Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/318021
26 THIS WEEK CULTURE | TV | FILM CINEMA LISTINGS FOOD | WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK WHEN and where did you first get the idea for the book, and what was the collaborative process of putting it together like? When I was working in Malta I wished I had a manual I could give some clients on how to behave, what to expect and what to do. Alexey [Golev; co-writer] had the same ex- perience when working in Russia. When we started working together we often joked about creating this manual and giving it to our clients as a sort of agreement of our terms and conditions, but nothing materi- alised from it until Modest (who we had worked with on several projects) told us that he wanted to create a book for his clients explaining some fundamentals about print, photog- raphy, quality of drafts vs. output files. We slowly started putting togeth- er bits of advice that we wanted to share with our clients. Alexey and I focused on the areas that handled choosing and working with design- ers, expectations, documents, while Modest focused on the different types of design jobs, output types. Then came the task of refining everything down to the essentials and sending it off to Ann [Dingli; editor] to be edited into one voice. Natasha [Averyanova; illustrator] was left with creative freedom for the illustrations, which could not have worked out better. Did you consider different av- enues of publishing before opt- ing for an exclusively online ap- proach? We decided to go ahead with sell- ing it ourselves instead of working with a publisher or publishing plat- form because we weren't sure what the reaction to the book, or even the name, would be. Using this as a testing phase for the content and idea as a whole. With the response we received, as well as requests for a printed version, we've started to get quotes for printing as well as approach publishers to handle eve- rything. There are no definite plans yet, but we will eventually release a printed version – either self published or through an establisher publisher. The title of the book, of course, suggests that you were going for a more jocular tone throughout, but the ensuing content suggests oth- erwise. Did you set about writing the book with the aim of it being primarily practical, with any cut- ting humour being a secondary extra? The book was always meant to serve as an advice handbook. The title was a much-debated factor that took second place to the content. It was initially going to be called Cli- ents from Heaven as a response to the Clients from Hell website. The current name was agreed upon just two days before releasing it. We chose that title firstly because we wanted something that will attract attention at first glance and sec- ondly because that is the key point we wanted to bring across with the book for both designers and clients: Whatever you do, just please don't be a dick. As for the humorous elements, besides being very opinionated we are also very sarcastic, so we had to flavour the content with a bit of our characters. Were there any particular 'inci- dents' that spurned you on to write the book? Is the book directly in- formed by your experience? The book does come from experi- ence, as well as stories we've heard from other designers and clients. We simply approached it in the way we normally approach projects with our clients: going from step to step and writing down what it is that we actually do, how we work, what we expect from the client and what they should expect from us. How would you say the book dif- fers from more openly confron- tational takes on the same idea, like – say – the Clients from Hell website? I've always hated that website, I find it a place for designers to whine about problems they've had with their clients without trying to find a solution for them. It's also a place to massage designers' egos and let them know that their clients are idiots. I believe it differs because it is a so- lution to all these problems – if your clients know what to do and what to expect then there shouldn't be any of these problems. The problem with that is that designers do love to com- plain which is why a large percent- age of people talking about our book believe it is just a bunch of designers bitching about their clients. For more information and to purchase a digital edition of the book, log on to: https://pleasedontbeadick.com/ Scrap the 'Richard' inside you TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Paul Attard, one of the writers behind the seemingly bold industry guidebook 'Please, don't be a dick' – a plea to clients to be nicer and more understanding with the graphic designers they employ Ede Books will be releasing its latest publication later this week at SO Galerie, Iklin – giving readers a unique insight into Malta's ever-controversial nightlife hub: Paceville. Night & Day is a collaborative photographic project between David Pisani, a professional photographer and Elise Bil- liard, an urban anthropologist and photographer, working to- gether to document Paceville's dual existence by day and by night. Following 18 months of photographic coverage of Paceville, the Night & Day project will reach its culmina- tion with a book launch and exhibition on May 29 at SO Galerie in Iklin. The project also includes two music tracks ('Day' and 'Night') mixed by French DJ Antoine Coignard aka DJ Coinx who mixed street ur- ban sounds in Paceville to cre- ate moody urban soundscapes of Paceville. DJ Coinx will be performing at the launch. More information on: edebooks.eu/night-and-day/ Night & Day was part financed by the Malta Arts Fund and is co sponsored by SO Galerie and Computime Ltd Digging deeper into Paceville Alexey Golev (left) and Paul Attard, co-writers of Please, don't be a dick