Treasures of trash

Because of a building renovation/remodel, we are vacating our offices at work. That means we have to go through files and drawers to clean out and pack up to prepare for the move.

As I was going through one of my files, I came across one that took a job from the initial sketches to the finished product. I thought it might be fun to take a look at that here on the blog.

The background is this: as part of a money-saving effort, the Powers That Be decided to cut back on certain aspects of janitorial service. To be specific, the PTB thought it would save money to have us empty our own garbage cans and recycle bins rather than have the janitorial staff do the job. Naturally there was some resistance, particularly from the engineers who thought emptying trash was beneath them.

Our approach was to make light of it, like it wasn't a big deal. So to start things off, I brainstormed some sketches of little cartoons to put on fliers that would be posted throughout the building.

Here's one of the first sketches:


We decided to develop a couple of the sketches a little bit more as we refined the ideas. Here's one that I kind of liked, but didn't make the final cut:


In the end, we decided to just go with cartoon drawings and a fun font. The PTB were afraid that someone might find the gags offensive -- and it was already becoming a way bigger issue than it eve needed to be. Here's what the final flier looked like:

And now, a few years later, emptying our own trash has become second nature, and very few people whine about it any more.

And we all lived happily ever after!