Yale launches "Open Access" policy
Yale University has announced open access to online images of millions of objects housed in their museums, archives, and libraries. With their new policy they are also the first Ivy League university to make high quality digital images of their vast cultural heritage collections in the public domain openly and freely available.Yale's collections are among the strongest in depth and breadth of any academic institution in the world.Meg Bellinger, director of the Yale Office of Digital Assets and Infrastructure (ODAI) says that increased access to high-quality content and new linked data technologies will revolutionize the way people search and relate to cultural objects.View a sampling of their collection in this Open Access Slideshow.Source: http://news.yale.edu/2011/05/10/digital-images-yale-s-vast-cultural-collections-now-available-free
GAG vs. IPA, or when an advocate sues their own
When you go to the Graphic Artists Guild (GAG) website an illustrator is prominently featured on the left sidebar under the headline "I Am the Guild." This is a bit ironic when reading about the recent New York State Supreme Court case involving the Graphic Artists Guild (GAG) and the Illustrators' Partnership of America (IPA) as well as reading GAG's advocacy policy where they position themselves as an advocate for illustrators.In the Fall of 2008 GAG brought a lawsuit against IPA for defamation and interference with contractual relations, alleging that IPA had interfered with a “business relationship” GAG had entered into that enabled GAG to collect orphaned reprographic royalties derived from the licensing of illustrators’ work. GAG alleged that efforts by IPA to create a collecting society to return lost royalties to artists “interfered” with GAG’s “business” of appropriating these orphaned fees.(1)Judge Debra James recently ruled that statements made by the Illustrators’ Partnership and the other defendants were true; that true statements cannot be defamatory; that illustrators have a “common interest” in orphaned income; and that a “common-interest privilege” may arise from both a right and a duty to convey relevant information, however contentious, to others who share that interest or duty.(2)To put this in perspective, the amount of money that's at stake is substantial. Labor Department filings state that between 2000 and 2007, GAG collected at least $1,581,667 in illustrators’ reprographic royalties.(3)It's certainly not unusual for groups with common interests to be scrambling for the same pool of funds. It makes one wonder how much the stakes affected GAG's decision to sue and how much money effects an individual's or organization's professional behavior.Read the press release on the Daily Cartoonist and find links to ECourt documents submitted in the case.Read Steven Heller's article, "Illustration and the Law," about the recent events including an interview with Brad Holland, one of the IPA defendants.Read the Illustrators Partnership Orphan Works statement.1. http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2011/04/28/judge-dismisses-case-against-illustrators-partnership-of-america/?et_mid=458663&rid=37033452. http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2011/04/28/judge-dismisses-case-against-illustrators-partnership-of-america/?et_mid=458663&rid=37033453. http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2011/04/28/judge-dismisses-case-against-illustrators-partnership-of-america/?et_mid=458663&rid=3703345
First Amendment Face-off
This story about a small town public art controversy caught my attention for a few reasons. First there was the coincidence that the project involved a fellow Orange County Tourism grant recipient. Second was my curiosity about the controversy because I am currently involved in a project that will be displaying art publicly (YOUTH | ART). However the main reason it caught my attention was when I saw the photo of the art that was displayed on this privately owned building. It was quite tasteful and unoffensive. I found it hard to believe it was at the heart of a First Amendment battle.Melanie Gold, the recipient of the grant, did her due diligence before applying for the grant last April. She was told by local officials that there were no local ordinances saying she couldn't put art up on a privately owned building. She was met with resistance however when she invited the mayor to be on the jury deciding which artwork would be displayed. On November 1, 2010 the village board passed Local Law No. 2 of 2010, which ironically was scheduled to expire the same day that the grant would. The law stated “The creation and or display within the Village of Greenwood Lake of public art is prohibited."During the months that followed Ms. Gold challenged this law for several reasons. For starters, the art would be displayed on a private building. The art was hung and the building owner was fined and told to take it down. Ms. Gold filed a lawsuit accusing the village of violating her right to free speech and promulgating an unconstitutional and impossibly broad ban on artistic expression. Last week the lawsuit was settled out of court, and as a part of the stipulations, the VIllage agreed to rescind both violations served on the building's owner as a result of the art installation. They also agreed to rescind the art ban.Ironically, the latest story in the local paper had some inaccuracies. They misrepresented Ms. Gold as the artist of all the murals. The story also reported that Ms. Gold didn't have a formal plan in place when she approached the village board. The project did evolve over the past year, but it evolved from a plan that was presented and approved by the grants committee and had tremendous support from a large majority of local community members including business owners, and residents. Maybe the paper felt it was their right to free speech to report it that way.Sources:The New York TimesPR News WireTimes Herald Record
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.
Who's got your back?
Sometimes we are pleasantly surprised when trying out a new service professional— whether it's a plumber, dentist, teacher, web developer, or new printer. We've also probably been burned at least once when going to someone new.
Sometimes we are pleasantly surprised when trying out a new service professional— whether it's a plumber, dentist, teacher, web developer, or new printer. We've also probably all been burned at least once when going to someone new. Naturally, we ask for referrals from our friends or go to people we know. It may become a matter of "who we know" rather than "what they know."Cronyism is defined as favoritism shown to friends and associates by hiring them for positions or awarding them contracts without regard for their qualifications. When I was doing research on this topic a colleague of mine told me a story about having to testify in court in a case involving cronyism and kickbacks. Early in her career she was working as a freelance graphic designer creating brochures, presentation materials, and other marketing collateral. She was a sole proprietor and luckily for her probably too small to be approached for a kickback. However, she was in a position to witness how the larger media and printing contracts were being awarded—and it was often to the agency or organization that "kicked back" some of the profit to the client. In this case the individual at the top of the chain was found guilty and served jail time. My colleague said that although having to testify in court was unusual, the practice of kickbacks in the industry is not. There is also a kinder and gentler term for kickbacks—referral fee—the practice of giving a percentage of the project costs or profit to the individual or organization referring them.Cronyism also happens when information about budgets and competitor bids are shared. The process of submitting a proposal that includes budget information is standard practice in graphic design. During the bidding process Information about the client’s budget and what the competitor bids is information that is not meant to be shared—when it is cronyism is the result.In her article for Communication Arts, "Where Our Wild Things Are—Part 2," DK Holland discusses the transformation of graphic design from the 1960s and 70s, when it was primarily a "boys club" whose members were elite design icons like Milton Glaser and Herb Lubalin, to today's environment where crowdsourcing has created a global marketplace for graphic design. Ironically, the de-emphasis on qualifications or education in crowdsourcing appears to be in direct contrast to cronyism and many feel it has created an environment where graphic design is undervalued.So back to being burned and who's got your back. Clients feel much safer and less at risk working with someone they know and trust—and why not, who wants to take a chance on the unknown when time and money are involved. Graphic designer, educator, and author Gunnar Swanson feels decisions about whom to work with should be based on a rational measure of trustworthiness. Recommendations from someone you have reason to trust because of their knowledge in the field are a rational measure of trustworthiness. On the other hand, membership in the same social club or graduation from the same school may be a less rational measure.How do you feel about cronyism? Do you make decisions about who to work with rational measurements? Or is it a matter of "who you know" vs. "what you know"?
Encouraging Social Responsibility
Design Ignites Change supports designers and architects who are addressing pressing social issues.
Design Ignites Change supports designers and architects who are addressing pressing social issues. Participants are encouraged to apply design thinking to problems that exist in their own communities. Two mentoring initiatives, Create! Don’t Hate and School: by Design are designed to create an opportunity for professional designers and college students to collaborate with underserved high school students to execute projects around compelling social themes.This year's award winners include organizations tackling immigration reform, childhood obesity, obstacles facing those afflicted with autism, and empowering the homeless. Read about the winners and their projects here: Design Ignites Change 2010 Cycle 2 Award WinnersSource: http://designigniteschange.org/pages/2-about
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.
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.
Crowdsourcing (aka how low can you go?)
Crowdsourcing is not unique to graphic designers; it's any sort of outsourcing that involves a large group of people actively participating in the project. At it's best it encourages open-innovation models and collective intelligence.(1) The Netflix Prize is an example that worked. In October 2006 Netflix announced that it would pay $1 million to the contestant who could improve the movie recommendations made by Netflix’s internal software, Cinematch, by at least 10 percent. The contest lured experts worldwide not only because of the prize money but also because it offered a daunting challenge. The ultimate key to success was when expert teams joined forces.(2)For graphic designers though it has become a contest about "how low can you go?" It basically means that clients can send a project "out to bid." This means that they say how much they are going to pay for a design, and any number of designers can submit work for consideration. Clients can then decide after time and effort have been spent by one, or many, which design they like and are willing to pay for. The graphic designers whose work has not been chosen receive no compensation at all. Graphic designers aren't joining forces; they are being pitted against each other.Steven Heller's blog post for Imprint, "Crowd-Sourcing Design: The Last Frontier," speaks directly to the idea of joining forces, or conversely, not joining forces—with either other designers or the client. Designers read a mail-in brief and have no opportunity to meet or talk with the client about needs or wants. The discovery process is truncated at best.In Steve Douglas' recent blog post "The grim realities of spec work and crowdsourcing" he analyzes how graphic designers fare financially with crowdsourcing. His results show that 9.5% of work done through crowdsourcing is paid work. A whopping 90.5% is unpaid.Proponents of crowdsourcing argue that it’s a free trade system and actually gives young designers who don’t have a big client list or portfolio filled with work a chance to be judged on merit alone. In an article for Communication Arts, creative arts management consultant David Baker says, “I have a client with 64 employees, all but 4 of whom are in Colombia doing web development for Fortune 500 companies. All the while making roughly one‐third of what their U.S. counterparts make, and twice what their fellow citizens make.”(3)What do you think about crowdsourcing? Does it open up opportunities for designers and clients or is it taking design to a new low?Sources:(1) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/technology/internet/19unboxed.html(2) http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/09/how-the-netflix-prize-was-won/(3) http://www.commarts.com/Columns.aspx?pub=2836&pageid=1125
TypeTogether features the guide
Designed by Veronika Burian of TypeTogether, the typefaces Karmina and Karmina Sans were used throughout the handbook Ethics: A Graphic Designer's Field Guide. You can see more of these beautiful fonts in use on type-together.com.In 2009 I interviewed Burian for a Type Design course that I was taking at SCAD. She was kind enough to share her process, some of her original sketches, and her thoughts about copyright laws. Burian told me that it is very difficult to protect type designs. Anyone can easily make a derivative design of a font with a few changes. Pirates are also a problem with computer hackers and designers freely distributing fonts to their peers, especially when they are used for commercial purposes.Type design is a finely honed skill that takes years to develop. Using a font without the proper license prevents type designers from being fully compensated for their work. Read about how you can comply with font licensing standards.
Design plagiarism or regurgitated clip art?
T-shirt graphics created for the newly formed political party "No Labels" are the cause for a heated debate about design plagiarism. The artwork created by Fly Communications looks very close to artwork produced by Thomas Porostocky in 2004 (shown at left on totebag).Creative director Dave Warren of Fly Communications insists he came up with the concept on his own using royalty free clip art. Porostocky said he's stunned by the blatant plagiarism.What do you think? Is it just a case of regurgitated clip art or is it design plagiarism?Source: The Daily Heller, 12/14/10
Christmas and holiday season green tips
Every year I stress over holiday gift wrap. Usually I end up running short on time and cave into tradition—buying some and vowing that next year I am going to give up it up for good. After all, how ethical can it be to use toxic materials that can't even be used to fuel the fire? I decided to try and find out by asking the question "How much wrapping paper is wasted each year?" The answer I received according to the Clean Air Council says the United States alone wastes 4 million tons worth of shopping bags and wrapping paper contributing to the extra 5 million tons of extra waste that the U.S. throws away during the holiday seasonThis year I'm seriously trying to change. I'll see what kind of response I get from the recipients. I suspect they really won't care as long as the goods under the paper live up to their expectations.Don't cave into tradition for the holidays, hold the line on staying green. Read the many ways how you can green your holiday with Earth Friendly Holiday Season Tips.
Greenwashing with totes
Steven Heller's recent post asks the question "Are There Too Many Totes?" Heller's article talks about how when used correctly totes can reduce the number of disposable bags. Conversely, if used incorrectly (with the massive onslaught that many of us see daily) the canvas or polypropylene bags have the potential to become another blight that will end up in the landfill.MFA grad Jessie McGrath argued in her recent 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.” (Read more)Most people want to do the right thing; they just may not realize the full implications of taking or buying more totes when offered. Why not comb your closets and reuse the ones you already have?What about the role that graphic designers play; are they practicing sustainability when they design more totes for the ever-growing eco-friendly bag business?
Should you opt for the retouched school portrait?
Looking back at my school pictures I know I would have begged my parents to spend the extra bucks to get rid of my adolescent acne if it had been an option. When my son was in grade school I always chose the retouched package without even consulting him. I was thinking back on my own experience. But will I be sorry in 50 years when I look back and the images I have are not authentic?The NY Times article "No Boo-boos or Cowlicks? Only in School Pictures" talks about the pros and cons of digitally retouching school portraits and the issues that it raises. The author asks if we are sending our kids the wrong message if we choose to get their photos retouched. Is it good for their self-esteem or are we inadvertently undermining it?Read more about photo manipulation here.
How to respond to spec work requests
Spec work is a hotly debated topic among graphic designers. Most of us are vehemently opposed to it and for good reason. Spec work devalues our work and also puts us at risk for being taken advantage of as well as not being paid at all for work.David Airey's recent post sums up the absurdity of such requests quite nicely. Read his response to a request for spec work:http://www.davidairey.com/spec-work-request/Read more:AIGA's position on spec workNo!Spec's Ten Reasons to Ponder
What should you do if your client is a racist?
Last month former NPR correspondent Juan Williams made headlines with his remarks and subsequent termination. NY Times Opinionator blogger Tobin Harshaw wrote that if you start a sentence with "I'm not a bigot, but..." it's not going to end well. Kind of like "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck."I recently ran smack into this issue when a client of mine made a racist remark during a conversation we were having. It did not pertain to the project I was working on for her; it was a personal story. My first reaction was something along the lines of, "oh no, really? not you..." Disappointment, disgust, and then confusion about how to handle it set in. Should I fire this client? Does she have a right to her opinions as long as I'm not forced to produce work that represents them? Graphic designers are often conflicted about having to work on projects for services, causes, or products they don't believe in. But what about working for clients whose behavior is objectionable?In this case I haven't decided yet. It's not a big job, but she is in a jam. I will either bow out now, or get her out of the jam and then end the relationship. This decision isn't that difficult. Luckily my livelihood doesn't depend on this client. I've seen other situations where the client is not mine alone, but the client of a larger organization that I'm working for. Often the client is a member of a team and it's a matter of "one bad apple." In cases where it might not be easy to fire the client perhaps the prudent path is to tell them you're not comfortable with their remarks. I know someone who tells the offender to please keep such remarks to themselves because his "sister-in-law," "nephew" or some other fabricated relative is of that ethnicity. He assures me this usually shuts people up quickly and also elicits an apology. At first I thought perhaps the lie was unethical, but if you take the world view that we are all brothers and sisters on the planet earth, it makes perfect sense.Most of us have had to deal with instances of racism as well as sexism, agism, and other forms of discrimination at one time or another--whether it's aimed directly at us, or we are passive listeners. It may come from a client, a boss, a co-worker, relative, or even a friend. At the very least it's uncomfortable when it happens and often it leaves us outraged.What do you when racism rears its ugly head?
Ethics and the Byne Group
My friend and colleague Ann Byne willingly shared her experience with ethics in the industry along with a personal story on cronyism when I was doing research for my thesis. As were most industry professionals that I interviewed, Ann is passionate about upholding ethical standards for herself, her staff, and her clients. She asked me to write a guest blog on the topic that you can read here:http://www.thebynegroup.blogspot.com/
Ethics: Graphic Design In-takes
Sérgio Neves (aka Chazzy) is a design student from Lisbon who has written a thoughtful and creative collage and narrative on ethics in graphic design. He references findings from my thesis along with thoughts about ethics from Milton Glaser, Steven Heller, Helen Armstrong, Mário Moura, and Lucienne Roberts.You can see his work here: http://hausofcat.
Greenwashing comes in pink too
Cause-related marketing can be of great benefit to both parties involved, as long—as it's authentic.National Breast Cancer Awareness month just celebrated 25 years in October. During the month-long celebration all kinds of products can be found in pink—everything from M&Ms to bags of chicken feed. But not all campaigns are created equal, and not all actually contribute to the cause.Read more in the USA Today article "Some 'pink' products do little for cancer research" (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-10-31-pinkwashing_N.htm?csp=usat.me)