Food & Drink mag ponies up $5,000 for shortlisted design packages

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario has issued an addendum to its request for proposal for art direction for its Food & Drink magazine. It seems to be an attempt to mollify designers and their association who were steamed about being asked for almost a complete design template, on spec. The new provisions offer shortlisted candidates $5,000 to cover their costs.

An art director friend writes:

The design requirements included a really extensive story list from the holiday issue. Interestingly, it looked like it included just about everything in the magazine but the cover and contents.

Normally when doing a design proposal/pitch, designers and art directors design a cover, contents and a couple of key stories to illustrate look and feel. This asks for way more, designers have to download pdf files and hi res images from the LCBO website and pick up copy elements from the pdfs, really work intensive.