Herding cats (aka copyrighting a Meme)

“Memes are, without a doubt, the greatest thing about the internet.” This quote comes from an article by Squire Sanders, Richard Pascoe, Richard W. Horton and Alex Butterworth, “Memes in advertising: a copyright mess.”I don’t know if I agree that memes are the greatest thing, but one of the biggest things? Yes. As the authors state, there is an entire sub-culture of the English speaking world that exists around memes. Memes are so popular they’ve become an expected and accepted means of communication. Photoshop users can easily make their own. If you lack photoshop skills you can visit sites like Quick Meme, where users can choose from a bank of images, type their own caption, and then post on the social media site of their choice. For those of you who don’t what a meme is, trust me, you do—you’ve been sharing them on Facebook and just didn’t know what the official name was. (See What is a ‘Meme’?)It’s no wonder that advertisers want in. Some examples of campaigns are Sprint’s use of Nyan Cat, Nissan’s planking commercial, and Wonderful Pistachio’s Keyboard Cat Commercial. However some have found themselves in trouble—including Warner Brothers for their use of Nyan Cat and [Keyboard Cat] in their top selling ‘Scribblenauts’ games. Many feel this is ironic in light of their strong support of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and the diligence with which they track infringement of their own copyright and trademarks.Copyright ownership of a meme is typically shared between the owner of the image and the person who created the meme. This is where it can get difficult—sometimes proving next to impossible to track this information down. Even if you find the creator of the meme, you still need to find out if they have permission from the owner of the image and/or a photo release.If a company chooses to use the meme without permission they are taking a risk. Even if they do find the copyright owner and get permission, it doesn't mean they won't face more legal problems. Memes are very often offensive. The way the meme is used might trigger copyright infringement or defamation. Another thing to consider is that although attributing your work to the original creator is not required by law, it can help keep a meme creator out of an infringement lawsuit.What do you think? Have you used memes personally, commercially? More importantly, why do so many memes use Impact?Sources:http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=879e138f-c98b-4eb2-a55f-0037cf2ed906http://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2013/05/03/warner-brothers-sued-for-infringing-cat-meme-copyright/http://www.livememe.com/mdsuaoxhttp://userinterfaced.com/why-are-memes-popular/http://www.worldipreview.com/article/internet-memes-copyright-licensing-in-an-ip-minefieldhttp://www.insidecounsel.com/2013/06/21/technology-internet-memes-pose-legal-questionshttp://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2013/05/07/copyright-memes-and-the-perils-of-viral-content/http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/25/tech/social-media/image-macros-memes-impact-font/index.html

Articulating Un-freedom

Many of us work hard on our own behalf, or on behalf of our clients, to make sure we get found. Google’s highly protected algorithms claim to make it difficult to pay for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). They want to keep search results fair and organic. That doesn’t stop companies from spending tons of time and money trying to rise to the top of search lists and chase that holy grail.But what about the other side of the fence? What if you don’t want to be found, either in a Google search—or by anyone else, including the US National Security Agency. This past year there has been much debate about the NSA’s secret surveillance programs, in particular PRISM. While the NSA and the FBI have always been known for such practices, the level of invasiveness into private data through servers has never been higher. Many people feel it’s a violation of their privacy and a form of censorship.Graphic designer Sang Mun decided to create a typeface that speaks to this issue. While working as a special intelligence personnel for the NSA, Mun learned how to gather information scanning text for national security and defense purposes. Mun questions whether or not things have gone too far. Should text scanning be used for overseeing American citizens without their permission? He has become dedicated to researching ways to “articulate our unfreedom.”One result of Mun's research was the creation of the unreadable typeface ZXX. The typeface’s name was inspired by Library of Congress’ listing of three-letter codes denoting which language a book is written in. ZXX is used when there is no linguistic content.Mun offered ZXX as a free download hoping many would use it. More importantly, it was a call to action—created to raise questions about privacy and censorship. Mun asks us to look at the omnipresent way our personal information is harvested, and not be afraid to question the intrusions. Mun reminds us that as graphic designers we have the power—and a responsibility—to use our craft to ask these questions.Sources:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/nsa-font-sang-mun_n_3490903.htmlhttp://blogs.walkerart.org/design/2013/06/20/sang-mun-defiant-typeface-nsa-privacy/http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.phphttp://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-nine-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.htmlhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/nsa-phone-records-verizon-court-order

Take the Pledge

Some of you may recognize this three finger pledge from your Girl Scout days when you were asked to recite the Girl Scout Law:I will do my best to behonest and fair,friendly and helpful,considerate and caring,courageous and strong, andresponsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others,respect authority,use resources wisely,make the world a better place, andbe a sister to every Girl Scout.The three fingers stand for 1) honoring God, 2) helping others, and 3) obeying Scout Law. Graphic designer and author David Berman feels graphic designers should take a pledge of their own—one that focuses on the second principle,helping others. Berman recently released a new edition of his book, “Do Good Design.” Along with its release, he has asked graphic designers to take the pledge and:1. Be true to their profession2. Be true to themselves3. Use 10% of their professional time to create a better placeDuring a live interview at the recent “Voices That Matter” conference, Berman said his mission is to first talk to designers about how much influence the work they do has on our world. He uses the environmental crisis as an example and its connection to over-consumption, speaking about the role that advertising and graphic design have in promoting a consumer culture. Berman believes once graphic designers realize how much power they have in influencing people, they will understand how they can use some of this power to make the world a better place. In doing the math, Berman feels there’s a potential for 8 million hours of time from designers that can be devoted to doing good. He has already has received over 112,540 hours in pledges.Berman’s position is one that is that has been debated widely. What is the role of a graphic designer and what is good design? Is it to simply create beautiful and effective things, or is it, as Berman and many others feel, to do good with? What do you think, are you willing to take the pledge?Sources:http://www.davidberman.com/social/dogood/http://www.girlscouts.org/program/basics/promise_law/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_sign_and_salutehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtnazQE7RPA

Turning Trash into Treasure

“Waste Land" was a project created by the artist Vik Muniz where he enlisted the help of workers from the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to create art out of garbage. Muniz raised over $250,000 when he brought the portraits that were created to an auction house in London. Mr. Muniz donated his $50,000 take for the sale of one man's portrait to the workers’ cooperative. An award-winning documentary with the same name was released in 2009 and some of the project's participants visited the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio to see themselves in Mr. Muniz’s 2009 retrospective. “Sometimes we see ourselves as so small,” one tells reporters at the opening, “but people out there see us as so big, so beautiful.”In Cateura, Paraguay, Favio Chavez, an ecological technician at the landfill the town is built on, creates instruments for a young people's orchestra from trash. The “Recycled Orchestra” quickly gained more students than instruments. The students are beginning to take tours around the world and filmmakers are working on a new documentary, "Landfill Harmonic," to tell their  story.Another recent project intent on raising awareness about litter was created from 1.7 tons of garbage found on Mount Everest. 15 Nepali artists spent a month creating more than 75 sculptures from empty oxygen bottles, torn tents, ropes, boots, and every kind of camping equipment imaginable. Yaks, wind chimes, prayer wheels, and all kinds of unique sculptures were created. The works were exhibited in Kathmandu.The mission of Emergent Structures, located in Savannah, GA, is to increase the value and accessibility of building material waste streams through facilitation, collaboration, education, and advocacy. Some of their projects have included a collaborative fundraiser with the Humane Society of Savannah that began with a call for submissions for custom built cat or dog structures made from reclaimed materials and the "This Ain't Junk" repurposing competition with Savannah’s Habitat for Humanity. Emergent Structures wants to publish stories from all over the world about reclaiming materials and encourage people to submit their projects to Exclaim Your Reclaim.San Francisco's Recology Artist Program in Residence provides Bay Area artists with access to discarded materials, a stipend, and a large studio space at the Recology Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center.Closer to home, one of my students, Rick Diguez, was recently inspired to create a book made out of discarded stainless steel, left over scrap from a gutter installation. The result was a finely crafted book that pays homage to some of his favorite artists.Also local for me, the Newburgh Mural Project is a series of inspiring outdoor paintings featuring the work of Chilean artist Dasic. This project has transformed old buildings and tunnels into works of art bringing beauty into neighborhoods struggling with poverty and crime.What have you seen lately that inspires you to turn trash into treasure?Sources:http://www.emergentstructures.org/http://www.good.is/posts/landfill-harmonic-making-music-from-trash-in-a-paraguay-slumhttp://www.recologysf.com/AIR/http://www.sierraclubgreenhome.com/uncategorized/one-mans-trash-is-another-mans-art/?pid=1836http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/11/turning-mount-everest-trash-treasure/4008/#http://www.wastelandmovie.com/synopsis.htmhttp://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/10/20/arts/design/1248069211361/clip-waste-land.html

Social activism, served best with a side of laughter?

It's been almost a year since the Yes Men launched the Yes Lab, an organization devoted to helping activist groups carry out media-getting creative actions. The Yes Men, Igor Vamos and Jacques Servin (also known as Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno,) are culture-jamming activists who have been creating actions since 1999. Their work focuses on creating parody and involves the impersonation of famous figures or creation of bogus media campaigns. As Paul Kuttner, author of the blog Cultural Organizing, said last year in anticipation about the launch Yes Lab, “organizing and activism could be a lot funnier.”(1)Although delivered with humor, the issues that Yes Lab addresses are far from laughing matters. Earlier this year they caused a stir when they launched the website arcticready.com and the Let's Go! Mercy Poll, a mock poll that encourages users to vote for which arctic species deserves extra protection from the US government's "incidental harassment authorization" that was granted to Shell. The site also features Social Media ads and a game just for kids, Angry Bergs.Another of Yes Lab's projects included "Three Strikes, You're In!," targeting the New York Police Department and McDonald's. The campaign offered free Happy Meals™ to anyone stopped and frisked three times without charge or summons to compensate victims of the NYPD's racist and abusive "stop and frisk" policy. They created a parody website and video (no longer available for viewing) which mimicked the official NYPD website along with the mock coupon to be brought in to claim their meal. According to Terry Malloy, author of the press release, McDonald's was included because they have made millions off of serving low nourishment food to African-American communities. (2)Last week Yes Lab posted about Shell again, with "Murder is Bad. Even in Nigeria." The article is about Shell's attempt to block employees access to the activist website, Murder  is Bad, created by People Against Legalized Murder (PALM). The site's goal is to let people know about Shell's involvement in murders in Nigeria, and their actions to cover it up, including the recent court case, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum.What do you think, is a social message best served with laughter? Are there any risks involved when creating mock campaigns that are often mistaken for being real?You can read about 5 more protests that shook the world with laughter at Yes Magazine.Notes:(1) http://culturalorganizing.org/?p=316(2) http://www.businessinsider.com/365black-mcdonalds-nypd-frisking-3-strikes-youre-in-2012-3#ixzz28zlvjxxu Sources:http://yeslab.org/http://theyesmen.org/http://murderisbad.com/http://culturalorganizing.org/?p=316http://www.businessinsider.com/365black-mcdonalds-nypd-frisking-3-strikes-youre-in-2012-3http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/beyond-prisons/5-protests-that-shook-the-world-with-laughter

Censorship: a sign of the “Times?”

This week Time magazine reported that last week's story “The Two Faces of Anxiety” elicited the most mail. Readers wanted to “Why is anxiety the most pressing issue in the U.S. while the Egyptian revolution gets front page treatment internationally?”Time said that they are glad to be held to high expectations. Some readers were not so happy and called the cover treatment censorship.David Airey posted almost a dozen examples of different magazine covers printed over the past several years on his blog. His readers debated the ethics of the issue including the practice of using selective data to push an agenda.The covers were also hotly debated on Reddit, reaching close to1800 comments with more than one of them saying that the practice is “terrifying.”Business Insider stated that while there is nothing new about magazines using different covers to drive sales, (one reader posted that this is done about 80% of the time) the bigger question is why the covers for the U.S. market differ so much from the rest of the world.What do you think? Is it censorship, or merely Times' right to serve their markets what they think will drive sales? Or is it merely a reflection of the insulated world in which Americans live?Sources:Time, December 12, 2011http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601111205,00.htmlhttp://www.davidairey.com/time-magazine-covers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CreativeDesign+%28Creative+Design%29http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/mp5cz/time_magazine_cover_depending_on_country/?limit=500http://www.businessinsider.com/these-time-magazine-covers-explain-why-americans-know-nothing-about-the-world-2011-11

Un-hate, or unethical?

Benetton's recent release of the "Unhate" ad campaign has caused a firestorm of controversy. The goal of their campaign is a worthy one—to contribute to a new culture of tolerance and to combat hatred. The UNHATE Campaign is the first in a series of initiatives involving community. In addition to the UNHATE Campaign, the UNHATE Foundation, founded by the Benetton Group, is planning a Global "UNHATE Day" with events scheduled for 50 different cities around the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Other initiatives include "Art for Tolerance," which will support the talent and work of young people living in areas where hatred has generated social injustice and conflicts.Unfortunately, one of the first efforts of their campaign has already been recalled. The photoshopped image of the Pope and Al-Azhar Mosque locked in a kiss caused the Vatican to respond with furious protests. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi stated, "This is a grave lack of respect for the Pope. We cannot help but express a resolute protest at the entirely unacceptable use of a manipulated image of the Holy Father, used as part of a publicity campaign which has commercial ends.” The Vatican demanded that the image be removed from the campaign and is taking legal action to ensure the doctored image isn't distributed.The White House also released a statement that they have a long-standing policy disapproving of the use of the president's name and likeness for commercial purposes. Despite this, Benetton ads showing President Obama kissing Hugo Chavez are expected to appear in upcoming issues of "Newsweek," "New York Magazine," and the "Economist." Sources say that Benetton did run it by their legal department, getting informed about the consequences they could expect to face when receiving complaints.Benetton has a long history of using advertising to promote social messages. In the 1990s Tibor Kalman created "The United Colors of Benetton," a product-based series of multicultural kids promoting ethnic and racial harmony. Next came the creation of Colors, a magazine produced by Benetton for which Kalman became editor-in-chief. The goal for Benetton was to suggest they had a social conscience. The goal for Kalman was to create a platform for socio-economic issues.What do you think about the UNHATE campaign? Did they intentionally proceed with what many view as unethical behavior through photo manipulation, ignoring image usage rights to promote tolerance and influence culture, or is it merely a means to a commercial end—and bad use of photoshop as many contend?Sources:http://unhate.benetton.com/foundation/http://unhate.benetton.com/http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/benetton-yanks-smooching-pope-ad-unhate-campaign-vatican-threatened-legal-action-article-1.979430?localLinksEnabled=falsehttp://www.missfashionnews.com/2011/11/16/unhate-benetton/http://www.aiga.org/medalist-tiborkalman/

What the heck is “good design” any way?

If you decide to look up “good” in an online dictionary the first listing that comes up shows 55 different definitions. Morally excellent, righteous, high-quality, well-behaved, kind, educated, refined, healthy, cheerful, skillfully done, and financially sound are just a few.When looking at how the word "good" is used in graphic design a wide variety of interpretations also arise.In 1975 IBM legend Thomas Watson began his lecture at the Wharton School of Business with these words, “Good Design is Good Business.” This principle has led many successful businesses to make creating strategic branding and design a priority and ultimately may have helped in them their success.Apple's founder Steve Jobs place in the business world is legendary and was founded in part on relentlessly building beautifully designed, useful things that anyone could use.Dieter Rams offers 10 Principles of Good Design for product design that include innovation, usefulness, aestethic, honest, understandable, unobtrusive, and more.David Berman's book, Do Good Design, addresses the issues of morality in graphic design. The book is an excellent resource for looking at the power that graphic design has on cultural influence.Lucienne Roberts, author of Good: An Introduction to Ethics in Graphic Design, also explores issues of morality, drawing readers into a debate about professional "goodness" versus personal "goodness" and the relationship between ethics and design practice.The magazine Good and website Good.is describe good as something that works—what is sustainable, prosperous, productive, creative, and just—for all of us and each of us.AIGA’s “Design for Good” initiative provides tools and resources for designers who work on projects that focus on addressing community needs. Their tagline says, “Changing the world may or may not work, but wouldn't you rather design trying?”In a recent post for the Daily Heller, “Design for Good or Bad,” Steven Heller raises the question of what good design is. Heller asks why designers can't practice "public good" as an integral part of design's mission without labeling it as just "good." He also brings up the point that some "bad design" may be due to lack of talent rather than an issue of morality. What does it mean if this type of "bad design" is done for good causes? Is it good, or is it bad?How should we define good design? Maybe the best thing that graphic designers can do is to delve further into each of these topics and come up with new and more specific ways to classify “good design.” If they don't, the catch-all phrase may end up diluting the message in its wake.Sources:http://www.definitions.net/definition/goodhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/06/steve-jobs-world-more-beautiful?INTCMP=SRCHhttp://www.amazon.com/Good-Ethics-Graphic-Required-Reading/dp/2940373140http://imprint.printmag.com/branding/design-for-good-or-um-bad/http://www.good.is/category/art-and-design/

Communication that's as clear as mud

Have you ever wondered why legalese is so hard to understand? Whether it's a government form, a license agreement, or some other type of contract, the end user is often confronted with unintuitive, unclear, and confusing information. Gregg Bernstein recently raised the question of clear communication for software TOS (Terms of Service) contracts—specifically, why do they need to be so hard to read and understand? For his MFA thesis he analyzed and redesigned Apple's iTunes license agreement and found this doesn't have to be the case. Condensing and simplifying the language, improving the typography for better readability, and increasing brand unity were just some of the changes he made. You can read more about it on his website iagreeto.org.Bernstein's goal in the redesign was to take an unreadable contract and turn it into something that would not only benefit consumers by giving them a fighting chance of understanding it, but would also benefit Apple. By creating a document that users can actually understand, Apple might find that it increases compliance with its terms rather than bamboozling users into it without comprehension.While many don't give it a second thought when they blindly click through Terms of Service contracts and other legalese, the implications of poor visual communication not only raise ethical questions about the intent of the vendor, but can also wreak havoc in other areas of visual communication where contracts and forms are involved.When George Bush defeated Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election some felt the outcome had been determined by poor graphic design. The visual hierarchy of the ballot was confusing, as was the readability of the ballot, which was especially difficult to read for the target demographic, the elderly. The story is now more than a decade old, but it still stings with injustice and outrage as well as embarrassment for graphic designers.Graphic design serves as a filter through which much of our communication is disseminated, and graphic designers are often the gatekeepers of this communication. The influence that they have on how information is delivered is not always apparent to them. They sometimes become completely engulfed in certain details of a project and don't realize the full impact of their work, or for that matter the responsibility they bear in creating communication that is an integral part of our culture.What do you think? How culpable are graphic designers for poor visual design of forms and contracts?Sources:http://www.iagreeto.org/http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/09/06/090611-tech-technews-itunes-redesign-1-2/http://will-harris.com/wire/html/design_ramifications.html

Students on the "Road to Hell"

Graphic design students will wrestle with many ethical issues in their careers. If they aren't already aware of image usage rights, design plagiarism, and issues of sustainability the courses they take will no doubt touch upon these topics at one time or another. However some of the biggest ethical issues that they will face in their careers are the choices they must make in order to make a living.Sérgio Manuel Neves is a recent graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon. He explored the topic of "ethos" and "ethics" in graphic design for one his projects this past spring. The publication that he created, Ethics: Graphic Design In Takes includes excerpts from authors on the topic of ethics in graphic design and designers like Milton Glaser, creator of the chart "12 Steps on the Graphic Designer's Road to Hell."What might surprise some people is that in his essay, "The Road to Hell," Milton Glaser states that he personally has taken a number of the steps on the chart he created. Others, like author Mark Johnson, wouldn’t be surprised. In his book Moral Imagination, Johnson states that we would be morally irresponsible to think and act as if we possess a universal reason that generates absolute rules, decision‐making procedures, and universal or categorical laws by which we can tell right from wrong in any situation we encounter. According to Johnson, absolute moral laws ignore what’s truly important about the concept of morality, to achieve imaginative dimensions of moral understanding that make it possible for us to determine what’s really important in any given situation or relationship and to make wise decisions accordingly. The ability to reach these decisions requires exploration, discussion, and imagination.Where are you on the “Road to Hell” and what do you think is the best way to prepare students for the choices they must make?Listen to the "Design Matters" Milton Glaser Podcast Interview by Debbie Millman where he talks about the road to hell.Sources:http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0802/gla/Mark Johnson, Moral Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science forEthics (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1993), 5.http://designobserver.com/observermedia/audiofile.html?entry=8927

Fish Tales

Y'see, most men, they'll tell a story straight through, it won't be complicated, but it won't be interesting either. —Edward Bloom (from the movie "Big Fish")

The fictional character from "Big Fish," Edward Bloom, spent most of his life as a traveling salesman. Known for his gift of storytelling, the statement that he makes to his son, a journalist in search of truth, nicely sums up the conundrum of graphic designers. Getting a message across by creating visual interest through unique and compelling imagery is our job. Is this possible when telling a story straight through without providing any embellishments?In an interview for Lucienne Roberts' book, Good: Ethics of Graphic Design, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, Anthony Grayling, says that he feels asking graphic designers not to persuade is like asking fishermen not to fish—it’s what we are trained to do.In the essay "Advocating Ethical Design" David Berman, graphic designer and author of Do Good Design, contends that on the contrary, it's a graphic designer's responsibility to take the time to understand the mechanics of persuasion and use it responsibly—he feels anything else are visual lies, and deadly.Berman believes people are much more influenced by things that look real as opposed to symbology and feels that the laws and rules of society and declared through words, not pictures, make it easier to get around a law with the vagueness of pictures.This debate is not new, it's a topic that's been discussed by graphic designers for years. However what Berman is particularly concerned with is how ethics apply to graphic design on the web. If the battle is being waged to make graphic designers more ethically responsible, how can this message be spread to the DIY population—those untrained in graphic design who write, upload, and create their own work and post it directly online? According to Berman, “Designers tend to underestimate how much power they have. They’re culpable.” He estimates that within a decade, the majority of humanity will be able to publish information on the web. And that’s why almost everyone needs to know something about ethical web design.Another essay on the Digital Ethics website, Digital Ethics and Kids, discusses the responsibility of teaching digital ethics in the home. They contend that children who are raised in families who have no moral or ethical knowledge will not make ethical decisions with their use of digital media and that they won't even realize if they are doing right or wrong.What do you think? Does the web make the responsibility of graphic designers any different and how much responsibility do they bear? Should the push for digital ethics be made at home, toward graphic designers, or both?Sources:http://www.finestquotes.com/movie_quotes/movie/Big%20Fish/page/0.htmhttp://digitalethics.org/2011/05/20/essay-advocating-ethical-designhttp://digitalethics.org/2011/06/14/essay-digital-ethics-and-kids/

What's in a name?

Ethics hit home last week when I became personally involved in a case of artistic freedom vs. social responsibility, professional integrity, and branding."East End Stories" is a photo essay about people who live or work in the east end of Newburgh, NY. I was inspired to create the series after reading about a mother who lost her son to gang violence when he was only 16. The criteria for those interviewed and photographed was that they have a connection to the location where the FBI had a major gang takedown in May 2010. Everyone interviewed knew my intentions and everyone was asked about how gang violence has affected them. Throughout the project its name was "Living in Gangland."When I completed the work and the exhibit was announced with the title "Living in Gangland" there was an uproar on a community blog. Mudslinging, name calling, personal attacks ensued - it got ugly. With my professional background in branding, I was accused of intentionally marketing Newburgh as "gangland." Since I don't live in Newburgh, I was accused of being a carpetbagger. I also had supporters who urged me to keep the title in the name of truth and artistic freedom and not cave in to censorship.I sifted through this onslaught of feedback—mean, nasty, and irrelevant, along with some that was intelligent and valid. I debated the ethics of the situation; was I just being honest, or could it be seen as exploitative? Was I unintentionally branding the city negatively, or was I being socially responsible in directing attention to people that might otherwise go unnoticed?The old name certainly passed the "Design ROI" test—it was relevant, original, and interesting. In fact when I changed the name and needed help transferring files to the new website, two separate tech people at GoDaddy were quite interested in "Living in Gangland." They immediately wanted to know what the site was about; that's never happened to me when calling for tech help, ever. Even though "East End Stories" passed the "Design ROI" test for relevant and original—it wasn't quite interesting as "Living in Gangland." I had to weigh whether or not the power and irony of the name was integral to the work, or whether it might be unethical to ignore the community's claim that it would be branding their homes with a powerfully negative label and subsequently lower their real estate values.In the end I decided to change the name. It was a matter of respect—respect for the people I photographed—they don't need the added burden of what a negative label might bring. The new name may not be the attention-getter that the old one was, but the new name is equally truthful, even if it's not quite as interesting.

Does graphic design require a certain moral flexibility?

In Thank You For Smoking the main character, Nick Naylor, a spokesman for a tobacco company, tells his son, “My job requires a certain... moral flexibility.” While every profession must deal with ethics in its particular field, graphic designers are trained to “make things look good.” The very nature of their core mission inherently lends itself to a certain “moral flexibility.” Anthony Grayling, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Supernumerary Fellow at St. Anne’s College, Oxford, England thinks that asking graphic designers not to persuade is like asking fishermen not to fish—it’s what they are trained to do.Historically, graphic design has been an agent of moral and ethical thought. From the Code of Hammurabi to illuminated manuscripts to the broadsheets used to spread the word of Martin Luther, graphic design has been used to visually communicate beliefs and ideas—to inform, inspire, and delight. During the Middle Ages campaigns like Ars moriendi were designed specifically to influence the behavior of individuals, in this case urging those on their deathbed from the bubonic plague to leave their money to the church. Soviet propaganda produced after the Russian revolution practically rewrote Soviet history. More recently the Obama branding campaign has been deemed one of the most successful branding campaigns for a political candidate.What do you think? Does graphic design require a moral flexibility?

Coca-Cola: generous benefactor or evil brand master?

Where does one draw the line about whether or not its graphic designers’ moral responsibility to keep their employees and work on something they don’t necessarily agree with or to let them go, adversely affecting their lives as well their families? Should they refuse to work for the client or take the job for the sake of their employees? Coca-Cola Company is local in 206 countries, more than the United Nations. They have 700,000 employees, 50 million retailers, and 50 million customers all over the world. Critics of Coca-Cola condemn the company for encouraging a consumer culture that is unhealthy and economically draining on individuals.In Do Good: How Designers Can Change the World, author David Berman talks about how Coke has branded the nation of Tanzania. In the 1990s they took care of all of their road signage and included the Coke brand on every sign. In some parts of Africa, Coke is considered medicinal and the price of a bottle of Coke is the same as an anti-malarial pill. While Coke is the best selling drink on the continent, a million Africans die each year of malaria. At the same time Coke is heavily invested in the local communities, imagine the economic impact and subsequent repercussions on the lives of those economically connected to the company if Coke suddenly disappeared as well as losing all of the benefits they do provide like road signage and schools.Simon Berry is one individual who decided to see if there was a way to use Coca-Cola's widespread distribution network to deliver something more. In 2008 Berry started a Facebook group to enlist Coca-Cola to help ship medicine to areas that need it. The group grew quickly and generated a lot of positive publicity. Soon after Berry founded ColaLife, an organization dedicated to helping Coca-Cola take simple medicines and other 'social products' to save lives, especially children's lives.

Political Branding—Masterful or Monstrous?

The 2008 Obama branding campaign has been deemed one of the most successful branding campaigns for a political candidate and cause. In an interview by Steven Heller for the NY Times, branding expert Brian Collins asserts it’s because they used a single-minded visual strategy to deliver their campaign’s message with greater consistency and, as a result, greater collective impact.The design strategy focused on multiple platforms— cell phones, mobile devices, websites, e-mail, social networks, iPods, laptops, billboards, print ads and campaign events. Using shape, type, and color, the design team created a campaign successfully visualizing emotional messages that conveyed “hope” and “change we can believe in” across the nation and subsequently gained mindshare of the American people.In his book Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-Century Totalitarian State, author Steven Heller asks, “how did a practice as vile as branding become so valued, indeed, the very mark of value?” Heller writes how in the past branding was used for slaves and criminals. Today, cities and colleges have joined toothpastes and soft drinks in the battle for “brand loyalty.”Heller compares corporate branding strategies—slogans, mascots, jingles and the rest—to those adopted by four of the most destructive 20th-century totalitarian regimes: Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin, and Mao’s China. Heller asserts that design and marketing methods used to inculcate doctrine and guarantee consumption are fundamentally similar.What do you think about political branding and how can you tell if it's masterful or monstrous?Sources:http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/to-the-letter-born/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/arts/31iht-IDLEDE2.1.14885119.html?_r=2