I got a new assignment on Thursday. But the content of the task is the same as last week, which is to design the articles. The difference this time is that there are only two articles to do. But this is an urgent task that needs to be completed and sent to the department head by Friday. One of the articles this time is about Elizabeth II, and I believe no one is unaware of her and the news that she just passed away.
When designing this article, I was very confused about whether I should use black and white photos or color photos to embellish this article. Since I found that many of the articles reporting on her used color photos, it made me wonder if black and white photos could not be used. Black and white photos in China are generally used for dead people, so before choosing, I went to investigate the meaning of black and white photos in the United States. Black and white photography in the United States is a photo that can evoke nostalgia, sadness, and memories. After making sure that black and white photos are acceptable for this article, I chose to use black and white photos. Both as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and as a fitting image to let readers know about her past.
During this internship, I tried a lot of different work content. For example, redesigning the new logo for the organization in line with the festive atmosphere, magazine design, calendar design, and new mask design.
Some tasks I have been exposed to are not very difficult for me. But there are some tasks that I have never tried before, such as calendar design, which is also the first task I received in the organization. I searched the Internet to check the design styles of various calendars and went to the official website of the organization to understand better the design that fits the organization, and then stepped out of my comfort zone to try to design this thing that I have never touched. The good thing is that I have received good feedback.
YouTube: Internship Experience Presentation – ChaoChao Lin
I got a new assignment this week, magazine design. As always, when I receive an assignment, I read the content of the article to better understand what kind of article I need to design. This article is about Homeless Chic, in reading and designing I learned that the design of this style originally came from a big brand. This makes me very much want to leave a comment for this article because the reason why Homeless wear that way is forced by life. But brands have turned their outfits into a trendy style and sold them at high prices. I can’t help but think of Syrian-style decoration, which is obviously a source of pain for others but is regarded as a fashion trend. For this article, I chose Homeless chic outfits and real Homeless outfits to accompany the article for comparison.
The new task is to recreate the logo for the organization to be suitable for Thanksgiving and Christmas. As with the last logo redesign task, the supervisor provided me with a color scheme for reference. Because I did the same task last time, this task made it easier for me to complete it. After doing 2-3 mock-ups, I made a few more colorways that I thought would be appropriate using my impressions of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Because the professor said, don’t simply complete the task, but do more, and doing more will never go wrong. If we simply complete a task, it is like a robot completes the operation according to the written program, then we will be replaced by robots. We should add our own ideas to the original design to make more possibilities, which may not have been thought of by our superiors.
This week I received a new assignment to design a new cloth face mask with the organization’s official logo. The head of the department gave me the previous design as a reference. I have been in touch with designing T-shirts or sweaters before, but this is the first time for masks. So I try different designs. The very good thing is that with the help of the teacher, my classmate and I sent an email to the head of the department, she saw it, and the due date for us was one week later. This way we don’t have to worry about completing tasks in a short time, as well as other work. That’s the downside of working online.
Therefore, when working online, we need to clearly report our working hours with our superiors, so that our superiors can better arrange suitable work and submission dates for us, and create a more comfortable and friendly working environment.
After waiting for a while, I finally received an assignment from the newly appointed department head. The department head will release tasks to everyone through Rock. When I finish, I need to change the task mode to Done. This new department head emailed me the assignment. The content of the task is to design the four articles provided by her. These four articles will eventually be combined with the articles designed by you to form a magazine.
After receiving the task, I first replied to the supervisor that I had received the character email. Then start reading the content of the article to design the article appropriately. This isn’t my first exposure to magazine design, I’ve done it in class before. So it’s not that hard for me. Of course, I also checked some magazine designs on the Internet to get inspiration and suitable pictures. This task is also requested to follow the organization’s color pallet when designing the articles.
On Saturday I received an urgent assignment. The task is to be completed by Sunday and handed over to the head of the department by Monday at the latest. The main content of the task is to modify the logo of the organization to make it suitable for Breast Cancer Month. The head of the department provided a color palette for reference.
I went online and did some research about Breast Cancer Month and the logos that other people had designed. All designs are based on shades of pink, a color associated with femininity. Based on the color reference I provided, I made three different color-matching logos to choose from. After finishing the work, I sent all three logos to the department supervisor, which was affirmed by the supervisor and the founder, who appreciates me for completing the design of this logo in a short period of time. Turning in your job on time can make your boss more interested in you and your abilities.
The AP photo, left, and the Shepard Fairey poster.
2a) I feel differently about using other people’s creative work. First, it’s impossible to say that you haven’t used someone else’s creative work. Just like the video on TikTok, a person came up with such a shooting method and editing video. The second and third people followed his example to shoot the same video. Although the video creator authorizes everyone to shoot the same video, this is also the use of someone else’s creativity, and the source and the original author of the video need to be indicated so that they will not be considered plagiarists. A limited portion of the work is permitted to be used for the purposes of commentary, criticism, news reporting, and academic reporting. I have definitely used other people’s ideas in my life or work. Still, I think the most important thing is that when we use other people’s ideas, we need to obtain the consent of the original author and pay attention when displaying our works. Know where your creativity comes from. Because their creativity is protected by law
2b) Fairey copyright case, I support the Associated Press, Fairey should be fined. When Fairey uses a photo without permission and makes changes, he’s infringing on someone’s image rights. He also destroyed the evidence that could prove his guilt and refused to admit his own mistakes. The reason this case sparked an inspiring copyright fight is that designers should uphold their moral principles, not undermine them. While doing research, I even found a website that makes the same poster as “Hope”. You can make any changes to the poster. The top of the page also reads “Make your very own ‘Obama Poster’ in style inspired by Shepard Fairey.”
After reading these few articles, I learn about the ethics we need in our design careers. Ethics or Moral Philosophy is a branch of philosophy that “involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct”. Every step in the design may involve ethical issues, such as using someone else’s photography, or illustration to embellish your own design. Or accidentally disclose customer information. I found that there seemed to be a lot of morally harmful events going on around me. Not only in my work, but I’ve heard of others doing the same. In design, ethics can involve a lot. Such as plagiarism, which is also the most serious one. Copyright awareness is very important for designers.
1a) For the use and purchase of images I need in my work, I will look for some images that can be used for commercial use and credit the source. Because these graphics are other people’s photographic works, we must indicate where they come from when we use them. For ordinary people, ordinary people will choose to go to large public websites such as Google to search for pictures. But many of the images on Google are messy, sourced from various sites, and unlicensed. I can even find pictures of my high school days online, just because the pictures are on the school website. So for the use of the image, we need to ensure that its source is available, otherwise, it may face huge compensation.
1b) For businesses, non-disclosure agreements are essential for companies. Many large companies are required to sign non-disclosure agreements when hiring employees or participating in important projects. Because it concerns the confidentiality of the company. I think the existence of a non-disclosure agreement is crucial, it exists to avoid possible lawsuits and to deal with any violations promptly.
It’s as if you were going to surprise someone, but the person who helped you surprise them exposed your surprise. Then this is not a surprise, and at most, you can only ask him to pay you the money you prepared for the surprise. But for the company, if you leak the company’s secrets, you will face huge compensation (the amount booked in the non-disclosure agreement). Because such leaks can cause great harm to the company or even go bankrupt. Once an individual has signed an NDA, they cannot discuss any information protected by the agreement with any unauthorized party. Even if that person is your friend, you can’t reveal it. There is a saying that one pass ten, ten passes a hundred, when the news leaks to others and causes harm to the company, you will not know that it was leaked because of you.
I received my first assignment. I was asked to design a calendar for the organization 2023. I am completely new to designing calendars as I have never touched calendar design before. When I got this assignment, my first question was how do I go about designing it. There are many different styles of calendars on the market, such as wall calendars, desk calendars, or super thick 365-page calendars. The most calendar style I have seen is the wall calendar that Chinese supermarkets give away for free when the Chinese New Year is approaching.
I need to design according to the organization’s brand identity and color palette. So I took a look at the organization’s website. The inside provides the services we have and the people we help. According to the services we provide, I have chosen some suitable color schemes for the picture color-matching organization. Attaching the contact information of the organization allows everyone to better connect with our organization to make donations.
