Students and pro bono work

"The Role of Graphic Design in Social Awareness," "Issues in Design," and "Can Design Touch Someone's Heart?" are all graphic design courses with the common theme of creating pro bono work (volunteer work done “for the public good”) to teach social responsibility. As AIGA Philadelphia and others are taking a pledge to support paid internships, where does pro bono work done by students fit in? Nonprofit organizations clearly have a need. Organizations like DesigNYC partner designers with nonprofit groups in New York City to create pro bono work on a local level to benefit the city. The Ad Council has been working with volunteers from the advertising and communications industries since 1942 to create public service campaigns to effect positive change in the lives of Americans. Other organizations like Design Global Change have a similar mission, sending students to India and Africa to create design that will effect change and create a better world.Students gain valuable experience designing brand identities, packaging, poster design, and more by working pro bono for nonprofit organizations. They can also fill out their portfolio with "real" work. Is this any different than student internships that are unpaid? If so, why?

Do you think unpaid internships are unfair?

When creative director Florian Bacheda of FB Design was asked "What do you think the biggest ethical issues are that graphic design students can expect to face in their careers?” He responded with the following: “I think the biggest ethical issue will be from a managerial perspective. Some bigger corporations will try to use the recession as an excuse to place more work on the shoulders of fewer people. Creatives in managerial positions that work for these corporations must balance the reasonable requests that some of them make in response to the recession with the ones that are borderline exploitative. The junior designers in the field need to decide if they are being asked to be part of an understandably lean and mean operation, or if they are being taken advantage of.”Bacheda raises an issue that is also being discussed by design educators and practitioners regarding unpaid internships. AIGA Philadelphia has started a movement to support the ethical treatment of professional designers and students in the workplace. They are asking designers to take a pledge to stop posting unpaid internships to their job boards and websites.Students are eager to get "real-world" experience. Design professionals often complain about the skills that design students fresh out of school lack. Education is important, but most designers will attest to the fact that the most critical education they received was on the job. The opportunity for student internships is often a motivating factor when choosing a design school. Is it fair to entirely eliminate the opportunity for unpaid internships? What if during these trying economic times design studios can't afford to pay their interns, won't this limit opportunities available for students?Shel Perkins wrote an informative article entitled "Be Smart about Student Internships" on AIGA's "Center for Practice Management" website. Perkins points out the differences between interns, volunteers, and paid employees and how when set up properly having an intern often results in more time spent training and educating them than work being produced by them, and that this is how it should be. The primary purpose of an internship is the education and training of the student. If a design studio feels they may be asking their intern to do work that does not contribute to their education and training they should pay them at least minimum wage.Perkins' article offers a detailed explanation of the Federal requirements for an internship program. He also talks about the mutual benefits that both students and employers can gain through an internship program that complies with these requirements.What do you think? Are unpaid internships are unfair? Does it make a difference if they are students or professionals?

How sustainable are your design practices?

Graphic designers intentions are often in the right place when it comes to practicing sustainably. They advise their clients about using soy inks and recycled papers. They design eco-friendly products. They embrace the idea of designing "cradle-to-cradle" and consider the life cycle of products. However, designer Jessie McGrath argues in her MFA thesis that "the idea of sustainable design is an illusive goal because a product can never be truly sustainable by virtue of the fact that it is a product."In her thesis McGrath questions whether or not sustainable design is an oxymoron and quotes Nathan Shedroff, chair of the MBA in design strategy at California College of the Arts. Shedroff states, “A sad truth is that almost every solution designed today, even the most ‘sustainable’ one, has more of a negative impact on the planet than a positive one. This means that the world would be better off if most of what was designed was never produced.”McGrath offers one solution in the form of "The Yellow Shed," a prototype for a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people live well and consume less. Find resources for turning green design yellow along other links to learn more.Sources:Nathan Shedroff and Hunter Lovins, Design Is the Problem: The Future of Design Must Be Sustainable (Brooklyn, NY: Rosenfeld Media, 2009), xxiii.

Would you pass a graphic design certification test?

Certification is currently a topic of debate among graphic designers in the United States and has been for over a decade. Proponents feel it will create value for graphic designers and a minimum standard of professionalism. Their hope is that it will prevent graphic design from becoming a commodity. Opponents feel it's a waste of time and a form of elitism that could create unnecessary boundaries for talented designers.Let's suppose for a moment that proponents of graphic design certification win their argument and the U.S. follows in the footsteps of other countries like Canada, the U.K., Australia, and Denmark. Although design certification models differ between these countries, most require graduation from either a two-year or four-year school and most require a minimum level of experience working in the industry. Some require an exam.The examination board for R.G.D. (Registered Graphic Designers) gives graphic designers in Ontario a written test consisting of approximately 180 multiple choice questions. The test takes approximately 3.5 hours. Following are some sample questions. How well do you think you would do?1) Dimensional software creates objects that are:a. in raster formatb. in RAW formatc. in vector formatd. in CMYK format2) This form of research is built around numbers, logic and objective data:a. formative researchb. exploratory researchc. quantitative researchd. qualitative research3) Which magazine designer was responsible for the influential look of Harper’s Bazaar from 1934-1958?a. Lester Beallb. Alexy Brodovitchc. J. Müller-Brockmannd. Herbert Matter4) Stochastic printing consists of:a. a random pattern of dots varied by frequencyb. a regular pattern of dots varied by frequencyc. a random pattern of dots varied by amplituded. a regular pattern of dots varied by amplitudeSources:http://designcertification.org/http://rgdexamboard.com/the-test/Answers: 1.c, 2.c, 3. b, 4. a

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?

Adobe Photoshop and the age of photo manipulation

In today's digitally sophisticated world the word Photoshop is used and understood readily as a verb. It's not unusual to have clients say just "photoshop" the missing team member into a group photo. There was a time not that long ago when Photoshop was seen as a magical and mystical tool.Watch this interview with the founders of Adobe Photoshop and see how things came together to create this cultural paridgm shift: http://tv.adobe.com/go/photoshop-20th-anniversaryDo you remember the days when Photoshop was a new and novel concept?

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.

Joe Camel—a brand stretched to the max

“Joe Camel” and the stretching of the Camel cigarette brand is a prime example of brand stretching at its worst.In David Berman's book Do Good Design he talks about how before the “Joe Camel” cartoon character appeared in the 1980s Camel cigarettes had one percent of the U.S. teen cigarette market. By the time the campaign was stopped in 1997 Camel had 32 percent of this market, and more than 90 percent of six-year-olds could recognize Joe (more than knew Mickey Mouse.)

IKEA—great design or planned obsolescence?

When browsing through all the products, space savers, unique designs that IKEA stores showcase, one eventually discovers that most of the furniture and products do not carry the signature of enduring craftsmanship. The majority of the furniture is a quick solution for people without a lot of space, time, or money, or in other words, for most of Western humanity. The unsubstantial wooden slabs and wobbly table tops are a marketing ploy—the furniture is not supposed to last—and consumers are comfortable with this. The argument that IKEA’s popularity is due to answering consumers’ needs is a short sighted one. IKEA is not an answer; it is a fix. When consumers buy an IKEA product they are buying a fashion product—fleeting, temporal, trendy. Trends change faster and faster as the ‘need’ for consumers to spend accelerates. The problem with mass produced consumer goods is not that they are cheap or even practical, but when critically evaluated as answers to what consumers want, they are little more than quick fixes for expected growing consumer needs. The unsubstantial products age and break and the need for replacements emerge.IKEA is just one example of planned obsolescence. Look around and you'll find plenty of products that are designed for a short shelf life.Source:http://social-activism.suite101.com/article.cfm/ikea_and_consumption

Poster Projects for Social Responsibility

Posters are a popular way for artists and designers use their skills to create awareness and raise money for organizations on both the local level and internationally. "The Haiti Poster Project" is a collaboration of artists and designers from around the world. Signed and numbered, limited edition posters have been donated to raise money that will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.In 2005 "The Hurricane Poster Project" was a collaborative design effort created after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The project produced over 180 different limited-edition series of posters, raising about $50,000.Working on an individual basis, in 2002 designer Chaz Maviyane-Davies created a poster a day to raise awareness about the issues involved in the Zimbabwe presidential elections. For a month Maviyane-Davies produced around 42 images called ‘Portal of Tuth’ to protest Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party who hid rights abuses in legislation using laws to dismember and disenfranchise the citizenry of Zimbabwe. The full series can be seen here.For more than twenty years Maviyane-Davies' work has taken on issues of consumerism, health, nutrition, social responsibility, the environment and human rights.

What's the difference between appropriation and plagiarism?

In an article for Design Observer designer and author William Drenttel writes about how ideas come from many sources in graphic design: they recur, regenerate, take new forms, and mutate into alternative forms. In the world of design and photography, there seems to be an implicit understanding that any original work can and will evolve into the work of others, eventually working its way into our broader visual culture.Drenttel goes on to talk about how the charge of plagiarism is not a simple one. He says, “Designers should take note: the idea of borrowing ideas is getting more complex everyday. Inherent in the modern definition of originality, though, is that ideas are extended, language expanded, and syntax redefined. Take a psychologist’s ideas and experiences, as explained through the eyes of a journalist, and turn them into a play, a work of fiction—this is a work of complex, ‘appropriation,’ I believe the design world benefits greatly from such an understanding of complexity.”How does a designer know where the boundaries are when finding the line between appropriation and plagiarism?Source:http://www.designobserver.com/observatory/entry.html?entry=2837

What are the most important ethical issues graphic design students will face in their careers?

As part of my research for my thesis I polled graphic design educators and practitioners and asked them the open-ended question "what do you think is the most important ethical issue is that graphic design students can expect to face in their careers?" The answers were wide and varied, some I had expected and some I hadn't even considered.Steven Heller, author, editor, and co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author Department at SVA (School of Visual Arts), gave an answer that captured the range of responses I received. He said, "Every individual will face different concerns with issues of ethics in graphic design. Some will be asked to serve a client they might not like or a product they might not care for while others might be faced with whether or not to undercut a competitor. There are no universal answers.”Designer and author Jessica Hefland's answer focused on honesty, kindness, and boundaries:“Being clear about boundaries — between friends and clients, money, and its perception being the complication that thwarts all successful achievement in collaboration.”“Honesty — because it is the single most important prerequisite for success in life AND work.”“Kindness — because you can, and must endeavor to be famous and successful and STILL BE NICE (an overstatement, but I'm serious) which is not only possible, but mandatory for true happiness.”Hefland said “It never ceases to amaze me that women, who continue to struggle, in millions of ways, to achieve equal status and pay with their male counterparts, do not help and support other women more than they do: worse, they prevent other women from achieving, when they should be mentoring them, period.”Other issues mentioned through email, phone, and social networking sites with over 60 graphic design professionals and educators included copyright, non-payment for services, font licensing, spec work, crowdsourcing, kickbacks, corporate sponsorship, sustainability, and working for someone you don’t like or whose product or service you don’t believe in. The responses were passionate and also filled with anecdotes about personal experiences and as Steven Heller noted in his response, there really were no universal answers.If you would like to see all the results please fill out the contact form or write me directly at info@ethicsingraphicdesign.org.What do you think are the most important ethical issues that graphic designers will face in their careers?

FARM's Sponsorship Appeal

Corporate sponsorships are often used by educational institutions as an alternate stream of revenue. Proponents claim that it allows them to keep classes running and that the corporations rarely get involved in defining curriculum. Critics contend that it compromises the integrity of the curriculum and ends up serving as an endorsement for products and services. In some cases the corporations also ask for the rights to the intellectual property produced by the students in the class.FARM (Future Action Reclamation Mob) began as Robyn Waxman's MFA thesis project. The project is an alternative form of non-violent protest and reclaims public space to build community, provides services for underserved and transient populations, and rehabilitates toxic land. During the project Kraft/Triscuit contacted Waxman through a nonprofit urban farm organization. They wanted to corporately sponsor the San Francisco FARM so they could use it for advertising... to show their engagement in ‘humanitarian’ projects. In exchange they would give them soil, seeds, and a part time gardener. Waxman said this would have been the cheapest advertising opportunity money could buy—especially since they get dirt, seeds and a workforce via donations and volunteering. After brief consideration, Waxman responded by letting them know exactly how she felt about a company that peddles diabetic-causing food to (mostly) children wanting to associate themselves with an organic urban farm... as if they actually built it.Where do you weigh in on corporate sponsorships? Do you think there's a place for them in education?

How much do students know about ethics?

In the Spring of 2010 I conducted a survey among undergraduate graphic design students to find out how much they know about ethical issues in graphic design. The results showed that there are many issues they know little or nothing about. Questions concerning licensing fonts, reading terms and conditions for EULAs (End User License Agreements), and correct image use all showed that a high number of students are unsure and unclear about these issues. Of all the respondents, 59% of the students answered “sometimes” when asked if they only use properly licensed fonts and 16% said that they didn’t know what this meant. When asked if they read the legal copy on EULAs, 54% answered “sometimes.” When asked if it’s ok to use images that they find on Google, 23% answered with “I don’t know.” Nearly half of them didn’t know what working on speculation means. Students were confused about issues of sustainability and social responsibility as well.Download a pdf with the all the survey results: emkane_survey_resultsHow much do you think graphic designer students know about ethics?

Is "Tomoko Is Bathed by Her Mother” fair use?

The difference between fair use and matters of integrity is not always crystal clear. Those involved in visual communication are often called upon to decide which takes precedence.One of the most powerful images of the twentieth century is W. Eugene Smith’s photo “Tomoko Is Bathed by Her Mother.” The image shows a child with a congenital disease caused by mercury pollution in Minamata, Japan.Although Tomoko’s parents originally gave permission for Smith to take the photo in 1971, after Tomoko died in 1977 they were upset by the continued use of the photo and asked that the image not be used. In 1998 Smith’s widow, holder of the copyright on the photo, complied with the parents’ wishes and forbid future use of the image. This impacted exhibitions of the “One Hundred Greatest Photographs of the Twentieth Century” and also was seen as a disservice by those who felt Tomoko’s image should be able to be used under “fair use” guidelines as it has helped in the fight against industrial pollution.Do you think the original image should still be in circulation under fair use guidelines or should the wishes of the family take precedence as Aileen Smith decided it should?PLEASE NOTE: Permission to use the image discussed in this case study, “Tomoko Is Bathed by Her Mother,” was respectfully denied. The image can be seen online here. The image below is from the same series and reproduced with permission from Aileen Smith.

Creative Commons: Copyright with Flexibility

Creative Commons is a non-profit corporation that offers ways to grant copyright permissions for creative work that make it easier for people to share or build upon the work of others.The Creative Commons licenses enable people to easily change their copyright terms from the default of “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved.” Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative to copyright. They work alongside copyright, offering a means to modify standard copyright terms. Creative Commons offers a spectrum of possibilities between full copyright and the public domain.Critics claim claim that it undermines copyright. Last month ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) began a fund-raising campaign to fight groups that support free culture and digital rights, among them Creative Commons. Some feel this claim is laughable because Creative Commons actually creates licenses to protect content creators.Which side are you on? Do you think Creative Commons are offering options that make copyright licensing easier to implement and enforce, or do you think they are undermining copyright and compromising the rights of artists?Read More http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/ascap-assails-free-culture-digital-rights-groups#ixzz0vOlNNRiN

Teaching Social Responsibility: "Water for India"

In January 2009, Hartford Art School Professor Natacha Poggio and a team of six art and design students traveled to Abheypur, India to implement the “Water for India” sanitation campaign as partners to the work of the “Engineers Without Borders” Student Chapter at the University of Hartford.“Water for India” aims to convey the importance of cleanliness, sharing, and respect for water resources through a painted mural at the girls’ primary school, coloring books with sanitation tips, and t-shirts featuring the logo.What began as an assignment in the Spring of 2008 for a class called “Issues in Design” grew into an ongoing effort after receiving feedback from Abheypur’s villagers. Since the start of the project, the students worked collaboratively on this wide-reaching project with other disciplines, team members and cultures and in 2009 the "Water for India" campaign placed third in the AIGA (Re)design Awards.The students and Professor Poggio have continued using design as a way to educate and empower people. The social consciousness and awareness of those involved grew through the process of research and learning to design for a more universal audience. The mission was extended in the next session of “Issues in Design” where the students worked on a new wellness campaign designing “kangas” (traditional cotton garments that Sub-Saharan women wear) for local communities in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya.Professor Poggio continues to teach “Issues in Design” along with a special topics class called “Design Global Change” (DGC) which evolved into an organization which focuses on global design projects.Where else do you think opportunities exist to use design to teach social responsibility?

"Hope" Poster - Fair Use or Copyright Infringment?

One of the most celebrated works of campaign art in American history, Shepard Fairey’s “Hope” poster, was added to the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. The poster has also been the focus of a copyright-infringement lawsuit between Shepard Fairey and the Associated Press.In early February 2009, the Associated Press determined that the photograph used in the poster is an AP photo and that its use required permission. At the time of the Associated Press’ original allegations, Shepard Fairey’s attorney stated that the use of the image is “fair use” and thus protected by copyright law. A few days later Fairey filed a suit against the Associated Press, asking a judge to find that his use of an AP photo in creating the poster did not violate copyright law.In his February 9, 2009 Complaint for a declaratory judgment against the AP , Fairey claimed to have used an AP photograph of George Clooney sitting next to then-Senator Barack Obama as the source of the “Hope” posters. However, as the AP alleged in its March 11, 2009 response, Fairey had instead used a close-up photograph of then- Senator Obama from the same press event, which is an exact match for Fairey’s posters. In its response, the AP also correctly surmised that Fairey had attempted to hide the true identity of the source photo in order to help his case by arguing that he had to make more changes to the source photo than he actually did and that he at least had to crop it.In October 2009, Fairey admitted to the AP that he fabricated and attempted to destroy other evidence in an effort to bolster his fair use case and cover up his previous lies and omissions. In early 2010, it was disclosed in court that Fairey is under criminal investigation after he said he erred about which AP photo he used as a basis for “Hope.” He acknowledged that he had submitted false images and deleted other images to conceal his actions.As of April 2010, lawyers for artist Shepard Fairey were ordered to disclose the identities of anyone who deleted or destroyed records related to a copyright dispute over the Barack Obama “Hope” image. Fairey’s image has had an undeniable cultural impact. His red-white-and-blue poster of Obama with the word “Hope” at the bottom (pictured) has spurred an ongoing parade of parody images featuring everyone from Sarah Palin (“Nope”) to Heath Ledger (“Joke”).Paste magazine’s easy-to-use, web-based Obamicon generator—one of many online tools that make it easy to modify an picture to look like Fairey’s poster—has reportedly created more than 500,000 of these images.What do you think? Is the Obama "Hope" poster an example of fair use or copyright infringement?SOURCES:http://www.ap.org/iprights/fairey.htmlhttp://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/02/copyfight-erupt/http://www.copyright.gov/

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