1a) Ethics in the world of design is something that is very necessary to understand. It allows a person to keep a professional clean and honest design.
At my internship at Stelick Studio, the way I get my imagery is from actually taking the photos and then editing them. I have been given reference photos and designs in the past weeks so I can understand the brands’ visual representation style and aesthetic they want. The brand logo is given from the brand itself. In my first meeting at my internship, we went over the importance of everything having to be original, and nothing is taken from others. I was lectured on the importance of the brand has to keep its originality to stand out by being unique and ethical. I was taught that ethicality is very important in the fashion world because once customers and people, in general, find out the brand is not ethical meaning is disingenuous then no one will want to support it.
Reading AIGA’s “A Clients Guild to Design” helped me see how important ethicality is in design and what exactly are the standards a designer must uphold. Aswell learning the difference between what a designer is and what a professional designer is.
1b) My internship required me to sign an NDA (non-discourse agreement) which was my first time doing so. It was confusing and very technical in the writing, but after speaking to my advisor, I understood it a lot more. The NDA forced me to be broad with what and how I explain what I’m doing in my internship. I must always send my weekly journal part talking about the internship progress to my advisor to see if it is okay to post. I can say what I’m doing each week but I can’t go into specific detail talking about how I am doing each assignment. I can’t give details on how I’m designing it or what exactly I am taking photographs of at photoshoots.
Reading AIGA’s “Use of Photography” and “Guide to Copyright” helped me to see why some brands require you to sign an NDA. Aswell to learn the rules of copyrighting when working for someone else and is the importance of crediting photographers.
From reading SCRIBD example NDA, the advantages more so weigh out the disadvantages. An NDA allows the company to be able to protect its sensitive confidential information and allows the recipient to gain clarity and know exactly what is considered sensitive confidential information sot they do not disclose any if that information and avoid the consequences. Lastly, an NDA advantage is it preserves key business relationships. An NDA provides peace of mind in long-term business relationships where confidential information must flow between the parties. So, you know your confidential information is protected, and your business relationship is secure.
An NDA can as well have some disadvantages, more so towards the recipient and if they break the NDA. Breaking an NDA could cause legal actions between the two parties. Whoever is the prevailing party will be able to get their money back from attorney fees and costs. More so, the company will be the prevailing party, and the recipient will lose extra money and have to pay out of pocket when breaking an NDA. Another disadvantage of NDA is towards the recipient, and them not being able to talk about or show any of the work they are doing. The recipient will not be allowed to show their work on their portfolio until the DNA is no longer in effect. This can be a disadvantage because some NDA’s can last forever even after you have stopped working for that brand, meaning the work you created for them can never be shown to the world which will hinder your portfolio.
Sources
• Crawford, Tad. “Use of Photography” AIGA, AIGA Business_Ethics 47556770-Use-of-photography-1-MB.pdf
• Crawford, Tad. “Guide to Copyright” AIGA, AIGA Business_Ethics 47556757-Guide-to-copyright-1-MB.pdf
• Stone, Joanne. Rigsby, Lana. “A clients guide to design” AIGA, AIGA Busines_Ethics 47556721-Client-s-guide-to-design-1-1-MB.pdf
• RocketLawyer. “Non Disclosure Agreement” SCRIBD, https://www.scribd.com/document/91894008/Non-Disclosure-Agreement
