Ethics for the Starving Designer →

A practical solution for the ethical designer.

When talking about ethics in relation to graphic designers and for most creative fields for some reason the general idea is that we are happy to do almost anything for work including working for free, this is not the case and it’s an age old stigma that being a creative isn’t a real career/job. 

Last year i was lucky enough to win a competition held by MADC which aloud me the opportunity to visit the leading design firms in Melbourne and talk to the designers. In each workshop they shared their knowledge from there many years experience (invaluable information i now apply to my design process) and every single firm said the same thing when it came to working for free, DON’T do it. It is a vicious cycle that needs to be stopped, designers are not fine with working for free, that being said doing work you believe in or that’s for a cause for free is another matter entirely but there is a line. 

Ethics for the Starving Designer is a site dedicated to helping creatives become aware of the impacts and reasons behind the need for a code of ethics. Its also presented in a visual way making it quite approachable. As a graphic designer i have always had a strong sense of ethics and its good to see that its an idea that is getting some much needed attention.  

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Sustainability in the workplace.
When it comes to paper and printing… less is more.

Paper makes up more than 50% of office waste. Guess how much
double-sided printing saves?

-ABC Green at Work

I think that in relation to a graphic design studio printing less would be the easiest way of creating a more sustainable workplace. As graphic design has a lot to do with utilizing the latest technology it would be quite easy to limit the amount of printed material by using the all the digital devices we surround ourselves with. Although eliminating printing altogether is still not an option, measuring and planning around the production methods of the printing process should be taken into consideration by more graphic designers. The creation of environmental calculators such as the one created by Mohawk are soon to become standard tools the the designers tool box. 

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Woolworths VS Apple

Woolworths has recently undergone a bit of a make-over including their new logo which could be recognized as a stylized ‘w’ or a piece of fresh fruit. This face-lift has also attracted the attention of Apple and their legal team. Apple is taking action due to the fact that Woolworths logo is being used on more items and areas, their main argument being that there is a possibility that Woolworths reach might one day include electronics and would then place them in direct competition. 

Apple will have to persuade IP Australia, the federal government agency that governs trademarks to decline Woolworths request to trademark its logo.

The man who designed it, Hans Hulsbosch, said Apple was taking trademark protection ”to the extreme”. ”Based on this logic, they would have to take action against every fruitseller.”

You would be forgiven for thinking that if Apple was to have it their own way they would prevent anyone from being able to use an apple for their logo again and considering their deep pockets and relentless pursuing technique Apple just might get that wish.

Reference - The Sydney Morning Herald

Fonts.com →

Fonts.com provides the biggest and best selection of high quality desktop and web fonts. Try, buy and download classics like Helvetica, Univers, Frutiger, Trade Gothic and Avenir along with popular new fonts like Soho and Neo. Find your type!

Stumbled across this site and found the ‘Learn about Fonts and Typography’ and 'Fontology’ sections exceptionally useful for brushing up on the old typography skills.

"White space is the lungs of the layout. It’s not there for aesthetic reasons. It’s there for physical reasons"

Derek Birdsall

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First day back at uni and we were asked to define graphic design in one sentence, after which we were to make an A3 poster depicting the definition using only colour and type. To make it a bit more of a challenge our ideas were collected then randomly handed out.

“Graphic Design is…Limitless”

Limitless. Infinite. Without End. These are the visual cues that spring to mind with this definition. In running with that theme and keeping in mind that only type may be used I chose to use an 8 on its side to depict the symbol for infinity, which for the most part is a globally known and understood symbol. I kept the poster simple and didn’t add any unnecessary elements, instead just adding the line ‘design is..’ to set the scene/topic of the poster, it also allows the viewer to interpret the poster in their own way of which the possibilities are…limitless

{poster mock up by http://www.behance.net/MDelsing}