2a) After reading AIGA Design’s various guides, I now have a better understanding of what is expected of me as a designer. Reading just one sentence from one of these guides can alter your entire perspective as a designer. There were so many things I didn’t know or understand before choosing to become a designer. I wasn’t completely aware of the copyright for photography and logo usage. I recall using photos without permission for classwork when I wasn’t taught the importance of copyright for photography. They were just in-class projects, so nothing that would be used publicly or for money, but I didn’t give credit because I used to get images from Google thinking they were free. I was not aware of Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay at the time. I am grateful for the opportunity to experiment with so many different projects and topics during this internship, which will provide me with more skills for future opportunities.
The AIGA book “Guide to Copyright” discusses and goes over different types of copyright and what you as a designer can copyright. The section on “transfers and terminations” was particularly interesting to me. This means that just because you bought someone’s art doesn’t give you the right to use it in any way you want. Using it in any way to profit from it, such as transforming it, making copies, and selling it yourself.
A second article from the social media examiner’s “Copyright Fair Use and How it Works for Online Images” a section lists five considerations before using copyrighted images. One of the points that stood out to me was the topic of why are you using the images and what are you using them on. If you give credit and are using it for teaching, research, and news reporting you’re on the right track. If you’re going to use it for a social media post, you should think twice about it, read the copyright issues, and buy a stock image. Reading this list has taught me that before using an image, you should read all of the photographer’s copyright rules. You can get in a lot of trouble if you don’t read the copyright rules and use someone else’s work without permission.
Sources:
- Hawkins, Sara. “Copyright Fair Use and How It Works for Online Images.” Social Media Examiner, 20 Jan. 2019, www.socialmediaexaminer.com/copyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for-online-images.
- Richard, Grefe. “Guide to Copyright” AIGA. PDF. New York City, 2001
2b) The New York Times article “Shepard Fairey Is Fined and Sentenced to Probation in ‘Hope’ Poster Case” serves as a stark reminder of the importance of reading the information and copyright on photography before using it. It’s very simple to get in touch with an artist before using their work and discuss how it will be used. There were numerous ways Fairey could have avoided getting in trouble, but instead, he got himself even deeper in trouble by attempting to tamper with documents to cover his tracks, which made him appear even more guilty of what he was doing because it seems that he knew what he was doing was wrong. You must comprehend your role as a designer, which is to respect others’ work as you would want your own to be respected.
Fairey had no respect for the photographer who took this image because he claimed it was a different image and later admitted it was a mistake he was attempting to conceal. I thought it was inappropriate to use a well-known image that he had stolen and turned into posters and t-shirts. Fairey is a designer, and he should have been aware of image copyright laws. He should have credited the designer and paid any copyright fees owed if this was a public project that would be displayed everywhere. This served as a reminder to me that to avoid getting into trouble, I should always give credit to any type of artwork I intend to use for projects.
The “Modern Dog vs. Target and Disney” case, which I reviewed, was similar to the Fairey case. These cases are related because Modern Dog was a book that illustrated a collection of dogs drawn by a small artist. Target and Disney used Amazon’s view inside feature to view the image they stole, which they then used on shirts to sell at Target and Disney. The book did contain a copyright notice, which Target and Disney were aware of and removed to conceal their actions. Similar to Fairey’s attempt to cover up his tracks by tampering with files, which failed. Target and Disney refused to give credit to Modern Dog’s artwork despite knowing they were wrong.
Another similarity between this case and the Fairey case is that Disney, Target, and Modern Dog are all designers who create work with copyright and rules. I believe that because Target and Disney are large corporations, they thought they could get away with it because they were competing with a small artist. Finally, I believe you should advocate for your work, no matter how big or small it is. If your work is being repurposed and gaining more attention than your own, you should be able to fight for your rights in the same way that these two artists did.
Sources:
- Kennedy, Randy. “Shepard Fairey Is Fined and Sentenced to Probation in ‘Hope’ Poster Case.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2012, https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/shephard-fairey-is-fined-and-sentenced-to-probation-in-hope-poster-case/.
- Marena Ramirez “Modern Dog vs. Target and Disney: the Perpetual Ethical Dilemma in Graphic Design.” 25, Nov. 2018, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/modern-dog-vs-target-disney-perpetual-ethical-dilemma-marena-ramirez
