Author: Isabella Gomez

I have not used another’s creative work in the past. However, I have been inspired by artwork plenty of times, and I have not given credit for this. That is because I don’t think that credit has to be given if you are merely inspired by something, and create a whole new piece. If there are visual similarities, than I think it would be in your best interest to credit the artist. I have seen plenty of artists not getting credited on social media, and I know as an artist, this is very frustrating when art you put your heart into is not respected, and you are not given credit.

In the case of the Fairey copyright case, I agree and believe Shepard Fairey should have sued the AP. The “Hope” posters were clearly inspired by his work, and honestly just look like a copy of his work. In this case they could have commissioned Fairey or gave him the rights to the piece.

 

When I first started my internship on January 30 2020, I was given the logos that I would be using throughout my time there. The first one was the LGBTQ Resource Center’s logo, which is a rainbow clock tower. That logo was created by a student at Brooklyn College. I was also given another logo, which was for the LGBTA. I used both of these logos throughout my time at the internship, and I placed them on social media postings as well as posters. These logos are the property of the LGBTQ Resource Center and the LGBTA, so of course, I was able to use them without crediting anybody.

As for handling the sources of images, I made sure to only use images found on stock photo websites. I did this because I know these images are there for the general public to use. The website I used in particular was called Pexels.com. I enjoy this website because they give a large selection of aesthetically pleasing websites for all of your design concerns. Once I downloaded the image, the website tells me who the photographer is who took the photo. They ask that they get credit for the photo. However, I did not pay mind to this, which I now realize is a mistake. I did not do the ethics assignment and read the AIGA guide prior to this – so I did not think  much in term of giving credit for their work. And I also thought to myself, “Why do I have to give credit if it is free?”. But that is problematic in itself, and since the artist is giving their art, which they worked hard on, it is important that the least we can do is credit them.

However, thinking back on it, I am not sure how I would have been able to credit them. Would the LGBTQ Resource Center have been posting the artist on their Facebook and other social media pages to credit them? That is what I am wondering now, and a conversation I would have to have with them.

As for non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements, I did not have to sign any of those.

 

I am done with all of my hours, so now I just have to email my supervisor my time sheet. I feel very accomplished that I have completed my first internship. It was a very interesting experience and I learned a lot. I learned time management skills, as well as professional communication, among other things. It was nice to be able to work for the LGBTQ Resource Center because I like to help out communities that are oppressed and need more resources. Now that I know what an internship is like, I am going to continue looking into remote internships that I can add to my resume.

This is my second to last week working at my internship. I negotiated with my supervisor prior about making templates for future events. I have been working on these templates this week. Working an internship remotely has been an interesting experience. Since I am no longer in the office, it doesn’t feel like an internship anymore. I have to figure out on my own how to allocate my time at home to completing internship hours. It is teaching me more about time management. My supervisor and I decide on deadlines for posters, and I decide how to fulfill that on my own time.

This week I have not done much different. I just continued to work on making templates for future events. I packaged each of these designs individually, so that my supervisor can easily edit them – including the photos and the fonts I intended to use. I also sent them an email detailing how to use a packaged file.

Lavender Graduation

Lavender Graduation Version 2

End of The Semester Meeting Poster

It is Week 14 of working at my internship. Continuing to work remotely. For this week I had to wrap up some designs for a Graduation Celebration. My supervisor gave me the copy as usual, and requested that I either work with a lavender color palette, or a maroon and gold color palette – since those are the school colors. I decided to make two different versions with these color palettes, so that my supervisor would be able to pick which version they like better.

Susan Stryker Poster

I am finding it very difficult to stay motivated among everything currently going on. Not having supervision is making me kind of lazy, and even though I have time I am finding it hard to come up with new ideas, and new design inspiration. I have been looking on design websites as well as design magazines such as HiFructose for design inspiration. However, it is not helping much.

I agreed that I would work on the next posters that I was supposed to create. The next poster is for a Mentorship Luncheon. I think I am just going to focus on creating a typography based solution, something simple that gets the point across. I will play around with colors to give it a more bold look, but that is all I can think of right now.

I wonder how other artists and designers are handing this isolation. I was under the impression that since I have time on my hands, I would like to create. However, I am finding that quite the opposite – since most of the world is in a state of fear and mourning now, it is honestly really hard to stay afloat and do everything as if it were normal. Hoping that once this is over I can have some sense of creativity back, but as of now – this is all I can really do.

This is my first week working remotely. It has been pretty easy to get used to, because it is not a huge change from what I was doing initially at the internship. At the internship, I mostly worked on my computer anyway, as they did not need too much help with anything else that was not design related. Working from home has been relaxing, and I can pace myself on each of the designs that I make.

I have been focusing on making designs that are visually interesting, but also easy to read, and look at. Since these designs are to be used as templates, I have been focusing on making it easy to navigate for the people who will edit it.

I have been making templates on Illustrator, and packaging each of the files. I have been making extra options for some of them, with different colorways. Making sure to package everything, including fonts, so it will be easy for them to edit.

This shows me how important it is to keep files organized and named, so that it is easy for people to navigate. Since the files are fairly big, because they are not just PDFs, it is important for me to keep in mind how much I send them at a time.

Besides that, nothing else has really changed, and I have been experimenting with different design methods. Now is a good time to be experimental, as they value creative freedom, and I can try out new things, to see what works and what does not.

I am definitely feeling a lot better now. I settled everything with my supervisor. Initially, I proposed that I can make templates for recurring events. However, my supervisor told me that this would not be possible because they are not sure what events they will be having next semester.

They gave me another option though – I can continue to make posters for the events that I was supposed to advertise this semester, but I make them so that they are directly editable if they need to use them again next semester. This is a great relief. I let my Professor know about this, and this is another example of how I was able to negotiate with my supervisor during this internship. Definitely a necessary skill to have!

So, now during this week I am beginning to make designs for the next event that would be held on campus. I am still experimenting with multiple designs – however, I think that I will have to rethink sending multiple designs to my supervisor at once, that will be super overwhelming for them to look at. So, I am trying to think how I can manage my time with this. Will I space them apart, and send one every week? I have to look at my calendar at get that figured out.

But as of now, things seem to have gone back to normal for my internship. I am working remotely, and nothing has really changed besides me being able to go in in person. The work that I was doing was only on my computer, so I am glad I did not have to do much readjusting. I will have to figure out how to navigate this though. I am going to have to save my Illustrator files a certain way, as packages, so they can directly edit them in the future.

So, all of the CUNY campuses have closed to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. I must admit, I am a little worried because I am not sure what this means for my internship. Sure, working from home is not a problem, but I am not sure what this would mean for me now since I worked for a CUNY center, and there will be no more events for them to host, meaning no more events for me to make posters for …

I decided to reach out to both my Professor and my supervisor. I asked my Professor for advice as to what to do in this situation. After speaking with her, I decided that I would email my supervisor and negotiate, yet again, with them.

I gave my supervisor an idea, I can make posters for events that they would have in the future. Either recurring events, or events they know that they will do in Fall 2020 semester. I will keep everyone posted as to how that goes.