I've relocated to Paris recently for a two-year consulting contract. I've never been a fan of working from home, so I'm now starting to look for a design (creative) studio that would sublet a desk for me. Know of anyone?

Who else here is suffering from the economic blues?

I'm wondering -- how many AIGA members out there are members of a union at work?

I need to broach the topic of a royalty payments with a long-time client who hasn't had to pay royalties in the past. We have language in our contract that defines me as the copyright owner but it's never been an issue until recently: they're starting to use the artwork that I created for some of their products on merchandise that they're selling. Since they're buying the merchandise directly, I don't make my normal printing mark-up, I don't make anything at all. SO, I want to start getting paid when they make money on the artwork. The concern I have is that I'm about 80% sure they think they "own" the artwork (you know, because a lot of people think they own the artwork when they commission it, and I haven't had reason to correct this assumption before). I need to gently / firmly / professionally bring up the issue of the royalties without getting into some sort of over-blown discussion about it that leaves them feeling frustrated and ill-used. I do some of my best work for this client, they appreciate what I do, and I think we're both happy in the relationship. My main priority it maintaining the good vibes, and I know that these royalties don't amount to a whole lot compared to what I can potentially make over time by maintaining the relationship. However, there are more and more file requests stacking up. Thoughts anyone? Anyone have insight into standard royalty percentages for, say, t-shirts and poster? Many thanks!

BTW, there is some discussion going on right now at the W3C (the standards body that makes the CSS standards) on CSS that will ultimately have an effect on responsive design. If you are familiar with the technical issues you might want to join in and perhaps steer the discussion. An archive of the discussion thread can be found at http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/2011Oct/thread.html (search for “User Agents Do Not Implement Absolute Length Units, Places Responsive Design in Jeopardy”).