Jessie Zhang’s ePortfolio

2) Upon reading a few of the linked reading, I realize how important it is to copyright your own works because it seems like many people don’t know their rights to their works or others would just take advantage. AIGA’s Use of Illustrations states, “Original artwork cannot be changed without the creator’s approval. Changes to an illustrator’s work must be made by the illustrator, unless permission is secured from the illustrator first. It constitutes creating a derivative work from copyrighted material, which, intentionally or not, violates federal law and places the buyer at risk.” From these few lines, I can just imagine how often people would change other’s original work to put it into their type of style or whatnot, possibly even taking credit for the whole thing. It’s tough to trust anyone especially if your work is out there. licensed or not. Another point that stood out was when the reading comments. “Each illustrator brings a different perspective, vision and idea to play that, when married with great design, becomes an original art form. Illustration brings spontaneity, freshness and a unique point of view to the design of content. It helps to communicate both simple and complex messages while enhancing a design through the unique vision and skill of the selected illustrator.” Reading those lines made me realize and connect that thought to how often I would compare my works to others’ works, always thinking that mine isn’t good enough because of how different it would look. I have to remind myself that each illustrator is different and have their own unique way of going about things, with different skills to approach a concept. Just because their stuff is different doesn’t always mean it’s worth feel bad about your own.

a) In the past, I have definitely used someone else’ creative work but didn’t actually give the original owner/artist credit. One example is that I usually go on Pinterest and Instagram to check on things I enjoy looking at or updates in other people’s lives. The more specific types of posts I check on, the more my feed would evolve to fit to my taste. As a result, I end up seeing many talented works of people like art or photography and oftentimes, I would screenshot to save the artwork in my memories or to use them as wallpapers. Even on Pinterest, I would save the things that stand out and also screenshot potential things I have interest in. As much as the fact that I haven’t credited the rightful owners, I think in a lot of occasions, it would not be easy at all to find the original artists unless you get lucky or get into deep research. Looking forward, I would try to cite the works I use if need be so that it will rightfully be credited to the right person.

2b) After reading Shepard Fairey is Fined and Sentenced to Probation in ‘Hope’ Poster Case, I feel like it’s not really a surprise situation because these kinds of happenings probably happen more than we know it, it might just be that those people don’t appear to the eye as much as Shepard Fairey’s work would. The article stated that, “Mr. Fairey sued The Associated Press in 2009 after it contended that he had infringed on the copyright of one of its photographs in creating the poster. In his suit Mr. Fairey claimed he had used a different photograph, but later admitted that he had been mistaken and had tried to cover up his mistake. At the time he pleaded guilty he said he was “ashamed” of his actions.” This section had me feeling and questioning “why lie?” Why go through the trouble to basically blame others for your own mistakes? I think the general idea I picked up from the article is that it’s best to credit the original artist of whatever you end up using, especially if it will be seen by the public. Make it known that it’s not your work. Although, “Mr. Fairey maintained that he had never personally profited from sales of the image, a contention The A.P. disputed”. With this comment, I personally think that he shouldn’t still have use someone else’ photography and also even lied about it.

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• “USE OF ILLUSTRATION”Aiga 2001.PDF.New York City.Richard Grefe, AIGA
• https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/shephard-fairey-is-fined-and-sentenced-to-probation-in-hope-poster-case/

1a) Being a designer, I’ve realized that one very important part of having to get things from the internet is the copyright because it’s important to not face copyright infringement/issues. It’s become a natural thought for me especially when needing to find an image online, and the first thought is to go to websites that allow free stock photos, like Pexels, Unsplash, Freepik. If I do end up using images, illustrations, texts, anything that are not openly labeled as free, it’s almost important to credit the original owner. Additionally, as AIGA’s Use of Illustrations from Client’s Guide to Design states, “Make sure you are acquiring illustration from an accountable and respectable source.” Sometimes, the source that you take the image or illustration is not valid and “do not generally license work from creators…[nor] compensate creators adequately (or at all) for giving up rights to their work.” It’s best to do your research before using the provided images/illustrations from sites because occasionally, they just give out free stock without giving actual credit to the rightful artist/owner. As AIGA’s Guide to Copyright also states, “If the designer permits a work to be copied, it is the copyright that gives the designer the right to negotiate for fees or royalties.” In general, it is imperative that works are rightfully credited even if said works are free to the public.

1b) So far in my internship, I haven’t had to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement. I’m not really sure what that involves but I assume that it means the work I have done for said company, has to stay within me and the company, that I can’t reveal to the public or anyone else. In a way, I think the organization hasn’t had me sign one is because they have trust, especially since they have continuosly worked with students in the past. Although there has been forms that I have had to email to my internship supervisor for my course, I haven’t come across any kind of specific contract or non-disclosure agreement.

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• “A CLIENT’S GUIDE TO DESIGN: HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE PROCESS” Aiga 2001.PDF.New York City.Richard Grefe, AIGA
• “GUIDE TO COPYRIGHT” Aiga 2001.PDF.New York City.Richard Grefe, AIGA

In this internship, it doesn’t really seem like a collaborative type of feel, therefore, there hasn’t been a shared project that I had to work with other people yet. However, I have been told to create a communication campaign that would attract traffic and attention. This could be something small like a post on Instagram or social media platforms. The whole idea was to basically attract people to go to the non-profit organization’s websites and go from there.

I ended up going back to google drive for inspiration because I had no idea what kind of posters I would make. Judging from the research about the non-profit as well, I decided to take advantage of the “chance to win a trip” idea and ended up basing my two advertisements/campaigns on that concept. After all, the idea was to attract attention. After some time looking for stock photos from pexels and unsplash, I went with the idea of a nice beach with palm trees and a sunset in the background of the ad. Then on the front layer, it would show someone’s hand holding a camera and we would be able to see the screen of the view they’d be seeing if they were there taking the photo. Another campaign thought was a simple one where it was a donation box that stated people could donate to a cause of their choosing and an arm putting money into it. The headline would say “It only takes a little to make a big change.” It took some time for the first one to make because I was being picky but I think it came out decent enough.

So far, I have still been looking into more research about the non-profits. Amazon Smile was about to get shut down and they had been doing charities for a decade. Within that time frame, they have donate a few hundred million. This organization leads to another non-organization from my internship and in common, they want to help communities and people in a way that also gets them involved so that it is more seemingly fair.

I would say that it’s too early in the internship to see what if I will be doing anything related to my major. Based from what I saw from previous students’ works in the shared google drive, I would assume that we will be working on an advertisement, for social media or poster, etc.

Since I have settled on an internship, I have slowly started to get accustomed to working with new people, especially people who are already in the field. This internship ended up being asynchronous so I did not have to meet them in person, rather, meet virtually for updates and new information. Because it’s remote, I don’t really have to worry about attire at the workplace but when there are virtual meets, I would try to look more presentable.

So far, my supervisor has shared and given me access to a main google drive that provided information about the organization, examples of stuff that people have done previously, logo ideas, banners, color palettes, etc. It was also cool to look at others and see the things they have come up with, which made me excited and look forward to creating communication ads/campaigns or something similar. Another thing that was interesting was the use of google calendar, something that I was not familiar with at all until this internship. I was able to see the meetings that my supervisor had lined up and also reminders of group meetings every week at a specific time. I liked how organize it was and it made me feel more professional in a way.

Upon receiving the internship information from Prof. Nicolaou, I had sent some emails to the main supervisor and eventually was given a time for a virtual interview. I was lucky enough that the questions I was asked were simple and funny enough my supervisor was driving so he proceeded to tell me to research more about their non-profit, and said we would set up another meeting afterwards. After updating my professor about it, she said that it sounded like I got the internship and I was more than relieved. Already from that, my supervisor seemed like an understanding person especially since the very time I met him, he provided me insight and allowed me to explore into their non-profit.

So far in my internship, I have been given tasks to look into the non-profit organization itself and see what they do, familiarizing myself with their goals. My supervisor has been helpful to provide the sites/organizations I was supposed to explore and I have taken notes on the general concepts these non-profits give out. I learned that this fundraising platform is aimed towards a new generation of donors and the experience helps raise up to 40 times more than auctions and galas, thus, being more time efficient. The non-profit organization generates revenue for other non-profits via cause marketing, publishing, volunteerism, marketplaces, virtual events, contests, NFTs, etc.

 

Starting this course, it had been tough finding an internship in the beginning. As someone with barely any experience in the design field, I feel like it can be challenging to find something that requires more skill and/or talent. Although I tried to apply to some internships on LinkedIn, I didn’t get lucky even after one interview with an internship that didn’t really fall into the design field. Even after the spring semester started, I still wasn’t able to find any internship but thanks to Prof. Nicolaou, she helped me land on an internship with her continuous follow-ups and support.

As the course weeks passed, I landed in a non-profit organization that focuses on helping people with donations from charity malls. Basically, they are a fundraising platform for new generations of donors and it gives people chances to dream big and win prizes. Non-profits can tend to spend less time and money to raise funds, rather focus on serving the communities’ needs. As a result, charities would focus on their world-changing work; they cover marketing like social media ads, content like videos with celebs, and technology like websites or UX/UI. This non-profit organization aims to raise up to 40 times more than auctions/galas, thus, in general would be more time efficient.