Adrika Hoque’s ePortfolio

Ethics in Graphic Design 2a

In many instances of my job, imagery is required for either menu stands or signage. Clients like to see the food that they are receiving but sometimes we are not able to take beautiful photoshoot like photos for every single item. In those cases, we use stock photos such as from pexels or unsplash. We try to use our imagery in most cases but for when we can’t, these are the websites we use. Attribution is not always required and is dependent on each photo.

I also use open source fonts and graphics such as from adobe fonts or the noun project. It is important to always read whether something is available for commercial or personal use in the copyright fine print. If I am using another artist’s work, I am sure to always credit them and add citations.

Ethics in Graphic Design 2b

After reading about the Shepherd Fairey case, I see the importance of copyright laws to protect artists and their work. For non-artists, it may not seem like a big deal to copy or steal someones work but an artist’s livelihood and individuality is at stake. Not only that, but the loss of revenue and profit can be detrimental to someone’s career especially in the case of the “Hope” poster. Shepherd Fairey is a great example of what can happen if you don’t follow the law and properly attribute the artist. It’s important to be ethical and moral in our design work and attribute any other artist’s work we may use.

Citations

https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/shephard-fairey-is-fined-and-sentenced-to-probation-in-hope-poster-case/

Throughout my career, there have been brief professional evaluations done by my director. Even so, I like to conduct a quarterly self evaluation for myself where I review all work that was done, skills I learned, and next steps to move forward. The past few months ever since I received my promotion, my responsibilities have increased to include many more projects and even management now. The scope of the projects I’m doing are much larger, more intense, and with much bigger clients. At some points it can be hard to find the time to do everything especially with a pretty small team. I’m lucky to have such a great relationship with not just my director but everyone else in the company. It truly has given me more opportunities than I can count but at times is hard to manage while also still having 1.5 years left of school.

I’ve learned the Adobe programs like Illustrator, Indesign, and Photoshop to a very intermediate – advanced level with all of the work that I do on a daily basis. I’ve learned how to write to executives, third party vendors, and large clients. Collaboration and teamwork with so many different departments is a large portion of my day to day tasks. Leadership and independence are also really pivotal skills to have as my job is very hands off. It is incredible to see the growth of just the last few months.

Moving forward, I have a couple of goals I’d like to hit. I’d like to expand our team as I think we’ve outgrown such a small team for such a large company. Another goal is to get more face time with clients and learn the business side of design. I’ve already started towards this goal with setting up calls and meetings. I’m excited to see what the rest of 2023 holds for me!

In this presentation, I go through my experience as a Creative Coordinator at Savory Hospitality and some completed projects. I introduce background information on the company and my history for the past two years. I also talk about the company culture, work schedule, and responsibilities. Recent projects include redesigning packaging, menu & event design, and a monthly newsletter. Overall, I developed better design skills as well as better people skills. I’m very happy with my experience and am excited for what comes next!

One of the earliest projects and tasks I was given when I first started my role was social media content creation and management. At the time, there was a social media manager who managed the social media accounts and ads of the company. I was tasked to create engaging, modern, and on brand content for all social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn. When I first started, I created a social media analysis deck where I did some research and development into our current methods and came up with some fresh new ideas to move us forward. I took on more of a hand drawn approach to make it more approachable and incorporated my design thinking through updated typography and imagery. The food and beverage industry can be incredibly fun to design for because of the wide spectrum of directions you can take. There are more casual and everyday brands like McDonalds and there are more upscale brands but Savory is somewhere in the middle. The social media was adapted to fit the audience of Savory better who are primarily women 25 – 45.

Most designs are created through Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The composition of the photo really matters with food because the goal is to make it look as appetizing as possible. I can spend many hours on Adobe Fonts sourcing great copyright free fonts as well as thinking about color palette and how to diversify content. My director is pretty hands off and really likes when I take lead and direction. I also sometimes schedule ads after tracking analytics and seeing which content performs the best. Creating video content and short form content like TikTok or Instagram reels is also another aspect of content creation that I also do and that incorporates more animation and motion design. Overall, this is a part of my job that I really enjoy and get to have more creative freedom with.

Ethics in Graphic Design 1a

A lot of the design content I produce for the company includes brand collateral such as logos, trademarks, and imagery. We have a photoshoot twice a year to photograph new content for the upcoming season and often times I am asked to source stock images. The companies logo is expected to be used in decks and presentations as well as a footer which includes the address, website, and phone number of the company. I’ve also created a lot of brand collateral myself such as a whole icon library, various illustrations, and such. It was interesting to read in the AIGA chapter detailing the use of illustration that “an artist’s copyright is owned by the artist and is protected from the moment it is created by the 1976 Copyright Act” since I thought it was the company that now owned all that material. I have been thinking lately of if I ever left the company, who would own all of the design work that I did? So it’s nice to have the answer to that question.

Stock Imagery

All stock images we source are from open source platforms such as pixels and images shot by our photographer are always credited. Stock images discussed in the AIGA chapter “Use of Photography”, is that it “avoids the many contractual issues that may arise when photography is done on assignment” and often times we have tight turnaround times where hiring our own photographer just isn’t possible.

Ethics in Graphic Design 1b

I was asked to sign a non disclosure agreement but it was more toward the general industry of hospitality and catering and not towards design and copyright. When talking about my job, I try to use more discretion and not share industry information and practices. The clients we work with also encourage discretion so they also don’t like their information to be shared.

Citations

“Use of Illustration” AIGA. (2001). PDF. New York City; Richard Grefé, AIGA. 

“Use of Photography” AIGA. (2001). PDF. New York City; Richard Grefé, AIGA. 

“Guide to Copyright” AIGA. (2001). PDF. New York City; Richard Grefé, AIGA.

Hospitality

Workplace culture changes the entire dynamic and relationship between employee and employer. Our environment dictates our stress levels, ambitions, and scalability especially at work where we may spend a majority of our time. It’s crucially important that we have a positive and rewarding workplace culture and I feel like I’ve found that with Savory. Savory is fairly informal and casual with an emphasis on community and family. The dress code is business casual as we may host clients or be called off to events. The offices are all open with cubicles and closed door offices reserved for senior level roles and directors. There are large open work areas with lots of socializing and not just about work. Family meal, which is lunch, is provided for everyday for everyone in the office and in the kitchen. Working in hospitality encourages a really rich and comfortable atmosphere and my workplace makes it a point to hire for culture. There have been several instances in the past year where several people were let go because they didn’t fit in with the culture.

Work Day

Whilst we do have incredibly good company culture, the hours of the day can really drag on. It’s in the nature of hospitality to have last minute additions or changes so the environment can be really fast paced. My typical workday is from 8:30 to 4:30 but often times I am staying much later than that. If I am going to an event, I can leave work at 6:30 pm or even later. My director is very lenient on vacation days and sick days so in a way it makes up for it. Savory is also an unlimited PTO company so I’m not stuck to set amount of vacation days. Overall, the workplace culture is fantastic and is one of the driving forces of me staying within this role.