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Graphic Artists Guild

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A report issued in mid-January by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) concludes that the arts make a substantial contribution to the US economy – 4% of the GDP (gross domestic product), or $698 billion. The report, A Decade of Arts Engagement: Findings From the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, 2002–2012, summarized the first in-depth study by the federal government of the impact of the arts and cultural sector to the GDP. ...

15 January, 2016

Illustrator Ally Burguieres discovered this past Fall that one of her illustrations was posted to Taylor Swift’s social media accounts. The work was a copy of an illustration Burguieres sells as a print, and the fan who copied the work signed her own name rather than including Burguieres’ credit line....

29 December, 2015

Canadian illustrator Eric Kim reported that his illustration of pro wrestler Randy “The Macho Man” Savage was pirated by apparel company Freeze Central Mills Inc. In October, Kim discovered that Freeze had taken his artwork, flipped it, erased part of the image, and printed it on red sweatshirts with a holiday message. ...

28 December, 2015

Creative Mornings, the global network of free breakfast talks on creativity and technology, posted a wonderful freebie for creative professionals during the month of December. The “GIF Channel” is a wall of GIF animations on themes relevant to freelancers and agency staff....

15 December, 2015

In November, Canada’s CBC Radio reported that British fashion label Kokon to Zai (KTZ) stole a sacred Inuit pattern to print on their “Shaman Toweling Sweatshirt.” As it turns out, a descendent of the shaman who created the design is a producer at CBC North, which broadcast her story. Salome Awa told CBC radio that her great grandfather created the image in the 1920s for a protection parka made of sealskin. The design is considered sacred, and by Inuit tradition, only the shaman is permitted to wear the design. Since no one at KTZ contacted her family for permission to...

03 December, 2015

Not sure what gift to give the creative entrepreneur in your life? How about the gift of community and business advice from the Graphic Artists Guild?...

03 December, 2015

A video and blog post on spec work produced by Toronto advertising agency Zulu Alpha Kilo is burning up the Internet. In the video, an actor approaches different businesses unfamiliar with work on spec (for the most part) and asks for free products or services – a cup of coffee, a breakfast, architectural design, picture framing, and personal training. ...

18 November, 2015

At the Eeum Design Connects international congress this past October in Gwangju, South Korea, Sheila Copps delivered a riveting keynote address that challenged the design community to effectively address global issues such as climate change and sustainability. Copps currently heads the World Summit and Congress of Architecture + Design + Planning, the 2017 international design congress which will bring together a multitude of design disciplines. She was asked to replace the scheduled keynote speaker, Victor Margolin, who was sadly injured right before the Congress.  If the last-minute call caused any difficulty, it wasn’t evident in either the content or delivery...

03 November, 2015

The ico-D General Assembly 26 took place October 22-23, following Eeum, the International Design Congress in Gwangju, South Korea. This year saw an increased role for the Guild, since as Guild representative to the organization, we agreed to head an ico-D workgroup on national design policies. ...

29 October, 2015

Microstock websites – websites that purvey low-cost photos, illustrations, and icons – have become a standard image source. However, both designers and illustrators are cautioned to read through the licenses employed by microstock sites. The low fees and “royalty free” label extended by microstock sites do not translate to unlimited use of their images....

06 October, 2015

At the HOW Interactive Design Conference (HIDC) in Boston November 5-7, designers and developers will explore the intersection of design and technology. The conference is packed with seminars, breakfasts, and happy hours. Talks will be given by industry leaders, such as Jen Simmons, designer and host of The Web Ahead, and Stephan Mumaw, Director of Creative Strategy at Hint and author of Creative Bootcamp. Guild members are invited to attend the conference at a discount of $50 off the registration fee. Register online on the conference website with the code GAG50....

30 September, 2015

For illustrators, October means more than autumn leaves, Halloween, and the return of pumpkin-spice-everything. Two drawing challenges extended during the month inspire artists to up their technical skills, as well has have a great deal of fun. ...

23 September, 2015

Creators seeking to register their work online at the end of August were foiled by a system outage that took the electronic filing system offline. The outage lasted for nine days, from August 28th through September 5 and was caused, according to a report issued by the office, by the shutdown of a Library of Congress data center for scheduled maintenance. ...

14 September, 2015

The alarms sounded this summer about orphan works legislation, while unfounded (no such legislation is under consideration at this time), underscored the emotional resonance of the issue. Congress has long wanted to address the issue of orphan works, and creators are justifiably concerned that any legislation would weaken their copyright protection, or would enable businesses to use orphan works as a way of avoiding the cost of commissioning or licensing works....

02 September, 2015

Illustrator Thomas James reported on Illustration Age that he was startled to discover that artists representatives illozoo was not crediting their illustrators on their Instagram account (When an Art Rep Puts the Agency Before the Artist). In post after post showcasing beautiful illustration work, illozoo failed to credit the illustrators, instead referring to all as “illozoo illustrator.”...

24 August, 2015

Visitors to Yahoo’s main website during the last week in July may have been exposed to malware. On August 3rd, security software company Malwarebytes reported on their blog that they had notified Yahoo as soon as they discovered the security flaw, and that Yahoo immediately took steps to remove the threat. ...

20 August, 2015

Ed Shems, a Guild member, was asked to testify on behalf of illustrators on proposed changes to the First Sale Doctrine. The House Judiciary Committee is continuing hearings on revamping US Copyright Law, and recently issued invitations to individuals who have previously testified before the Committee....

14 August, 2015

With over 2,000 attendees and 30+ speakers, DesignThinkers is Canada’s largest conference for visual communicators. It is a must-attend for any informed, forward-thinking creative, communications or marketing professional or team. ...

27 July, 2015

The publicity engendered by Taylor Swift’s protest of Apple’s licensing terms on behalf of artists brought to light the onerous contracts her management company had been requiring concert photographers to sign. The outcry cast a spotlight on other troublesome concert photography contracts....

24 July, 2015

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]Well into its world tour, The Sketchbook Project takes the concept of a mobile library into territory dear to the hearts of artists, illustrators, diarists, and obsessive doodlers. Their Mobile Library is housed in a vehicle that strongly resembles a foodtruck, but contains a selection of books submitted by artists around the world. Visitors can thumb through a collection curated from the Project’s Brooklyn library of 34,000 sketchbooks, contributed from creators in over 135 countries. Currently, the Mobile Library is in the middle of its world tour, traveling the west coast before heading...

08 July, 2015

Within a day of Swift’s open letter to Apple advocating for musicians, UK photographer Jason Sheldon published an open response to Swift, stating that as admirable as her stance was, it was somewhat marred by the contracts her management company requires concert photographers to adhere to. ...

29 June, 2015

Brooklyn-based graphic designer Roberto Blake has done us all a favor. In his video, “How Much Does a Logo Design Cost,” he educates non-designers on what to expect when soliciting a bid on a logo design. ...

17 June, 2015

The first US federal copyright law was enacted 225 years ago, and the Copyright Office and Copyright Alliance marked the anniversary. ...

02 June, 2015

The Guild has sent a letter to the Small Business Administration protesting the federal agency’s crowd-sourced “Seed for the Future” logo design contest. The agency is soliciting a logo for their Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs....

21 May, 2015

After a controversial logo contest bitterly criticized by national design organizations, the Canadian government revealed its chosen 150 anniversary logo. The logo, a maple leaf created from a mosaic of multi-colored diamonds, is the creation of University of Waterloo design student Ariana Cuvin. ...

01 May, 2015

In response to widely recognized confusion regarding the doctrine of fair use, the Copyright Office has published the Fair Use Index. The index publishes cases searchable by jurisdiction and category, including type of work and use. ...

30 April, 2015

It’s a case that puts a twist on the familiar David vs Goliath, artist-suing-major-corporation-for-copyright-infringement story. As has been widely reported, Miami-based Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto is suing Apple, Inc. and the designers known as Craig & Karl for trade dress infringement and unfair competition....

20 April, 2015

John Degen, novelist and Executive Director of The Writers Union of Canada, recently engaged in a back-and-forth of the value of copyrights to creators. Degen summarized the importance of copyright to creative professionals as, “If you create it, you own it. If someone wants to use what you own, there needs to be a discussion.”...

30 March, 2015

Canadian designers were startled when their government issued a contest, challenging design students to submit their original designs for a logo marking the 150 anniversary of the country’s confederation. ...

13 February, 2015

Cartoonist/writer Colleen Doran muses on the conflicted relationship artists have with money, made toxic by low expectations, envy, and hackneyed stereotypes....

26 January, 2015

Graphic Artists Guild members have been contributing artwork in the memory of the cartoonists and staff killed at Charlie Hebdo’s offices....

12 January, 2015

In the United States, over a million tons of landfill waste is created per week in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years. About 70% of us welcome less emphasis on gifts and spending, and 52% of us pass on those unwanted gifts...

11 December, 2014

Guild attended Icograda’s first-ever Professional Platform Meeting in New York City, attended by representatives from over 14 countries. The meeting provided a structure for professional association members of Icograda to address common concerns in the industry. Is the economy we want to create for the future on a global level based on a commodity mindset where everyone competes on pricing is a top issue which been raised....

28 October, 2014

Designer Jason Santa Maria published an article speculating on what course his career (and life) would take should he ever stop designing websites. ...

24 September, 2014

William Wegman, the artist whose iconic portraits of his dogs Man Ray and Fay Ray, brought the Weimaraner dog breed to new heights of popularity in the 1980s. ...

22 September, 2014

Portuguese digital design agency Bürocratik has developed Outdatedbrowser.com, a lovely solution that encourages users to update their browsers. ...

31 July, 2014

The new organizational structure of the Guild divides membership into five regions: Western, Midwestern, Southern, New England, and Eastern. ...

22 July, 2014

Launched just this month, oozled is a web developer’s dream: a web app which provides a steady stream of curated resources from accessibility through wireframing....

09 June, 2014

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Iconic designer Massimo Vignelli passed away May 27, leaving behind a tremendous legacy of work, from the original branding for American Airlines, to brochures for the National Park Service, to stacking dishware. A hallmark of his aesthetic was an adherence to simplicity and clarity, most notably expressed in his groundbreaking work in redesigning the map and signage for the New York City transit system. SEGD, the multi-disciplinary organization of environmental designers, has long recognized Vignelli’s impact on the discipline. In 2001, he was named an SEGD Fellow. Upon hearing of his passing, the...

29 May, 2014

The UK-based Illustrators’ Union has created a campaign to help illustrators stay on track in managing their paperwork....

15 May, 2014

The Copyright Alliance notified us that the Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF), a working group within the U.S. Department of Commerce, has scheduled a number of roundtables on copyright issues. ...

24 April, 2014

Stock image giant Getty Images announced this month that the company was making 35 million images free for non-commercial use via their image embed technology....

11 March, 2014
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