Superb_Firefighter20

Particularly, I think the "agency" title is often misused, but I might wrong.

I was recently contacted by a stock-house rep on an image I licensed for a client several years ago as the image was due for renewal. From the time I licensed the image, the client left, the client company was acquired, and the product was sold to a different company. Through the time period the website has not been updated and this rights-managed image is still there. So the product/website holder is about to get a demand letter from a lawyer.

I don’t feel much guilt—we turned over licensing information when the client left with the instructions they needed to follow up on licensing.

I guess the question is how much work do people go through checking rights, and how does one go through

I’m at an agency, and I had a strange client interaction today. They asked for website files, so I sent Figma. Then they asked for Photoshop. I dug up an obsolete version I’d used for some hero art tweaks and sent that over.

We jumped on a call, and it turns out they’re trying to drop these files into an AI layout and coding app. The client owns the work, so I’m not precious about it. I’m actually curious about the results. But it’s clear they were sold a "magic" platform without a real plan. My fear is that I’ll have to simplify our high-end workflow just to accommodate their DIY tool.

It’s just a random thought on the industry's direction. We’re at a crossroads where technical knowledge

I work for a smallish agency that was recently acquired by a larger network. Today, I found myself on a multi-agency call with a Fortune 100 company to talk about file management. I felt out of my element and basically kept my mouth shut the whole time. I didn't really feel qualified to ask questions on the call.

The way they handle licensing is different than I am used to—the agencies just put in a ticket for an image, and the client-side art buyers handle all the negotiations and rights purchasing. Everything goes into their own system.

My other clients don't have that kind of scale, but I have two right now that are trying to build out their own Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems. I

I work for a smallish agency that was recently acquired by a larger network. Today, I found myself on a multi-agency call with a Fortune 100 company to talk about file management. I felt out of my element and basically kept my mouth shut the whole time. I didn't really feel qualified to ask questions on the call.

The way they handle licensing is different than I am used to—the agencies just put in a ticket for an image, and the client-side art buyers handle all the negotiations and rights purchasing. Everything goes into their own system.

My other clients don't have that kind of scale, but I have two right now that are trying to build out their own Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems. I

My college lists design separately in the it's name, but I usually just tell people I went to an art school. I also tend to simplify what I do for a living because explaining it in detail takes too much effort.

Graphic design is an applied art to a strategic purpose, so calling a designer an “artist” isn’t exactly wrong—but it does diminish the professional scope of design. One of the challenges in the industry is that too many people still see the art department as the “make it pretty” department rather than a strategic partner. So while there’s a certain romance in thinking of designers as artists, the title can become a kind of professional gilded cage.

Quark is still being updated every year, and I’m curious about its current role in the industry. Some of my questions are: • Who is currently using Quark? • What are the benefits and shortcomings of the software? • For current Quark users, do you still need to work in InDesign to serve clients or fulfill your role?

As part of my work, I have to set up PDFs for screen readers. I believe I am fairly competent at it, but I currently have an issue marking up an infographic that has a lot of complex graphics that I need to place in tags to be able to give alt text.

The issue I'm running into is that I'm having trouble getting all the paths inside one tag—I think it's because the vector artwork has some masks. Because not all the artwork is wrapped in a tag, the layer order gets out of whack.

It might be that I just need to go back to the source file and start flattening everything to PNGs and rebuild the file. But I don't know if there is a better way or tool.

I am currently doing this work in Acrobat Pr

As part of my work, I have to set up PDFs for screen readers. I believe I am fairly competent at it, but I currently have an issue marking up an infographic that has a lot of complex graphics that I need to place in tags to be able to give alt text.

The issue I'm running into is that I'm having trouble getting all the paths inside one tag—I think it's because the vector artwork has some masks. Because not all the artwork is wrapped in a tag, the layer order gets out of whack.

It might be that I just need to go back to the source file and start flattening everything to PNGs and rebuild the file. But I don't know if there is a better way or tool.

I am currently doing this work in Acrobat Pr

I’ve seen several comments about non-designers using tools like Canva being a threat to the industry, which got me wondering—what is the definitive line between a designer and a non-designer?

Is it the tools? The experience? Holding the job title? Filling the role even without the title? Self-proclamation of “I am designer” makes it true? Or a connection to some existential power, like the Jedi and the Force?

Silliness aside, what makes someone who accomplishes design tasks a non-designer? And depending on that answer, does it mean that some people with the title “designer” are actually non-designers? Or is the term “non-designer” simply an ill-defined attempt to gatekeep the role?

Fast Company: The anatomy of Zohran Mamdani’s winning campaign poster

This article discusses the recent branding by a New York politician. Initially, I disliked it, but upon a second glance, I realized I was being snobbish. I find the work fascinating as a response to the current state of U.S. culture and politics.

I'm interested in the perspective

This is mostly for those who work in agencies:

If you are in an agency, you likely have been exposed to the concept of utilization rates. It's basically percentage of time billed to clients per hours worked. Some agencies are more transparent this those than others, but it is a common metric of productivity and business health.

The art department's job is to do work that gets billed to the client. Their job is not to write estimates or write change orders for scope creep. At least in my agency, I not held accountable to write offs. An issue that has popped up in my current and a previous up is the account and/or project managers move time to avoid write offs. While this helps them meet the

We have a client that is in the $100's of millions in size. They have several brands, websites, and agencies working for them. MonoType emailed the client about an unlicensed font. Now they are they are getting all their agencies audit fonts use in all pieces.

I do have a few question in response to this:

If a PDF is provided as a download, my assumption that a desktop license held by the document designer is good as long as the content is no editable. I'm being asked to audit PDFs, so I'm curious. I know laws are not the same everywhere. The client and I are in the US, but I am interested in hearing perspective from other regions.

Other question I have is, when MonoType sends a lette

Hate it or love it, AI is going to be affecting how commercial creative is done. Trying to wrap one's head around the issue is important. This article briefly touches the current US government's view on the issue.

https://www.techspot.com/news/106562-us-copyright-office-rules-out-copyright-ai-created.html

The take was quotes for me were:

• "The assistive use of AI models does not limit copyright protection, while AI systems making 'expressive; choices require further analysis."
• "There's an important distinction between AI tools used to assist in the creation process, and 'generative' se