explanations were above my pay-grade.) I had to let go and hope the person who eventually typed in the numbers had enough graphic design skills and comprehension of the style guides to not make me look bad.
Many projects are not public until after I’ve moved to a new gig, when I no longer have access to files. Typically, contract sites retain rights to anything I make for them. For years, I was lucky if I got a print copy for a portfolio. Essentially useless now. The computer files were rarely allowed off a work machine, even if there was no firewall.
A selection of print copies I was allowed to keep. Not even the most interesting of my circulars. Multi-variate testing was more creative, but I still don’t know if any of those designs ever made it to print.
My “3 month contract” in finance ended after 5 years. I was of course unable to take any work samples with me. Dramatic sigh. Technically more than an embargo, as financial client information generally stays confidential. All my DeltaGraph “masterpieces” will never been seen by anyone but shareholders. I scrounged for anything else remotely recent that wasn’t a puzzle, or for friends‘ theater groups.
Surprisingly, some of my Reebok work was on my own drive. It’s been over a decade. I don’t remember working remotely. I guess they let me bring files home. Photo-editing is way more inspiring than DeltaGraph, which is for people who just want the data, and will never appreciate how big a role good design plays in the process.
Thanks to the design embargo, some of my most important professional work will never be in my portfolio.