CraftScotland chief executive calls for consistent guideliness for creative tenders
CraftScotland chief executive Emma Walker has called for the creation of consistent guidelines for public sector organisations when it comes to issuing creative tenders.
Speaking in response to questions being raised by the design industry following the issue of a tender by her own charity for a new logo on its website, Walker said that she would like the industry to be given the platform to advise on the creation of guidelines which would then be followed by publicly funded organisations.
“I would be very happy to see any document which comes from the industry that says ‘these are the guidelines to work with,’” said Walker.
CraftScotland is currently advertising a tender for an internal brand exercise through its website, which some within the industry believe could see many agencies spend time in applying for the brief that only has a budget of around £5,000.
Said one industry professional: “It’s Craft Scotland - a national creative agency! Imagine their view if people were looking for a bespoke piece of craft to decorate their office with and they advertised to the whole Scottish craft industry asking them all to create something and then choose which one they'd like to pay for.”
Walker however said that she had already been contacted by interested parties with questions and invited anyone seeking any clarification to contact her over the tender.
“I would say that we are one of the most open and honest organisations to approach,” commented Walker. “We are inviting anyone who wants to speak to us about this to get in touch either by phone or email. The reason why we are putting it out widely is partly because we wanted to find the best possible agency for the job, partly because we’re a charity and partly because we’re new and not widely connected as a network.”
She continued to clarify that no creative work would be asked for before the interview stage of the process.
“I think that it is a tight budget, but we are working within very strict financial times but I also believe that this is a responsible budget and I would question anyone who queries it how much a charity should pay for what is essentially a logo and option design for some pages within the website. This is not a full rebrand. This is not about coming into the organisation and working with us on everything to do with a rebrand,” Walker added, before explaining that the charity also had ‘expertise’ in-house that it could utilise too.
It is understood that a digital agency is also set to be appointed by CraftScotland in the coming week, working alongside its online marketing manager who has developed the wire framing for the forthcoming website.