Ethics in Design 2A

2a. After reading through the AIGA Design Guide as well as the PDF/New York TImes article of the Shepard Fairey “HOPE Poster” case, I believe that my approach to my own design work will change for the better. My reading of the AIGA Design Guides have provided me with a wealth of information on approaching copyright, utilizing photographs and illustrations from other artists and my responsibilities I have to clients, other designers, and the general public as a designer. Reading on the “HOPE Poster” case has provided me with an example on sourcing images and how tampering with images that I have not purchased a license to or asked permission for could not only damage me financially but also damage my reputability as an artist and designer. 
 

In the past, I can remember a few times outside of college assignments where I have posted another person’s creative work on my page. Most of the time, this was done on Instagram and done by reposting either a photograph of the artist’s work or the original post itself. If it was through a photo, I would tag the person who created the original work in my post and tell my followers to like and follow their artwork. While this can be seen as “unprofessional” by professional artists and designers, this was done through social media and I always made sure to properly credit the original artist. I was young (a teenager) and didn’t consider myself a professional at that point. These posts were always done with the express purpose of crediting the original artist who made the piece and getting more eyes on them by telling my own followers to go check out the original artist. In professional design assignments done for college, I often sourced my images from royalty-free image databases like Pexels. Websites like Pexels allow you to download and utilize free photographs without credit or needing to pay for a license. I often utilized photographs from this website when creating assignments that involved graphic design due to its ease of use and accessibility. 

Citation(s)

• “A Client’s Guide to Design: How to Get the Most Out of the Process” AIGA. (2001). PDF. New York City; Richard Grefé, AIGA. 
• “Case Study on Fair Use and Fair Dealing: The Hope Poster Litigation” Fisher, W. (2012). PDF. Cambridge; Harvard Journal of Law and Technology. 
• “Use of Photography” AIGA. (2001). PDF. New York City; Richard Grefé, AIGA. 
• Kennedy, R. (2012, September 7). Shepard Fairey is fined and sentenced to probation in ‘hope’ poster case. The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/shephard-fairey-is-fined-and-sentenced-to-probation-in-hope-poster-case/