DiDA: Frequently Asked Questions
- Where is DiDA located?
- What services does DiDA provide?
- How does my organization submit a request to DiDA?
- How long does it take for DiDA to turn around a project?
- How does payment work?
- Can my organization print projects at DiDA?
- How are project requests assigned and prioritized?
- What if I don’t like what the designer’s done?
- Can I work for DiDA?
- Who's on the current DiDA team?
Where is DiDA located?
DiDA is located in the big blue cube in the center of OSAF (room 101 of the Bryan Center).
DiDA team members are available to assist clients Sunday – Friday from 12pm – 5pm and by appointment.
As DiDA is staffed by undergraduate students, it will be closed during all University holidays and undergraduate student breaks, as specified in the academic calendar.
What services does DiDA provide?
DiDA team members provide recognized student organizations with print and web design services, artistic projects coodination, and basic marketing consultations and guidance.
Specifically, we do:
- Logo design: we'll create one from scratch or revamp an old one
- Poster design: 11" x 17" standard
- Flyer design: 8.5" x 11" or smaller
- Postcard design: typically 4" x 6"; printing can be costly and must be outsourced
- Banner design: large-scale; printing can be costly and must be outsourced
- Website design: we use Wordpress; we'll work with you to iron out the details
- Dining hall table tent design: requires prior permission from Dining Services
- Chronicle ad design
- Bus ad design: 11" x 22" standard; printing/laminating can be costly and must be outsourced
- T-shirt design
- Plaza board design: the big plywood signs that hang across from The Loop
- eFlyer design: advertise on the plasma screens in the Bryan Center
- Idea generation: we'll help brainstorm fun ideas for your marketing campaign
- Vendor suggestions: we are happy to suggest local and national printers and promotions vendors
How does my organization submit a request to DiDA?
There are two ways by which you may submit a request on behalf of your group:
1) Stop by the big blue DiDA cube to complete a hard-copy project request form. Place your completed form in the bin labeled, “Brand New Orders.”
2) Submit a project request form online. Should you wish for DiDA to include images, logos, or lengthy text in your project, please email these files to the DiDA team immediately upon submitting your project request. Please note the name of your student organization and/or a brief description of your project request in the subject line of your email for easy reference.
How long does it take for DiDA to turn around a project?
Upon receipt of your request, a DiDA team member will contact you by email and/or phone to discuss the details of your project. Complex projects and marketing campaigns likely will necessitate a meeting between a DiDA team member and members of your organization.
Bear in mind that DiDA’s hours of operation are Sunday – Friday, 12pm – 5pm; thus, project requests submitted after 6pm on a Thursday will not receive attention until noon on Sunday, at the earliest.
In order to maintain a high standard of quality, the DiDA staff requires a minimum of 5 business days to turn around a project request. The quality of our work is directly proportional to the amount of notice you provide. More complex projects require more time – pretty straightforward stuff.
How does payment work?
Services executed by the DiDA team are free of charge to recognized student groups. All expenses associated with printing and production are the responsibility of the student organization that placed the order.
DiDA will process payment for in-house printing by deducting the total charge from your student organization’s fund code.
Can my organization print projects at DiDA?
DiDA clients have the option of printing their posters and flyers on DiDA's Xerox Phaser 7400 printer.
The DiDA printer can print up to 36 color – or 40 black and white – pages per minute. It does not print bleeds – in other words, it doesn’t print to the edge of the paper; it leaves a clean, narrow white margin between your design and the paper’s edge.
In order to conserve paper, DiDA limits the use of its printer to 50 copies per project.
Printing rates for the 2009-2010 academic year are as follows:
30 cents/color copy for posters (11” x 17”)
20 cents/color copy for flyers (8.5” x 11”)
If it’s solely printing you need, please refer to our list of print shops and vendors.
Should your project exceed the capabilities of DiDA's printer, we will be happy to point you in the direction of a printing company that can help you.
How are project requests assigned and prioritized?
When your organization submits a project request, a DiDA senior designer determines which team member(s) would be best qualified to tackle it, based on their availability and areas of expertise. Should you form a positive relationship with a particular DiDA team member, you may specifically request his or her services; however, we cannot guarantee any team member’s availability.
DiDA responds to project requests in the order in which they are received. Our intention is to reward those student organizations that plan ahead – not those that wait until the last minute to seek out our assistance with their marketing and design needs. That said, it is important to remember that more complex projects (i.e., a website design or a full marketing campaign) take longer than simple projects (i.e., a flyer design).
What if I don’t like what the designer’s done?
Clear communication is the most critical facet of a successful DiDA experience.
While we do our best to follow the specifications detailed in your project request, our designs may not meet your expectations the first time every time. As our client, your responsibility is to respond promptly with feedback on our design drafts:
- What do you like – if anything – about this design draft?
- What elements would you like the designer to add, change, or remove?
- Can you provide an example of a particular style that you’d like us to achieve with this project?
Do not be afraid of hurting our feelings with your criticism! Be direct and polite, and we will gladly work with you to produce an ideal design for your needs.
Can I work for DiDA?
DiDA is no longer accepting employment/internship applications for the Fall 2009 semester. As positions become available for subsequent semesters, the DiDA manager will post them on the OSAF website, on DukeList, and on Facebook.
If you would like to be among the first to be notified of available positions on the DiDA team, email the DiDA manager with "Employment" in the subject line or stop by OSAF.
Who's on the current DiDA team?
Below is a listing of the Fall 2009 DiDA team members:
- Lauren Anderson '12 – intern
- Ajai Atal '11 – designer
- Vijai Atal '11 – designer
- Chris Carson '10 – designer
- Sophia Cui '11 – designer
- Hareesh Ganesan '12 – designer
- Camila Grello '10 – designer
- Christine Hall '11 – designer
- Mary Ashton Inglis '10 – designer
- Erin Kincheloe '10 – intern
- Alysha Kishan '11 – senior designer
- Jonathan Lee '12 – intern
- Sue Li '10 – designer
- Elizabeth Liang '11 – senior designer
- Danni Lin '12 – intern
- Caroline Long '12 – designer
- Matt Lyons '10 – designer
- Alex Reese '11 – student manager
- Melody Rowell '10 – designer
- Amy Shah '11 – designer
- Sanjeev Sreetharan '11 - intern
- Kevin Tao '11 – intern
- Minerva Thai '11 – intern
- Daniel Thielman '12 – intern
- Justine Tiu '11 – designer
- Cheney Tsai '11 – designer
- Patrick Wang '11 – designer
- Justina Wong '12 – intern
- Linda Yi '12 - intern
- Lisa Zhang '12 – designer