Open Discussion - Future Proposals + Artist Fair Wages + Process (Open Call for Input)

TL/DR - We (@krel and I) are trying to workshop a solution. We recognize that many Noun Proposals need artists to contribute to their projects, yet the cost varies wildly. Is there a way to standardize fair wages, as well as a protocol that encourages using Nouns community-based artists where possible? We are at the stage of encouraging discussions!

Problem - Many noun proposals require the talents of artists, yet the pricing varies for standardized needs. Is there a solution where we can encourage a fair wage yet predictable costs for those proposals while relying on the community?

Questions -

• Is this a real problem or a perceived problem?
• Would there be a desire for noun community-based artists to work on projects and get paid?
• What is the best process for this type of project?
• Could we piggyback 99u designs style with a prop house process?

Please add any input, raise any questions or anything else that matters, ultimately we want to encourage discussions.

Cheers, Rekola

Just some anecdotal notes here, there ARE some rates that I’ve seen that are lower than normal. It’s common to bootstrap pricing when creating something from scratch, but it creates difficulty in finding solid artists (and reliable!) as a result.

In addition, it should be noted that likely the expectation is that any artwork created becomes the property of the community, removing any ability from the artist to ever make ancillary income out of it, which means the rates should be good to make it worthwhile.

To provide an example : When hiring for a project that is licensed, I expect (and budget) for higher rates, as there will never be royalties or anything ever paid out, and the artist can see their art used elsewhere without their input, consent or feedback.

Just my two cents!

That said, an artist that agrees to a rate should do a project for that rate, and to the best of their abilities. A set amount to pay out per piece of art on a project, where it’s clearly outlined can give artists an opportunity to decide on their own whether they want to do it or not (or have the time to), and their portfolio is what’s used by the potential client to determine if they wish them to do the work.

It can be easy! Up front conversations, clearly labeled expectations along with clearly defined pay schedules.

The only thing I caution is that, in particular with Nouns, it’s essentially an entity with money, so should handle artists differently than some just starting out with no funding at all.

The difficulty will lie in determining whether the proposal warrants an investment of funds in order to create artwork for it. Luckily that problem is left for people smarter than I am!

Hey @Defaulteduser thanks for your insightful comments. They are noted! Appreciate it.

what excites me about this is the possibility to further “protocolize” various aspects of the nouns community and its many needs

i suspect this is best realized (at its inception at least) as a “design contest” rather than a normal hiring/sourcing of talents, ie, the work is done upfront with no promise of compensation

naturally, this limits the scope of projects that can be done this way, but if we’re talking MVP anyway

the noundust label is a perfect example IMO,
i got excited to contribute just by seeing other label designs and be part of a cool nouns project, and if there is a ‘bounty (plus consolation prices)’ to grab that’s icing on the cake

This is a real issue that needs some sort of a system and I don’t think that there is a cookie cutter solution to any of it. We need a vetted pool of professionals in various fields and they can be approached for a quote to do XYZ. The rest can be solved by a “project job board” where you can post your project and a specific need/list of deliverables and a budget (or negotiate privatley) Everyone has different rates, expenses etc. Running a design contest for every job is a bad look to any professional builder looking to get into this space. There is also teh clear definition of usage of the work and if it is going to be released as CC0 the artist needs to clearly understand what that means.
On the other hand I wonder if it is possible to put some sort of a usage /royalty payment into each on chain transaction for future uses of that artists work, even if it is .005% it may be a worthwhile option to explore. Happy to have discussions about this as it is something that definitely needs to be adressed.

We can also look to fund small creative pods to be available for consultation or problem solving, design etc. Happy to jump in and chop it up and try to figure this out for the future

This is of extreme importance if we want to optimize DAO resources.

For example, I identified two proposals repeating the exact same execution with >3x difference in price.

A new proposal system breaking down expenditure tags or categories would make easier for future accountability

not everyone prices their work at the same level. I may charge XX to develop a character mascot or a toy but my price is based on 25 years of unique experience as opposed to someone that may just have skills in blender. This is extremely important if we want to attract the best guilders and retain them.
In my experience no professional busy working artist will come in for a battle royale style competition against multiple entries and anon judges. We have to be very careful in this step. We should run contests and reward participants but also Commission know builders/artists for bigger level projects etc.(like Dustin Yellin) There is also the question of the entries that do not win, how are those protected from someone just saying “hey it is CC0 i am taking it” when that is a bit of a gray area. There is a lot of room for many hurt feelings in this space and I think what we should try our best to minimise any friction where possible and think through possible solutions.