Guild News Blog

Questions about Copyright Registration? Answers from the Copyright Office!

Copyright Alliance has launched a Copyright Q&A column to roll out solicited copyright questions and answers. ...

10 May, 2016

The Handbook Primer Series: Now in Android Flavor!

Want to read our Handbook of Pricing & Ethical Guidelines on your tablet? Our digital Primer series has just been released for Android. ...

03 May, 2016

NYC’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act Hopes to Redress Non-Payment

New York City's Freelance Isn’t Free Act has been championed by the Freelancers Union and founder Sara Horowitz. ...

26 April, 2016

Follow us on Instagram, and get a Peek into the Guild

We’re now on Instagram! ...

24 April, 2016

Adobe Design Achievement Awards Strive to Prepare Students for the Real World

The deadline for the Adobe Design Achievement Awards is June 19. ...

12 April, 2016

Marking World Design Day, April 27

ico-D is marking World Design Day by celebrating how design has improved everyday life in local communities....

30 March, 2016

Animations Educate on Copyright Ownership and Registration

Guild member and illustrator/animator Mark Monlux has given us permission to post two animations he created covering copyright basics. ...

28 March, 2016

Katie Lane’s Low-down on Work-for-Hire versus Assigning Your Copyrights

Attorney Katie Lane recently addressed the difference between work-for-hire and assigning copyrights....

21 March, 2016

Graphic Means: Film Project Explores Pre-Digital Design Production

A film trailer released in early March has received a lot of attention, particularly among designers of a certain age....

18 March, 2016

Vox Indie on Google’s Roadblocks to the DMCA Takedown Process

Filmmaker Ellen Siedler explored the process Google employs for those wishing to report copyright infringement via their DMCA takedown notice....

15 March, 2016

Deadline on Survey on DMCA Notice Extended to March 20

The deadline for the survey on infringement of online copyrighted images and the DMCA take-down notice has been extended to March 20th....

11 March, 2016

Survey for Visual Artists About the DMCA Notice

We’d like to know about your experience with online infringement and the DMCA notice process....

08 March, 2016

Copyright Small Claims White Paper Released by Visual Arts Associations

Several visual artist groups, representing hundreds of thousands of creators, have joined forces to propose key components of potentially forthcoming small claims legislation. ...

02 March, 2016

Multiple Instagram Accounts for Your Design or Illustration Studio? Instagram Rolls Out Support

Instagram has rolled out multiple account managment, a boon to those managing both personal and professional accounts. ...

10 February, 2016

The DMCA Notice: “Take Down” is Letting Down Artists

Since the DMCA notice procedure was written into law in 1998, it’s proven to be of limited effectiveness in combating copyright infringement online. ...

03 February, 2016

NYPL Adds Public Domain Images to Digital Collections for Reuse by Artists

The New York Public Library (NYPL) has added over 674,000 public domain images to their on online database of digital collections. ...

02 February, 2016

Designer Jonathan Barnbrook Releases David Bowie “Blackstar” Graphics for Noncommercial Use

In remembrance of David Bowie, designer Jonathan Barnbrook has released the graphics used on Bowie’s last album, Blackstar, for non-commercial use. ...

29 January, 2016

Design Community Dismayed by Decision to Crowdsource Tokyo Olympics Logo

The development of the Tokyo Olympics identity went into a tailspin when Belgian designer Olivier Debie accused Sano of plagiarizing Debie’s logo for the Théâtre de Liege....

22 January, 2016

NEA Report Shows Stronger Contribution of the Arts to the US Economy than Previously Assumed

A report issued in mid-January by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) concludes that the arts make 4% of the GDP (gross domestic product), or $698 billion. ...

15 January, 2016

Lawsuit May Successfully Challenge Fair Use Defense in Art Appropriation

Appropriation artist Richard Prince is being sued once again for infringement, by photographer Donald Graham. ...

11 January, 2016

Copyright Infringement Dispute Highlights Issues of Plagiarism on Social Media

Illustrator Ally Burguieres discovered that one of her illustrations was posted to Taylor Swift’s social media accounts by a fan....

29 December, 2015

Apparel Company Counters Piracy Accusation with Bogus Claim of Copyright Infringement

Eric Kim reported that his illustration of pro wrestler Randy “The Macho Man” Savage was pirated by apparel company Freeze Central Mills Inc....

28 December, 2015

Holiday GIFts, Courtesy of Creative Mornings

Creative Mornings posted the “GIF Channel,” a wall of GIF animations on themes relevant to freelancers and agency staff....

15 December, 2015

Fashion House Appropriates Sacred Inuit Design

British fashion label Kokon to Zai (KTZ) stole a sacred Inuit pattern to print on their “Shaman Toweling Sweatshirt.” ...

03 December, 2015

Guild Gift Certificates

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

David Berman’s 11½ (or 15) Favorite Tools for Testing Website Accessibility

David Berman addresses the pitfalls of ensuring a website meets basic accessibility standards in 11½ Tools for Testing Website Accessibility, a webinar hosted by 3PlayMedia. ...

27 November, 2015

Ad Agency Video on Spec Work Belies Reality Facing Creators

A video and blog post on spec work produced by Toronto advertising agency Zulu Alpha Kilo is burning up the Internet....

18 November, 2015

Guild Participates in Creative Rights Caucus 2015 for the House Judiciary Committee

On November 3, the Guild participated in the 2015 Creative Rights Caucus for the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC. ...

12 November, 2015

Sheila Copps Challenges Designers to Address Global Issues

At the Eeum Design Connects international congress, Copps challenged the design community to effectively address global issues. ...

03 November, 2015

ico-D General Assembly Sets an Ambitious Agenda for Design Associations

The ico-D General Assembly 26 took place October 22-23, following Eeum, the International Design Congress in Gwangju, South Korea. ...

29 October, 2015

The Restrictions in Stock Image Licenses Illustrators and Designers Need to Know

Designers and illustrators are cautioned to read through the licenses employed by microstock sites....

06 October, 2015

Guild Member Discount for HOW Interactive Design Conference Boston, Nov. 5-7

Guild members are invited to attend the conference at a discount of $50 off the registration fee....

30 September, 2015

October Drawing Challenges for Illustrators

Two October drawing challenges inspire artists to up their technical skills, as well has have a great deal of fun. ...

23 September, 2015

Library of Congress Technology Woes Shut Down Copyright Office

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. ...

14 September, 2015

Orphan Works in Canada: Attempting Accountability

In light of how concerned U.S. artists are about legislation addressing orphan works, it's worth taking a look at how Canada addresses the issue....

02 September, 2015

Illustration Rep Changes Policy of Not Crediting Artists After Protest from Illustration Age

Illustrator Thomas James reported that artists representatives illozoo was not crediting their illustrators on their Instagram account....

24 August, 2015

Yahoo Ads Delivered Malware as Hackers Leverage Flash Security Flaw

Visitors to Yahoo’s main website during the last week in July may have been exposed to malware....

20 August, 2015

Mr. Shems Goes to Washington (well, New York, actually)

Ed Shems, a Guild member, was asked to testify on behalf of illustrators on proposed changes to the First Sale Doctrine....

14 August, 2015

Wallpart: Online Print Shop “Stealing” Arists’ Work is Not What You Think

An online business that appears to be infringing visual artists is not what it appears to be. ...

30 July, 2015

Guild Member Discount for Design Thinkers 2015 Conference

With over 2,000 attendees and 30+ speakers, DesignThinkers is Canada’s largest conference for visual communicators....

27 July, 2015

Taylor Swift Listens to Photographers’ Concerns; Foo Fighters Not So Much

The publicity engendered by Taylor Swift’s protest of Apple’s licensing terms cast a spotlight on her troublesome concert photography contracts....

24 July, 2015

Guild Filed Response to the “Copyright Protection for Certain Visual Works” Notice of Inquiry

The Graphic Artists Guild has filed a response to the Copyright Office notice, “Copyright Protection for Certain Visual Works.” ...

23 July, 2015

The Sketchbook Project: A Mobile Library Like No Other

The Sketchbook Project takes the concept of a mobile library into territory dear to the hearts of artists, illustrators, diarists, and obsessive doodlers. ...

08 July, 2015

Taylor Swift Advocates for Musicians, but not Photographers

UK photographer Jason Sheldon published an open response to Taylor Swift's protest of Apple's treatment of musicians....

29 June, 2015

The Cost of Logo Design: Advice from a Graphic Designer

Brooklyn-based graphic designer Roberto Blake has published a video educating non-designers on what to expect when soliciting a bid on a logo design. ...

17 June, 2015

Guild Member Joseph Caserto Responds to Pratt Crowdsourcing Contest

Pratt Institute alum Joseph Caserto protested the institution’s crowd-sourced mascot design contest. ...

11 June, 2015

Happy 225, US Copyright Law!

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

02 June, 2015

Guild Protests Federal Agency’s Logo Design Contest

The Guild has sent a letter to the Small Business Administration protesting their crowd-sourced “Seed for the Future” logo design contest. ...

21 May, 2015

Canada 150 Logo Revealed to Subdued Response from Graphic Designers

After a controversial logo contest bitterly criticized by national design organizations, the Canadian government revealed its chosen 150 anniversary logo. ...

01 May, 2015

Copyright Office Publishes Fair Use Index

The Copyright Office has published the Fair Use Index, a searchable database of cases. ...

30 April, 2015

Apple Sued by Artist for Trade Dress Infringement

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

Typetester Online Tool Permits Comparison of 2,000+ Webfonts

Typetester is an online resource permitting users to compare up to three fonts at a time. ...

09 April, 2015

Copyright and Creators: Addressing Anti-Copyright Sentiments

Novelist John Degen recently engaged in a back-and-forth of the value of copyrights to creators, spurred by recent changes to Canda's copyright laws. ...

30 March, 2015

Keep Your Art Director Happy: 10 Mistakes Illustrators Make

Art director Giuseppe Castellano has compiled a list of 10 common mistakes illustrators make in delivering their work to art directors. ...

24 March, 2015

Guild Joins Organizations in Protesting the “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use”

The Graphic Artists Guild joined a coalition of visual artist associations in a letter addressing concerns with the CAA’s “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts.”...

16 March, 2015

Guild Joins CreativeFuture Coalition to Address Piracy

The Graphic Artists Guild has joined CreativeFuture, a coalition of over 350 companies and organizations that seeks to address piracy. ...

12 March, 2015

Speech on Type: Typography Podcasts by Typeradio

Now in its eighth year of netcasting, Typeradio is an internet radio stream with a wealth of material. ...

10 March, 2015

A Video Compilation: What Hollywood Thinks of Graphic Designers

Design students Ellen Mercer and Lucy Streule have compiled a video of graphic designers as portrayed by Hollywood. ...

05 March, 2015

Bring your Blood Pressure Up: Spec Work Documented on Social Media

If you’ve been advised to keep your heart rate steady, you should probably avoid @forexposure_txt on Twitter and shitspecworkon Tumblr....

25 February, 2015

Have a Cool Sustainable Design Project? Renourish Wants to Know

The founders of Renourishvare working on a book for graphic designers who “want to integrate a sustainable ethos into their workflow.”...

20 February, 2015

Oh, Dear, Canada: Government Issues Contest for Logo

Canadian designers were startled when their government issued a student contest for the Canada 150 logo. ...

13 February, 2015

Buying your Own Logo – At Least it was Cheap

The Logo Factory, a logo design and branding shop, had their logo ripped off on Fiverr not once, but three times....

11 February, 2015

Molly Crabapple on Thriving as an Artist in the Internet Age

Artist and writer Molly Crabapple shared her thoughts on achieving creative success....

04 February, 2015

It’s Dying: Glaser’s Stark Message on Climate Change

Hoping to galvanize public demand for effective policy addressing climate change, Milton Glaser unleashed a campaign titled “It’s Not Warming, It’s Dying.” ...

02 February, 2015

Free Range Fonts: The Google Web Typographic Project

Google Web Fonts Typographic Project shows off web fonts in their natural environment....

29 January, 2015

Artists, Money, and Envy

Cartoonist/writer Colleen Doran muses on the conflicted relationship artists have with money....

26 January, 2015

Making Brands (or at Least Their Logos) Responsive

Last fall, UK designer Joe Harrison unveiled his exploration of scalable logos: Responsive Logos....

22 January, 2015

Flickr Wall Art Puts a Spotlight on Creative Commons Commercial Licenses

Flickr users were enraged by the platform’s Wall Art program....

15 January, 2015

In Memoriam: Charlie Hebdo

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

Guild Statement on Charlie Hebdo Shootings

Statement on Charlie Hebdo Shootings...

07 January, 2015

Coming in 2015: Guild Webinars on Responsive Design, Web fonts, and Game Design

Guild Webinars on Responsive Design...

22 December, 2014

24 Ways to Impress Your (Web Geek) Friends

24 Ways to Improve Web Design Skill...

18 December, 2014

ico-D: Icograda Name Change Reflects Diversity

Icograda, the International Council of Communication Design, changed its name to ico-D, the International Council of Design. ...

16 December, 2014

Hold That Card: Holiday Waste

Jason Powers’ infographic illustrates the origin of the million tons of landfill waste created per week between Thanksgiving and New Years Day....

11 December, 2014

Illustration/Animation Project Yule Log 2014 Donates Licensing Fee to C/I

The second season of Yule Log has been published.(2014)...

08 December, 2014

Graphic Artists Guild Advocacy 2014

In 2014, the Guild has been an active participant in hearings conducted on copyright and intellectual property by the US Copyright Office, and House Judiciary Committee. ...

25 November, 2014

Transition to Guild Regional Structure Completed

Transition to Guild Regional Structure Completed...

18 November, 2014

Best Typography Websites Showcases Fonts in Action

Jeremiah Shoaf showcases his favorite websites and discusses the typography behind each....

12 November, 2014

So What Kind of Logo Can You Get for $5?

Fiverr, which connects buyers with sellers willing to provide their services – has been aggressively promoting their design services....

11 November, 2014

Guild Executive Director on Speculative Practices at Icograda Professional Platform Meeting

The Guild attended Icograda’s first-ever Professional Platform Meeting in New York City, attended by representatives from over 14 countries....

28 October, 2014

Art Against Ebola: Illustrator Otto Steininger and Friends Respond to the Crisis

Otto Steininger has rallied the talents of his colleagues in creating a means to generate funds supporting Ebola relief efforts....

21 October, 2014

Marvel Comics Settles with Estate of Jack Kirby, and Includes Creators’ Credit

Marvel Comics announced a settlement of a long-standing copyright dispute with the estate of Jack Kirby...

18 October, 2014

Tax Court Ruling Supports Working and Teaching Artists

Tax Court Ruling Supports Working and Teaching Artists in early October (from New York Times)....

17 October, 2014

Guild Member Discounts: WordPress A-Z Webinar Series and Blinkbid Invoicing Software

New discount offers to Guild members...

29 September, 2014

Exhaustion, Obsolescence, and Self-Worth

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

For the Font- and Dog-Obsessed

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

Chronicling the (Extra)Ordinary: Tiny PMS Match

One inspired take on the Pantone system is cataloged in Tiny PMS Match, a blog created by designer Inka Mathew. ...

18 September, 2014

Google, Photographers Settle Litigation over Books

A group of photographers, visual artists and affiliated associations have reached a settlement with Google in a lawsuit over copyrighted material in Google Books. ...

10 September, 2014

On Gods and Macaques: Who Owns the Monkey Selfie?

If a monkey takes a selfie, who owns the copyright?...

20 August, 2014

This Is the Story about “These Are the Things”

Jen Adrion and Omar Noory shared the story of their setbacks in growing their design and illustration studio, This are the Things....

14 August, 2014

Guild joins Amicus Brief in Support of Comic Creators & Artist

On July 22, the Graphic Artists Guild joined in signing on to an amicus brief on behalf of the heirs of the creators of  “Superman,” Siegel and Shuster, and Jack Kirby....

11 August, 2014

Dorm Room Tycoon: Information & Inspiration

Dorm Room Tycoon is a collection of podcasts with innovators in design, technology, and business. ...

07 August, 2014

Outdatedbrowser: Show them the Rainbow

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

31 July, 2014

Guild Reorganizes to Regional Structure

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

22 July, 2014

Go North: Guild Member Discount for DesignThinkers 2014

Members of the Graphic Artists Guild get special pricing on the the 15th annual DesignThinkers Conference this November....

16 July, 2014

Guild Member Ed Shems Testifies on Copyrights and First Sale

Guild member Ed Shems spoke on the impact proposed changes to copyright law regarding the first sale doctrine could have on artists at a hearing in front of House Judiciary Committee members on June 2....

17 June, 2014

oozled: Web Designers, Delete Your Bookmarks

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

Make It Take It Campaign Addresses Packaging Waste

A coalition of organizations devoted to addressing waste and recycling issues launched the Make It, Take It Campaign on April 30....

04 June, 2014

Remembering Massimo: SEGD Pays Tribute

Iconic designer Massimo Vignelli passed away May 27, leaving behind a tremendous legacy of work....

29 May, 2014

Bonsai Slice: The Twists and Turns in Game Development

Illustrator Joey Ellis has published an eye-opening account of his travails in developing the iOS game, Bonsai Slice (by Playground Theory). ...

27 May, 2014