Civil Rights vs. the Right of Refusal
As the supreme court decides the case against a Colorado baker and his right to refuse a gay couple's request for a wedding cake, parallels to the graphic design profession are easily drawn. Last week I posed the question to my graphic design class and asked them to imagine that the case was not about a cake, but about a wedding invitation. Like the supreme court, the class was not all on the same page. While some immediately felt it was the responsibility to serve the couple, others felt strongly that the cake designer had rights too, and that his right to refuse should be protected.What followed was a lively discussion about civil rights vs. personal rights and when and where lines can be drawn. Parallels to the civil rights movement were made and how the implications of what allowing one small business in Colorado to do sets the stage for abuses of civil rights on a larger scale for other marginalized groups. As one New York times article asks, "should free speech protections include self expression that discriminates?"The debate brings up morality issues that are core to any service business. Like an attorney, is it a graphic designers' responsibility to represent their client without being influenced by their own personal beliefs, including non-secular issues that are at odds with laws that are in place to protect our civil rights?Sources:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/learning/should-free-speech-protections-include-self-expression-that-discriminates.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/12/05/wedding-cake-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-highly-anticipated-supreme-court-ruling/?utm_term=.179c4376e606
Loserville
This ad appeared recently on my local Craigs List job board under the category for graphic design. It drives home the point that working as a graphic designer is as much about proving your value, as it is about creating valuable work.In the article "29 Things Designers Need to Know + 8 Ingredients for Success," author Doug Bartow ranks:
6. LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’ Some of your best design business decisions will ultimately be saying “no” to clients or projects. Unfortunately, it usually takes a few disasters to gain the experience to know when to walk away from an impending train wreck.
Carefully measure the upsides of any project—creative control of your design work, long-term relationship-building and gross billing—versus the potential downsides—the devaluation of the creative process, being treated like a “vendor” and ongoing scope creep (where the volume of what you’re expected to deliver keeps expanding, while the schedule and budget don’t).
Who can argue with this advice? The pitfalls of crowdsourcing, spec work, and unpaid internships have been written about and discussed at length among graphic designers. However, graphic designers and students might feel confused as they wade through articles that seem to contradict some of this advice. The 2012 info graphic, "The State of Graphic Design," is based on a survey conducted by Smartpress.com who claim aggregated the opinion of dozens of the best and most-talented graphic designers in the industry. Among the results, survey participants ranked Internships as the best way to gain experience with online tutorials as a close second, and design school coming in third. While the article doesn't specify if the internships being referred to are part of a student's education, or are paid internships—one can make the assumption that not all of them are. What's interesting is that many design jobs advertised require a Bachelor's degree; and even more interesting is that many of the participants in the survey are graduates from reputable design schools, like Jessica Walsh, a recent graduate of RISD. This leaves me wondering how many graphic designers are in a state of confusion about how to prove their own value.Recently, I was approached to design a website through a referral from another client. The new potential client was highly complimentary about my creativity and design skills, she assured me she loved my work, and I believe she was being sincere. However, when it came time to discuss the budget, she only wanted to barter. When I explained to her that I wasn't in a position to barter for services, she politely thanked me and told me she had a friend who was a graphic designer who would do the work for free. While she really wanted to work with me, she couldn't pass up the free work—leaving me feeling like I was in "Loserville."How often do you feel like you are living in "Loserville?" How do you navigate these murky waters? And most importantly, what advice do you give students and young designers who are just starting out?Sources:http://newjersey.craigslist.org/med/3722007306.htmlhttp://www.howdesign.com/design-career/29-things-young-designers-need-to-know/
The company we keep
"The company we keep" is a heading often used by graphic design firms when they display their client list. Under this warm and fuzzy title they list clients that they are proud to do business with—and in the process build their credibility and status through association. But what about the other side of our business, vendors—printers, programmers, and other service providers—are we as quick to post that list? Unfortunately for many of us these decision are often driven by cost, convenience, and ignorance; we simply don't have the time, or take the time to find out more about our vendors.David Airey is one graphic designer who is walking the walk. He has decided to boycott GoDaddy because of CEO Bob Parson's big game hunting escapades and inhumane treatment of elephants—and then bragging about it by posting a video of the slaughter.Read Airey's blog post about it here: David Airey: Boycotting GoDaddy. Then find out more about the company that you keep. Is it an association that you want to brag about?
How diverse is the world of graphic design?
How diverse do you think the graphic design world is? A recent New York Times article, "Design Gets More Diverse," interviewed black designers about their experiences.Eddie Opara, a partner at Pentagram, says that although design has often been called a "man's world," he feels it is more accurate to call it a "white man's world."AIGA medalist Gail Anderson says that she feels it's actually harder to break through barriers of gender than those of race.What has your experience with diversity been in the world of graphic design? Have you personally run into barriers because of your race or gender, or have you run into any other barriers like lack of prestigious education credentials, etc.?Source: The New York Times Read the full article.