‘Career Opportunities’

‘Career Opportunities’, Lawrence Zeegan

Once upon a time an Illustration final year student could sit by their work at a degree show and wait for the offers of work to roll in. Times change and so do the methods that graduates employ to seek out work opportunities. During July my BA (Hons) Graphic Design students from the University of Brighton were kicked out of New Designers Part 2 at The Business Design Centre! Why? For daring to challenge the blandness of the exhibition and creating an installation that was both creative and thought-provoking. A large cardboard box was placed in the middle of the floor area of our designated space from out of which poked a very attractive 1970s Radio-Rental wood-effect TV monitor. A looped video of the students enjoying their own private view two weeks earlier at the college played whilst a second box contained invitations to another private view at The Truman Brewery of their “real” work just across town in Brick Lane. The students used the opportunity at New Designers to create some interest and stir some emotions. New Designers did not see the funny point and we were asked to leave for being “too creative”!

Recently another creative opportunity was snatched by Illustrator Marion Deuchars. After making a number of trips to Havana, Cuba and having produced lots of drawings, sketch books and photographs, Deuchars decided that they deserved a wider viewing. Understanding a potential audience is a key factor in creating an opportunity and so she approached The Independent on Saturday Magazine Art Director, Gary Cochran. Rather than do what most would be content with, Deuchars cheekily mocked up the cover of the magazine with her Cuban images and created a number of spreads that utilised her work as well as her own text. The result: an issue in print within weeks that looked like the magazine had commissioned Marion Deuchars to write and produce images especially for them but also looked not unlike the original dummy she had created as the catalyst. If you look carefully at the credits for some recent editorial illustrations featured in various colour supplements the name of the artist begins with www. and ends .com – another opportunity recognised and acted upon. Why just be content with showing the work commissioned on the page? These artists are leading potential customers to their on-line portfolios and picking up more work based on the extra insight to their creative world that this new opportunity promotes. What can we learn, what can we piece together from these examples of “Creatives” harnessing creative opportunities? As educators, we have a duty to encourage students to actively seek chances to create opportunities. Students must be taught to be more proactive, take more risks and recognise the potential in an idea. Getting ejected from an exhibition for being “too creative” is far more beneficial than sitting passively next to one’s work in the vain hope that the right job will just come along!

Lawrence Zeegan Course Leader BA (Hons) Graphic Design, BA (Hons) Illustration – University of Brighton July 2000

Digital Copyright

Digital Copyright


What Rights? A Checklist of Rights in the Digital Environment

The main right which illustrators control in the digital environment is the reproduction right. It is the right to grant or refuse permission to reproduce a work. The following types of use involve reproduction.

Storage The right to store or fix an artistic work in digital form by scanning the image and storing it in the computer memory or on disc.

Viewing No public display right for artistic works, but displaying an image on the computer screen involves making a transient copy inside the computer which results in the appearance of the image on the screen.

Downloading Paper printouts e.g. low resolution black and white or colour copies on paper. Copies on CD/DVD for transferring to another computer. Copies on DVD at high resolution intended as origination for further reproductions.

Production Distinguished from other forms of downloading for the purpose of licensing commercial production runs of CD-ROM type products. Normally includes the right to distribute the product.

Network use Reproduction, including transient reproduction and distribution in a network environment. In licensing terms an artistic work would be licensed at one or more points in the chain of reproduction and distribution involved in network use. Matters of liability and applicable law are important for network use.

Manipulation Covered by the reproduction right. Also may be covered by the moral right to prevent derogatory treatment of a work. Creation of a new work from an existing work does not affect the copyright in the existing work. If permission to reproduce the existing work is not obtained first, then the owner of the copyright in the existing work may sue for infringement of copyright. This depends on how much of the existing work has been used (‘substantial part’ – this is both a qualitative and quantitative judgement).

Copyright

Copyright

Copyright is an area which is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. When you create a collage, painting, drawing, diagram, map, chart, plan, engraving, etching, lithograph, woodcut or similar work, you have created an artistic work and that is protected by copyright, provided that your illustrations fall into any one of these categories.

You, as creator of that illustration, own the copyright which subsists in it. There is on exception to this general rule. If you are employed to create that illustration, the employer will, own the copyright in it. There are no registration requirements. There is no requirement to use the sign © but it will help the public to realise that your illustration is protected by copyright.

If you own copyright, you are the only person who has the right to make copies of your illustrations. If someone else makes a copy without your permission, they are infringing your copyright.

You can give permission to individuals or companies to reproduce your illustration which is known commonly in the illustration trade as giving a licence. Your licence should be in writing and should set out the use that can be made of your illustration and any restriction you wish to place on the use. You can grant licences for different uses.

You can effectively sell your copyright which means that you have no further right of reproduction in your work. This is know as an assignment but will only be effective if you put it in writing.

If your illustration is reproduced without your permission, you are entitled to damages, perhaps an injunction to stop the infringement and on occasion the infringing copies delivered to you.

Your copyright in your illustration is an economic right. It is different from ownership of the illustration itself. You may still grant a licence or give an assignment of copyright in your illustration whilst owning the original piece. Likewise, you may sell the original illustration without giving permission for it to be reproduced.

Moral Rights

There are rights in addition to your economic right of copyright and your right of owning your illustration.

You have a right to be identified as author of your illustration. This right must be asserted in writing and should be included on any copyright, assignment or licence to reproduce or other written contract.

You have a right to object to derogatory treatment of your illustration. This means you have a right to object if your illustration has been adapted, altered, added to or deleted from. You may also be able to rely on this right if you are unhappy about the colour reproduction of your illustration or if perhaps it has been cropped in a way which distorts it.

You have a right not to be falsely attributed to another person’s art.

Copyright

Copyright: Licensing and Assignment

There are two ways to manage the copyright on your images:

Licensing Copyright

At some stage during the process of being commissioned to produce an image for a client it is wise to discover if the client wishes you to grant them a licence or an assignment of copyright. For obvious reasons, this is best done at the initial talking stage, as if you cannot come to some agreement at this stage then at least you have not wasted your own time and money producing the artwork. In most cases the people commissioning will not even mention copyright, but it is best to ask some questions first. This will also help you to come up with a realistic fee:

1. Ask who the client is.
2. What is the image to appear in or on?
3. Is the image or part of it to appear more than once in the same publication?
4. Black and white or colour?
5. What is the print run?
6. Is it to be published in the UK only or internationally?
7. How long is the image to be used for?
8. Completion date?

If all seems fine, I would either email a copy to the client or send a copy of your licence with the finished job. The client may well send you a copy of their licensing requirements along with a job sheet (an official request for you to produce the work) before you get a chance to send yours. If their terms are unacceptable, act quickly. Either phone the client and talk over your objections to the licence requirements and get them to alter their terms, or email a copy of your licence to them (with the time and date on the top). It is important that you respond in some way if you do not agree with their requirements as if you do not reply you are deemed to have accepted the contract by default.


Assignment of Copyright

When you assign the copyright of an image to a client they then own the copyright and can use the image wherever and as much as they like within the terms of the assignment. You would usually expect a considerably larger fee for work which included selling on all or some substantial part of your copyright.

If you assign the whole copyright to a client they can then use your image on ANYTHING, ANYWHERE for as long as they like. They may well have subsidiary companies which may also use the image. This is why you need to negotiate a larger fee, because once you have both accepted the terms you no longer have any hold over the image.

If possible, it is always in your best interest to license out the copyright rather than assign the whole copyright. Terms of payment must always be included in any licence or assignment agreement hence why some illustrators/designers combine an invoice and agreement.

This is only a very rough guide in an extremely complex area of law. I would suggest you also look at the AOI’s ‘Rights’ and ‘Survive’ publications.

Fees

Money is always a tricky area to deal with. Don’t undersell yourself, clients will usually know how much they have to spend and will want to spend as little as possible. Always let them start the bidding if you can, but usually these days a client will approach you with a proposed job and ask you what you will do it for. They will always have a budget, but they are sounding you out to try and get the job done for as little as possible. Ask a little about the job and its possible usage (see copyright postings) then calculate a figure.

If you feel unsure about the fee, explain that you are interested in the job, but they have just caught you at a very busy time and you will phone them back in 5 or 10 minutes. This will give you time to think. You can phone the AOI (if you are a member) for advice on fees or phone college (no membership required!)

There is usually some degree of flexibility in fees, from both the designer and the client’s side, so you may be involved in a small amount of haggling. Don’t worry about this, it usually means you are in the right price range and eventually you might even begin to enjoy it for the game that it ultimately is. It is extremely rare for an illustrator or designer to quote a fee and the client to say no thank you and put the phone down. If you are miles over the budget they will usually tell you. It’s when you are miles under that they don’t tell you!

Below I have set out a very rough guide to fees. Amounts will vary from client to client. These fees are based on a full colour, limited licence job (see copyright postings). In general, you will receive less for black and white than colour images.

Editorial
Front cover £350-£500+
Inside full page £250-£350+
Inside DPS £350-£500+
Half page £200-£300+
Quarter page £150-£200+


Publishing Fees
will vary according to fame of author/sales potential and size of the publishing house you are dealing with.
Front cover £450-£800+
Reprint of cover on soft back 50% of original fee

Children’s book cover and insides

Work out a rate per illustration, and add them together for the total fee. £1500-£2000+ depending on usage and amount of work.

Design

Brochure cover £600-£800+
Insides £150-£300+ Spots £50-£100+
In house poster for a PLC £600-£800


Advertising

Fees will vary dramatically depending on usage and on how big the client is. BT will usually pay more than Jones Pet Shops. Time is also of great importance here. You can usually obtain a higher fee if the time scale is short.

Press ads local/in house £500-£700+

Press ads national £1500+

One 48 sheet poster UK only £6000+

The C word

I have a checklist beginning with the letter C: Concept, Composition, Colour Usage, Craftsmanship, Contemporary Style, Consistency, Commitment and Confidence. I believe if you exercise a strong work ethic, which includes truly following your voice, consistently getting your work out there, and making no excuses, opportunities will present themselves.”

John Ferry.

UFOs

“There is no UFO full of art directors criss-crossing the night sky plucking up talented young artists and launching their careers. Young artists must invent their own careers project by project.” Kevin McCloskey.