EVENTS

PUNCH t-shirt contest

As a design firm, we are always fine-tuning our in-house pieces. Being the competitive people that we are, we naturally turned our t-shirt redesign into a contest. To accommodate both summer and winter needs, we settled on two winners: Matt Brown’s t-shirt and Sarah Shannon’s hoodie. See the winning designs here.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

muse award

PUNCH has been selected as a winner of the MUSE award from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. This award highlights companies that show exceptional creativity in the way that they run their businesses and how they create a positive work environment for their employees. We are truly honored. See the winners here: www.vmfa.museum/museawards.html

CREATEATHON

We invite you to help us get the word out about CreateAthon. Non-profit agencies who need cutting edge marketing materials can get them for free at PUNCH’s first annual 24-hour creative work blitz, scheduled for September 13–14. The application and more information are posted on our web site www.theartofimpact.com. If you have a favorite charity that could use a little PUNCH, send them our way!

COMMUNITY

head's up stock photography

The word on the street in the design biz is to tread very carefully when using stock photos on your web site. Several major stock photo houses are using companies like PicScout to scan the internet looking for copyright infringement. Not a bad idea, in and of itself, but large fines are being collected even when companies are trying to comply with copyright laws. You could be in trouble if:
1. You bought a photo from a small agency and that photo is now available through a major photo house.
2. Photos were available royalty free and now are rights managed.
3. You purchased rights for the “live” period on your web site. If the photo can be accessed through archives, you could be at risk.
4. You used a third party web site template. You may think that any images are correctly licensed when they’re not.
Do check to make sure that you have licenses for any stock photos used on your web site and make sure they say “royalty-free.” Consider not using any rights managed photos at all. For more information visit: www.picscout.com/home/index.aspx.

NEW VENTURES

Kelly Adams, our managing partner and Stephanie Russell, lead designer for INK & PAPER, headed to NYC in May to attend the National Stationery Show. They attended seminars, did a little industry research, and treasure hunted. Expect great things to come out of the INK & PAPER summer season!

SALISBURY SMACKDOWN
It's a fact that we love to compete at PUNCH. On April 20, the staff assembled at Salisbury Country Club for the first ever tennis extravaganza. We tried to be civilized, but things took a turn for the WWF when the event got dubbed the "Salisbury Smackdown." Check out the full story and pictures here.