Michael Salter, University assistant professor and director of digital arts, knew money in his department was tight. And when graduating students from the digital arts department expressed interest in a fifth-year program based out of Portland, Salter encouraged them with words but was unable provide any financial help.
Student Brian Workmen needed to burn some extra credits this summer before graduating in the spring of 2011. When Workmen enrolled in Salter’s Communication Design and Advanced Design courses, he had no idea the few-hour-a-day class would turn into a rewarding 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. job.
Reminiscent Salter and Workmen now stand inside their tent at last week’s Saturday market as clothes hungry college students liberate the few remaining items. Questions such as “How much?”, “You guys sell anywhere else?” and “Are you online?” fill up the empty spaces the customers can no longer squeeze into. A sign with the logo “Quack Ops”
twirls above the chaos.
“We are speaking from the culture,” Salter explains. “The students know the culture, the idiosyncrasies, and the funny sayings.”
Using blank cotton t-shirts, buttons, sticker sheets and key chains, Salter’s students immersed themselves into a project that taught them hands-on experience in the business and design world. The goal is simple: create a business made by students for students and where the proceeds go directly back to the students to fund scholarships for the digital art department. Salter delivered his idea to his summer class.
Workmen states, “The best part is there was no set syllabus, we all collaborated and worked together on the project.”
For eight consecutive weeks, students collected different design ideas from across campus and across the community. They started from nothing.
“Every product has been going through the radar, critiqued, and discussed, “Salter continues, “We are championing the design ethic.” Once solid designs were created, students began learning how to physically make their creations.
“Students learned how to brand and deliver material,” Salter said. “Business doesn’t need to be about profit — Just supporting time and energy to a great cause can be a business.”
Seeing the department’s financial situation and lack of resources, Salter borrowed some money and students helped ease the cost with their studio fees. The revenue Quack Ops receives goes to either pay for the cost of production or into a scholarship fund. Nowhere else.
Quack Ops appeared for publically for its first time at last weeks’ Saturday market. The design team did do a private showing in the end of summer to test peoples’ reactions to different designs. And by Thursday, “we came in with about 200 t-shirts, and I estimate we are down to about 40,” agreed both Salter and Workmen. “The reaction has
been outstanding; we had no idea how well it would take off.”
Supporting items with sayings such as “The Eug,” “I love Cheesy Grillers”, and even one featuring the famous icon Frog, Quack Ops is definitely not missing the market. At one point Salter toyed with the idea of opening a store front on University of Oregon property. The University quickly declined that idea.
Looming over East 13th Avenue, the Duck Store sells a plethora of quality, expensive Duck-flavored items. Although the apparel may be branded, the Duck Store items lack authenticity.
“We can compete with them because we have internal knowledge,” Salter explains. “We know The University of Oregon.”
The money from purchases at the Duck Store circulates through a variety of unknown hands, but when you purchase an item from Quack Ops you can rest assured the your money is going directly back to the cause.
“Someone came up to me and said, ‘Your stuff is great, but just the fact that you made it makes it that much better,’” says Salter.
So when you walk down East 13th Avenue, notice all the students dressed in relatively the same Duck apparel. And when you see someone wearing something a little fresher and a little more original, check the item’s signature. It probably won’t depict a Nike swoosh or
Champion’s “C”, but a cursive Quack Ops logo — a signature of a student.
Stay tuned to Quack Ops for more information on T-shirt designs and public showings.
Birds of a Feather Design Together
Daily Emerald
October 10, 2010
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