| Overcoming the artistic flat world challenge |
| Wednesday, 27 April 2011 | |
 Many buyers of publishing outsourcing services find that when it comes to creative aspects of publishing such as content, designs and illustrations - vendors otherwise meeting expectations, just 'can't get it right'. So while vendors are able to add value to the basic services such as typesetting, formatting and conversions, it is difficult for them to move up the creative services value chain. According to the ValueNotes Buyer Survey 2010, content (66%) and design (52%) are among the top three services that buyers outsource. Considering the buyer requirements for these services, it is important that the vendors consider various options to improve their capabilities. The following creative services are what buyers look to outsource:
Even though we are operating in a virtually borderless environment, services that need understanding of cultural nuances make it difficult for vendors to meet the expected quality standards. In the survey, 58% buyers expressed that ‘quality requires drastic improvement’. Differences in culture among countries, cities and regions impact both visual and linguistic representations- that underscore a creative/graphic artist’s output. Bridging the cultural divide – easier said than done When catering to the creative needs for Western buyers, Indian vendors acknowledge that capturing the exact style that a customer wants is a challenge. Indian artists are not always able to replicate and achieve certain drawing aspects with the differences ranging from eye colour, to visual representations or background images. Similarly content creation also faces issues. Even if the language is English, usage of words and phrases has marked differences across geographies. For example, an Indian artist may not have seen an actual 7/11 store, or even if he has had some exposure through media (TV/ movies), it is possible that he is not aware of the plus sized ‘Big Gulp’ soda cup. So, while depicting a typical mall scene in the US, an Indian artist may miss out on the subtle difference between a 1 litre and 1.2 litre cup. The same may apply to something as ubiquitous as a ‘large Pepsi can’. Even if the brand is vastly popular in India, there are certain design, colour and texture differences. Additionally, there also exist intra-cultural differences. For instance, in the US, cultural sensibilities in southern states like Florida vary substantially from that of New England. This challenge is amplified when it comes to designing for magazines. Here, not just design, but the words that go along with cover designs, titles and subtitles carry enormous impact. Hence, there would be marked differences within material intended for New York and material intended for Washington for that matter. In an outsourcing engagement, when a brief for the design is sent out, the buyer has to be confident that his vendor understands the level of granularity being aimed at. These examples articulate the reluctance of buyers to ‘offshore’ creative work. And this is despite the fact that buyers know that vendors, actually have ‘hugely talented’ artists, designers and content developers. Publishers often prefer involving ‘local talent’, vendors or freelancers to ensure better quality. While the steep cost of using a local resource is a deterrent, quality takes priority for most. Vendors must invest in learning In order to understand the client requirements, vendors sometimes use reference photographs or pictures (either researched or taken from buyers) and written documents to convey to the creative team the ‘feel’ that buyers want. Exposure through the audio visual media has sensitized offshore teams to cultural differences. For example, a graphics designer in Coimbatore is aware that raising a hand with the palm side up (the common Indian gesture for asking permission to speak) is a sign indicating ‘stop’, in the US and in Europe. Therefore, understanding the buyer’s target audience as well as being sensitive to the impact of subtle changes goes a long way in publishing outsourcing. Vendors need to be more proactive when it comes to bringing their creative teams up to the requisite standards in terms of knowledge. Onsite deployment has been stated by many as the most effective way of moving fast up the learning curve. The teams can ‘instantly pick up the signals’ and become an invaluable link to the buyers and vendors resource pool. They could alternatively engage or invest in partners who are located onshore and also use such partners to train their staff. By using all or some of these methods, vendors can portray themselves as complete solution providers with the ability to understand and overcome these challenges, indicating their global competitiveness. - Runa Mookerjee, Analyst Sourcing Practice |
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