The Apprentice

[Ian Bonner]

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed how bad the graphic design is that they use for products, print, etc on The Apprentice?

It could be one of two things: Are the designers being told what to produce by the BBC with NO artistic licence, so they are just doing it for the fee? Or are the designers simply just producing sub standard work?!

I dont think either helps us as designers. What do you all think?

[djb]

I think they tend to have one of the idiot apprentices staring over their shoulder so they just do exactly what they’re told don’t they?

[Boss Hog]

Those labels on the bottles last night were particularly bad, maybe they have to listen to exactly what the candidates request. Even still would you want your face on TV being the designer of that black and red bottle or that stupid cartoony Octopus design which would surely appeal to children lol...I'm no designer but even I could have come up with better concepts.

[Ian Bonner]

Even still would you want your face on TV being the designer of that black and red bottle or that stupid cartoony Octopus design which would surely appeal to children lol...I'm no designer but even I could have come up with better concepts.

Thats my point exactly! I can understand that the BBC may be telling them 'you must do it like this' but then surely you wouldn't want your face or any hint of your studio on the screen actually doing it. The design concepts I've seen on there are particularly bad. Surely the design studios taking on this 'work' are selling out.

And if you take on one of the programmes projects and you don't want the credit, then what's the point in doing it? The only advantage I can see is the fee on completion. I know if it was my studio I wouldn't tell people about it!

[Dave L]

I'd imagine that the know-nothing know-it-alls who compete on this show pretty much provide the template for exactly the kind of unwanted client input so often bemoaned on these boards.

[Ian Bonner]

Yeah but theres input and total control. The impression given is that the designer just comps together what they want. They could do that themselves on a laptop.

[Paul Murray]

I though the exact same thing when I saw the octopus bottle. Shouldn't it have been Octo-clean, instead of Octi-clean or whatever it was called? I'm pretty sure I've never seen an octipus, though I have seen an octopus on many occasions.

I've noticed a lot of poor designs in some of the older episodes as well. It's probably a combination of deadline, poor input and possibly 'just can't be arsed'.

Plus, many of the contestants are egotistical morons who think they know everything about everything. If I was designing for one of the groups and the project manager was a control freak, I'd be tempted to produce and awful design in the hopes they'd lose and be fired.

But hey, that's just me!

[Ian Bonner]

Yeah I agree about the contestants. The only mentions in the credits are for Evolutions, Duke Island Studios and The Cruet Company, which are all post production studios. No mention of graphics whatsoever.

It looks like they either use there own in-house BBC designers or that the studio does not want credit for what they are doing, and you can't blame them for that!

[Paul Murray]

I'd do the same. I recently asked an old tutor of mine how you deal with clients who are hindering your creativity and bringing about a Frankenstein's monster of design.

His answer was to simply "give 'em what they want and don't tell anyone you created it!"

Sound advice.

[Ian Bonner]

Looks like thats the case here then. It's just a shame that something as publicised as The Apprentice doesn't give something back.