What’s Wrong with Plagiarism?

 What’s Wrong with Plagiarism? 

plagirasim in simple word is stealing. stealing of someone thoughts and idea. i noticed a lot of things which is plagiarism  or attempting to copy the work of someone else. 

but I have to confess that some times i still struggle with what is meaning plagiarism and what is inspiration and what is the meaning of styles? 

espcially when you live in a country that have no rules about this issue. I mange to figure out the difference between Plagiarism and inspiration. 

But style I'm stil struggling to understand how come style is not plagiarism especially when i see some one did a painting or poster where the cubist style is used . or when i see the pop art is used. the question that is what make using these styles of artists ok to use and who made it a style where at the first it was some one idea or thought ?

as long I know that Im not coping someone else work I'm stsfied. But I still hoping to figure out the answer to my questions.

Utility

According to Tucker Viemeister ­ Beautility is a combination  between two words beauty and utility. Beauty is something that we all look for in all life aspects but for me I would  give up on beauty to feel comfortable.


Some designers keep beauty first and ignore the comfortable part in their designs. but this shouldn't be the story cause, beautiful  and comfortable can go together.

Who gets to say What to whom?

Who gets to say What to whom?

 

We are surrounded by all kind of commercial ads in our daily life. Whether in posters, magazine, billboards, brochures and newspaper. But in these ads we receive different messages some are direct some are not. But still some ads considers offence to people such as the fair and lovely ads:

 

Where they keep pointing that the white your skin is the beautiful you are, which I see offence to other people.

In the advertisement business we should take in consideration these small detail which have huge impact on consumers behaviors. That’s why we as designer do a lot of research before we do any ads. Also we take in consideration the fact that some people do not understand the still they also don’t like the obvious one’s hidden concept . that’s why designers work harder to make nice ads with good concept yet attractive to people and here some examples of smart ads: 

The Designer as Producer

The Designer as Producer The Designer as Producer

One of the best thing in design filed for me is product design because its gives the ability to produce thing that people will use and keep it in their homes. And what interest me more is the fact that these products does not have to look only nice but also smart designs that serve the society and the culture its self. Here is some example of the smart product designs:

http://www.toxel.com/tech/2010/05/11/creative-products-for-your-kitchen/

Healing with Design

Healing with Design

Light, color, sound and imagery view are things that affect our emotions and feelings. Personally I react to these things according to what I hear smell and see. For me, any thing contain bright colors gives me energy and power and some time draw a smile on my face. And I do wear fresh and bright colors when I’m happy and feel good. On the other hand, when I’m depressed or mad I avoid wearing colors and usually sticks with the gray color. The fact I knew this about my self made me force my self to wear happy colors when I feel down to change my mood. This also applies on what I hear and see because I notice that tend to listen to soft music when I’m feeling dawn. And listen to the opposite when I’m happy. These might be a fact that people know but when you really give attention to your attitude when your exposed to sounds. Colors or images and understand your own reaction towards these fact here where it differ. Especially when your filed of work or studies relay on peoples reaction, then you should give take in consideration your own feelings and reaction towards what you espouse to. And for us as a graphic designers every thing we make play role in people acceptance of our work.

Like coca cola ads always maintain happy fresh colors with happy music which make people always contact happiness with their product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMprLwsZFRk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4xLx8MhxIc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4xLx8MhxIc

Posters that manipulated in lighting gives different sensation. For example when it is dramatic lighting gives you a dramatic feeling. And when its have this diffuse light it kind off representing hope peace and clam .

How ever, light, color and sound may change our point of view about something or gives us a feeling that makes us respond upon it.

There fore the interactive advertising is more successful in attacking the people cause it’s interact with our sense. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4xLx8MhxIc

Weaving of design and community:

In the design world there are many designers who design for different aims and goals. Some take it as away of living. Some do it to become known and named as the best designers. While others beside design and being a designer dedicate their time and efforts to help their society by involving in projects for the good of the public which I see as a noble thing to do.

Most designers are faced with decisions and dilemmas regarding their work, because they are not designing to them selves. They had to keep a lot of things in their consideration to satisfy their audience. Good design can get you money easily but good effective design can be more rewarding than a check.

Therefore, designers can benefit them selves and their society by helping their community to over come issues they suffer from. Making the community feels that there someone who care which can strength the society and make the designer happy about him/her self.

Reality branding Addressing real concerns and real needs.

Branding is connected to the design. So, whenever we talk about branding we talk about branding we talk about design, since design is a tool of communication therefore reality branding leads to honest communication,which shows the responsibility of the brands towards the people.

All what this article is about sell what the consumers needs which is the real value of the products without the extra exaggeration, and change the role of design to meet consumers needs. A lot of times we see product promising the consumers with things that are not real or exaggerated.

For us as young designers we have responsibilities towards branding and we should keep in mind how to incorporate the product into our design. More than focusing on making the product look beautiful. But of course beautiful design is better than ugly design. Designers must be honest to what they sell to people, and should avoid hyperbole, and respect the consumer at the same time keep a personality to his design. 

I Love NY More Than Ever

In this article the author Steven Heller interviews Milton Glasser about I love NY logo. When Glasser at first did this logo it was for marketing campaign for New York city. Glasser expected that his design will last only for few months then it will die, but the unexpectedly, the logo become a successful icon and continued to be sold until nowadays.

Glasser modified his logo After 9/11 attacks, he added I Love NY more than ever with a little black spot on the red heart to symbolize the effect of that attack on people’s hearts. Many visitors to the city bought the I love NY T-shirts to show their support, unity to the people of this city. This logo has become apart of American Pop culture.

Changing a logo according to the events is a way to express emotions toward that event. We see a lot of logos changes according to events. For examples: google, and the latest events in the middle east when they changed icons in their flags. And what happened in the last two years in Jeddah floods, people changed the logo of the secretariat of Jeddah city logo to betrayal Jeddah. Or the logo of Jeddah Gheer to Jeddah Gheerget, which means Jeddah is drawn. A simple logo has an impact in expressing our feelings towards an issue and this simple logo sometimes can tells a lot than words.

Timing is every thing Lessons from the sphere Magazine

In this article the writer show us his fault when he published the sphere magazine cover. The cover was addressing an old issue that goes back 10 months of 2000 U.S election. But since it was published and distributed at the time of 9/11, it misunderstood by the public. Everyone thought it was about the 9/11 attacks, which they found disrespectful and serves no one. On the other hand, if this cover were published on earlier time it might had a very different reaction than what it had. This issue proves that timing play a major role in the success or failure of anything.

As designers, when designing something or even expressing an idea and got published in the wrong time your idea, concept, design or message will lose it’s purpose and may be misunderstood. A lot of things happens around us can be very successful or a disaster depends on the time it comes out to public.

A lot of companies and organizations take advantage of this point.  For example: they do limited editions for special occasions such as Christmas or Ramadan, which is a good use of timing. Therefore, we see how timing can be an important element in everything we do in life. 

Think globally upload locally:

Internet and web world have become very popular recently, and people are keeping up with any update on it. Almost anything and everything is out there in the web. It become like a public place that everyone can go to visit or stay, very easy to reach and a fordable to visit at any time.

People have moved from traditional publishing to the web world .for many reason such as: it is affordable, can reach a lot of people its available at any time you feel like serving the net. That's why it become very popular the way we see it now .It become the newest way of media and for that reason we see the web design took place in the design world. Since it’s the new way to keep up with the world.

Responsible designers should take in consideration the difference between web design and any designed are made to be published, because each one is different than the other. Although the web is the new media we as users should also be responsible toward what we upload to the internet, because web is available to almost anyone we should consider that there are people might understand our thought in wrong way, or maybe they are not filmier with our culture. So, they might misunderstand us or form his own idea about religion, values, believes about us as persons or community which is not based on reality. For example, when some one sees the driving campaign that happened in K.S.A. and don’t know any thing about the Saudi culture may think that women are abused to be barred from driving. I believe, since I was born and raised in the Saudi society allowing women to drive here in Saudi Arabia I think it is not a good  idea for now, due to many reasons for examples the mentality of the Saudi people plus the Infrastructure of our streets.

The recent add for united color of Benetton which shows Obam kissing some guy for those who have no idea a bout the company and its goal might think president Obama is gay. So, we as user also should be responsible of what we put on web that is available to all people. We should try taking in consideration the fact that there people might read or see or hear what we upload some are adult and mature, some who might believe any thing they know and that might change a lot in his believes as a person. Some are children and can be brain washed easily. Therefore, think globally before you upload locally.    

Socially responsible, advertising altruism or Exploitation?

Nowadays, people are more aware of social responsibility, they are more aware of its benefits to the society. Therefore, we see a lot of the big companies whither it is local or international that involved in social responsibility. Some people believes those companies are doing it for marketing purposes. That only benefit organization and doesn’t serve the social issues (which raises the question: is it altruism or exploitation). Some believes that even if it a type of marketing it services the community.  

I think that some organization take advantage of this social issues to advertise for their names rather than do it for sake of serving the community such as the united colors of Benetton which I think is obvious that what they do in their advertisement is to increase their sales, even though they tend to show that they are peaceful people against racism. But what I see is more advertisement for their brand and name rather than solving this problem in the society in their Awareness campaigns.

Some companies might use it as a marketing strategy tool, but they are really helping the community such as Albaik or Abdulatif Jameel . Even though there a lot of saying that Al baik is 100% honest on their campaign, but I still believe it is one of marketing strategy that tend using peoples emotions. 

These organizations play on the power of emotion to make strong impact on their brand. They take advantage of the social problem to enhance their income and productivity. They support art exhibitions, sponsor events, donate money, showing that corporation has a human side and usually donate so little money compare of what they have gain of the campaign.

However, whither the organizations are using social issue as a part of their marketing plan or not? We should look at the good side of it because if it helping our society in something that is better than nothing and society can use these companies the same way the company do to them. Life is a bout give and take.

Expelling School violence Visual Communication as a catalyst for Change

By: Noura Bajrai

We live in a time that media play a big role in term of decision making. We are surrounded different opinions, visions and point of view of different people. We receive their messages through TVs, internet, magazines and newspapers. All this type of media change the way we view things. Because it speaks to us and direct us to things indirectly. We receive all this messages from media which can be beneficial or destructive.

The Columbine High School was a regrettable example of how media can be very harmful. The tow young men who commit this crime were drove by the destructive  power of media. They received this violence messages which made them aggressive to commit this terrible crime against innocent students.

Many other causes happened when people receive this hidden and unconscious messages and act upon it.  Such like when I saw my youngest cousin who is 7 years old now . who s the only child for his parents and live with them in a very calm environment. he was like any other normal child playing and laughing. At the time when he became 4 years old he was so addicted to watch T.V . his behavior changed dramatically he become aggressive and out of control. His parent were not controlling what he watch on TV because they thought he won’t be able to understand everything on TV. But this only proves how wrong they were because kids do not recognize the different between the right and wrong or even an act. So, when they something they think its ok to do it.

On the other hand, adult who knows the acceptable and unacceptable also can be effected by the media, which can change their perspective towards things. Like what we see in many ads for example: seatbelt, cigarette, drinking and child abuse. All these campaign helped in rising the awareness to these issues.

In addition, the same ads can have side effect when it address the wrong people, to people who can’t distinguish between right and wrong and to people who can’t read between the lines. For example: “Pray before you die campaign” which was successful in the middle east. When we discuss this ad in the class Miss. Kate thinks that the message wasn’t clear. For her it made her afraid to get into a car because she wasn’t the target audience for this ad. This is prove that media can two sided weapon.

In conclusion, what we saw in the Egyptian revolution recently  which started in a face book campaign is a situation made us realize how powerful the media can be, and how it can help shaping our life. It can be either a good tool or a distractive one.

“Designing an advertising campaign for a company with a history of known discrimination in minority hiring”

As a designer I will never design any kind of advertising for a company or organization that i know and I'm sure about their discrimination in hiring minority.

Discrimination in hiring any person based on certain classifications such as: race, sex, religion, origin, age, appearance, color, social class, language or any other causes like disability or pregnancy is completely un acceptable for me.

Having a personal experience with discrimination due to my nationality and origin, in so many different things wether in applying for a job or while I'm traveling in airport. Had a huge impact on me as a person and made me feel as if I'm lacking something, or there is something wrong with me.

And knowing how it feels when I'm discriminate from the others, makes me know how it can effect the society that I live in, when hatred and malice are born because of such and act towards someone all his or her fult is they are slightly different than them.

I think that job requirements must be uniformly applied to all people with no discriminations. Because this act will not help the organization and it's not important for the job performance or business needs as long as the person applied is qualified in terms of education or experience level to held the job and welling to work for the benefit of that organization.

It's against my believes as human being. It's against my believes as a Muslim. And I think we all should have the same rights since we all are same regardless of our little differences.

Noura bajrai