1A. Design ethics is a must for all designers. Design ethics is knowing what you are creating and the effects of the design it has on the world. Without design ethics, designers can cause harm to people and the world. Mike Monterio spoke at USI about how designers destroyed the world. Mike Monteiro states that we designers are responsible for the work we create and put out into the world.
According to AIGA Business Ethics, ” The designer, as the copyright owner has the exclusive rights to reproduce work; license work; prepare derivative works, such as a poster copied from a design; perform work, and display work”. When finding artworks that were not mine I had to make sure if they had any exclusive rights. It was my job to make sure my work was not causing any damage to the design I was using.
During the 3 weeks of my internship, I have created about 10 designs for the company’s social media. Some design was illustrated by me and some I had to find some images. When using images, I had to find the main source of the images and made sure the images were for commercial and non-commercial purposes and non-exclusive. The reason I had to make sure these images fit these requirements is that in case the company wanted to create posters or promote them with other companies they wouldn’t have to face any non-exclusive rights. When sending the final design I also compile all the images in a folder and the original program files.
1B. A Non-Disclosure Agreement(NDA) is an agreement between the employer and employee to keep the company’s confidential information protected. Employees should never discuss any project, ideas, or work in progress with anyone.
In my internship, I was not given a non-disclosure agreement but without one it is best not to discuss any current work that is not in the public. Doing so is a very bad reputation and unethical. If I were to sign a non-disclosure agreement in my internship I would have to keep everything from my internship private and never discuss any project with anyone outside the company. Even to your friend or family.
Sources: How Designers Destroyed the World – Mike Monteiro, at USI, AIGA Business_Ethics 47556757-Guide-to-copyright-1-MB.pdf, Using Nondisclosure Agreements to Protect Business Trade Secrets, Non-Disclosure Agreement
