Tag: readingresponse

Response to AIGA Ethics

#1 Client’s guide to design

AIGA is a professional organization for design. They offer a lot of resources and guides for designers. One of the first guides provided in the Design business and Ethics section is Client’s guide to design. And I liked it very much. When I was new and inexperienced in this field, I met several clients asking for pro bono or spec work. Also, their demands were unbelievably difficult. I don’t blame them because they don’t know anything about design, much less how it works. 

We, designers will have to be the ones that lead the clients. 

There are also a lot of memes for designers that joke about how ignorant clients are. 

I think if every designer had their client read this guide it would be a great help. Not that I will comply with someone’s request for a spec work but if friends of mine ask, at least they will have to do their homework. 

 

#2 Use of illustrations/photography

Guides for use of illustrations and photography are intended for clients and designers also. It is simply talking about how designers can work with illustrations and photography providing guides to Contracting, Specifications and deadlines, payments, fees and rights.

 

#3 Guide to copyright

This guide provides detailed information about copyright law from what is copyrightable to Transfers and terminations, Copyright duration, and even how to register creative work.

This one is closely related to the previous blogpost about Shepard Fairey.

The Shepard Fairey case wouldn’t have happened if Fairey had considered the copyright laws more discreetly. Thus understanding of copyright is necessary for designers and clients.

Response to Shapard Fairey’s Copyright Case

I’ve seen this poster so many times researching for graphic design inspirations. Shepard Fairey’s Obama poster is definitely one of the most well-known posters. Especially, if you look at poster designs on Pinterest, algorithms will keep directing you to this image. 

I didn’t know the artist of this poster was going through a lawsuit over copyright. 

 

In short, Shepard Fairey is a graphic artist and used the picture of Obama that was shot and posted by The Associated Press. And then, the poster became a huge success that The Associated Press recognized that the silhouette and angle of the poster matches their photo and sued Shepard Fairey.

 

It is quite alarming to me, because as a graphic design student who doesn’t look at photo references to generate a vector graphic? So I got to look into the term “fair use”

 

Fair use is decided by four factors as follow:

Who the user is, what is being used, how much was used and how does the use affect the original.

In this case, I guess Fairey violated all three points except what is being used. Because I personally don’t think the original photo was highly creative work. However, Fairey’s poster was used for profit and the original silhouette is the 100% of the work– not like it was a small part of a big painting. Moreover, it became famous enough to outshine the original photo.