04 Nov New Banners coming to Pioneer Square

I’m going to start this post with the same one liner from the Seattle PI article:

“Something new is coming to Seattle’s ailing historic district. But can it help?”

In full disclosure (and to avoid people being too brutally honest in the comments), I’m the one who designed the banners. [go easy on me!]

It was a long and arduous process, with a lot of input from a lot of people. And anyone who’s ever done design knows that you have to separate yourself from the design and not take any criticism personally. But no joke, final decision makers at ING didn’t like the “living” poster I designed and to give an idea of their vision of the poster, sent me pictures of people lounging on decks with the beach in the background, or a picture of the front of a house. One that you might see in the suburbs. Designing these as a volunteer, I suggested maybe I should just draw a picture of some homeless in Fortson Square (try googling “living in Pioneer Square” and see what images you get).

Anyways, we finally settled on a great design and I’m really happy with the way they turned out.

But that’s not the question. The real question is: “What can banners do to help the neighborhood?” Here’s what I think. I think that this was an investment that ING made in the neighborhood to show that they’re here and interested in the outcome of Pioneer Square. I think that there are lots of little things that people, volunteers, and local companies are willing to make that may look small by themselves, but to me, every action that is for a positive outcome for P², is a step in the right direction.

I’ve seen people criticize these “small” actions and suggest that banners don’t arrest drug dealers or help get the homeless off of the street. Instead of complaining, why don’t they get involved in these neighborhoods. Come to the public safety meeting, volunteer to clean up the streets, join the board, and more importantly, vote for people in the government that can institute REAL changes in our neighborhood. What can ING do in the first place to help the drug problems? Give me a break. This all comes down to budgets in the government for police, and laws from the city regarding drug dealing. Do you know that someone has to be caught 9 times before they’re arrested and taken to court. 9 times!!

Anyways, that isn’t really what this is about. This should be about loving my new banner designs and helping me rally ING to give me one of each for free for all of my long, stressful hours. Are you with me??