Devonport Column Merchandise

Another competion, another rejection!

This was for a gift shop item for Devonport Column, the monument in Plymouth for which I designed the gates - see more.

Here's the brief:

We are seeking an innovative, artistic and relevant design which represents the column project. Your design must be applied to a product which may be handmade (for example glass, ceramic items) or manufactured to house your design (for example tea towel or mug). You must consider the fact that the product needs to be saleable in a gift shop setting.

There is a budget of £1,200 to produce a limited edition range of the product. Please take this into account when submitting your entry to ensure that the product can be produced and will have a suitable retail price. If successful further items may be produced for sale.

Please email your design to alumni@pca.ac.uk including your name, CV, and a link to your website/online portfolio (if you have one). Your design must be accompanied with a statement of no more than 500 words describing your inspiration for the design and explaining the production of the piece.

Once shortlisted two the selected artists will receive £200 to produce a prototype in order to test the viability of the product, after which a winning design will be selected. Adjustments to the design may be requested at this point before identifying the chosen design. 

In early July 2014 I submitted 2 possible designs that could be engraved onto low cost lager or latte glasses.  I got a quote from an engraving company to do this for £3 per glass so long as there were more than 100 glasses.

Design A

This is an outline of Devonport Column when the glass is vertical/full and a telescope when it’s horizontal/empty. The telescope delivers a strong message about the great views from the top of the Column and also provides a maritime reference.

Design B

This etching is already used on the Column’s beer label.  I included it in case my telescope/column idea was considered too whacky.

A long silence ensued, in spite of me sending a couple of emails asking what was happening.  On 1st October, almost 3 months since my submission on 8th July, I was told:

None of the submissions we received were deemed strong enough to take forwards. I thought this had been communicated to you so I am sorry that this was not the case. We were looking for something a little more unique and innovative to mirror the project itself. 

I thought my telescope/column idea was unique, innovative and mirrored the project itself.  I suggested it could be developed but was told "we are not going to take this concept forward."

Lessons

So (as usual) I don't have much feedback to help me learn from my experiences.   But here's where I think I might have gone wrong:

• I should have produced a more polished submission on a single design board rather than a couple of photos and a statement on a separate sheet.
• I think the telescope/column idea has legs but it needed more development.  However, I didn't really have time to do this - the deadline was quite tight.
• In a perfect world I should have shown what the finished product would look like - the engraving on the glass - but I couldn't see an easy way of doing this without actually engraving a glass with the design.  And that was supposed to be Phase 2 - shortlisted artists producing a prototype.