New Hero Website, New Hero Blog

So the time has FINALLY come, we have a new website up!! Check it out at www.heroandsound.com. It's still a work in progress, but the god awful, seriously outdated portfolio that we had up, is finally gone!!!!

We are still adding stuff to the new portfolio and we have to tweak our existing web store a bit to properly sync up with the new site, but it is there! We also have a new blog, which we are very excited about, so please change your bookmarks and update your feed links. We will no longer be updating this blog and we'll be posting in the new blog on the website the way we always did with this one. We hope you enjoy the new format as much as we do. It is more organized, so if you are only interested in new things at the Boutique or events we have coming up, it should hopefully be easier navigate.

The second phase of the new Hero website involves a brand new, revamped web store that will be more organized, and much easier to search for things, we are super excited for that, so keep an eye out for it later this year.

We owe a big thanks to our friend Mike Literman, who helped us with customizing the code to make this work exactly how we wanted it to, and for helping us fix the site every time we broke it and sent emails with lots of curse words as the subject line.

Copyright 101 for Designers

I got woken up early this morning, so I was lurking around at my favorite blogs and I came across this great article on Design*Sponge that I just had to share.

Copyright 101 for Designers

By Amy J. Everhart

As a designer, your designs are your lifeblood. Just as a jeweler keeps his jewels in a locked display case, you should safeguard your designs. I don’t mean the physical product embodying your designs, but the intangible right to them: the copyright. Yet maybe because a copyright isn’t something you can see or touch, creators often neglect to safeguard it. An understanding of the copyright basics goes a long way toward protecting why you’re doing this in the first place: the art.

What is a copyright? Skip ahead if I’m getting too “101” on you, but it never hurts to start at the beginning: What is a copyright in the first place, and why should you care if you have one? A copyright protects creative works, including works of visual art, and is actually a bundle of rights. In the case of a work of visual art, a copyright includes the rights to copy, display, sell, perform and make derivative works from your work.

When do I have copyright protection? The minute you create a design and it’s embodied in a tangible medium (meaning no longer just an idea in your head but sketched out on paper or something you can touch), you, as the author, own the copyright to that design. This is true even if the work is not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and even if you don’t place a copyright symbol (©) on the work. But, as you can see below, doing both is important even if not required for copyright protection, because it will enhance and maximize your protection.

Do I need to register my design with the Copyright Office? You don’t have to register your work with the Copyright Office to acquire copyright protection. So why bother slogging through that frustrating registration process, not to mention spending the money it costs to register? Three reasons: 1) registration within five years of publication gives you a presumption of ownership; 2) registration is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit for copyright infringement; and 3) registration makes available certain infringement remedies that might not be available to you otherwise, including the potential to recover attorneys’ fees and “statutory,” or a specific range of, damages Congress built directly into the Copyright Act. Also, don’t wait until someone has copied your work to register it. You’ll want to file that copyright-infringement lawsuit immediately and not have to wait for the Copyright Office’s stamp of approval on your registration. Also, you generally can’t seek attorneys’ fees or statutory damages unless you register the copyright before the work is copied.

How do I go about registering? The U.S. Copyright Office has gone high tech and now offers an online registration option. Go to www.copyright.gov and click on the “Electronic Copyright Office.” From there, you can find tutorials, options for paper registration (tempting, but I recommend the electronic system) and a link to enter the online registration system. If you can get past the “select a password” segment without pulling out your hair (I have a few bald spots from the picky system’s rejection of no fewer than 15 proposed passwords), the online system should navigate you through the registration process. As a designer, you’ll likely be registering a work of visual art, although your design may fall into a different category, such as multimedia, so you’ll want to read the various categories to make sure you register your work in the right one.

Do I need a copyright notice? As a designer, who wants to muddle their work with legal symbols? Once upon a time a copyright notice (©) was required for copyright protection. Nowadays it’s not, but, like registration, it has its own perks, notifying others that you claim rights to the work and precluding a defendant in a copyright-infringement lawsuit from successfully claiming innocent infringement.

Who owns the copyright? Remember, the rule is that the creator is the original owner of the design. The only way to transfer copyright ownership is to do so in a signed writing. Likewise, you should always clarify with a client in writing who owns the copyright. Clients might believe that, because they’ve paid for a work, they own the copyright to it. If you want to reserve your right to the copyright, make sure you and the client both understand that to be the case in a signed writing and that the same writing clarifies how the client may use the work.

What about designs created by employees? There is one exception to the rule that the creator originally owns the copyright: Employees who create a work within the scope of their employment do so as a “work made for hire” for the employer. In that case, the employer owns the design. Regardless of this default rule, if you’re the employer, you should still, for purposes of clarification and certainty, have your employees sign an agreement up front transferring to you the copyrights to all works created on the job. (If you’re the employee, try to carve out rights to use the work at least in your portfolio.) What about independent contractors you retain to design for you? A writing clarifying ownership is even more important in that case, because independent contractors don’t qualify as “employees” for purposes of the “work for hire” rule.

When is your use of someone else’s work fair, and when do you need a license? When can you use someone else’s work in yours without a license? Unfortunately, this is a question without an easy answer. For starters, not every element of art is protectable by copyright. Raw ideas and stock themes are not protectable and are fair game to anyone. Second, you can use works that are in the public domain, meaning no one owns them. The trick is to determine whether the work really is in the public domain. Simply because you find clip-art online with the website owner’s promise that it’s free doesn’t necessarily make it so. The only way to know for sure is to get permission from the owner of the work. At least make sure you have a warranty as to ownership from the clip-art provider, and, even then, use at your own risk. Finally, not every copy is infringement. Certain uses of others’ copyrighted works may be fair and not require a license, depending on several factors: 1) whether your new work is “transformative” or alters the original work with new expression, meaning or message (such as comment, criticism or parody); 2) the nature of the work (factual works are more likely to be found fair than fiction or creative works); 3) the quantitative and qualitative amount of the original work used and how much of your work uses the original; and 4) whether your work usurps the market of the original. Whew! Got that? The rule of thumb: When in doubt, get a license.

So there you have it — now that you have the building blocks to protect your art, you can get back to creating it. Of course, your legal circumstances are as unique as your designs, so keep in mind that the information in this article is meant only as a reference tool and not as legal advice, and some of the legal concepts discussed may be subject to exceptions and qualifications.

Amy J. Everhart founded her Nashville, Tennessee, law firm (www.aeverhart.com) to counsel clients in the creative industries, entrepreneurs, inventors, business owners and others in the areas of copyright, trademark, entertainment, the arts and the Internet. She is the author of the copyright, trademark and entertainment law blog “Lightbulb Moments,” located at www.aeverhart.com/lightbulbmoments.

The Vignelli Canon

Massimo Vignelli has published an amazing 96 page book on better understanding typography in graphic design. So amazing! And even better, the book is available for free online in PDF format. Massimo, you are the man!!


[via SwissMiss]

Murphy's graphic design laws

Murphy's graphic design laws.

Here's a few of my favs:

• If you have two versions of a photo, you will send the wrong one to the printer.
• If three designs are shown to a client, your least favorite will be chosen.
• Your best idea is already copyrighted.

[via]

Geeky goodies.

Veer always has the best stuff for us graphic design geeks. Here are a couple super rad new things that they have available now. I am soooo in love with Kernie.

Kernie Plush Pal

Ampersand Faux Cufflinks

Edinboro University’s “Interlocution” Art & Graphic printmaking show

Hero is so stoked to be part of this amazing show at Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The Interlocution show opened on November 5th, 2008 and will be up and available to the public until November 25th, 2008 and runs concurrently with the “More Than a Book” show, so if you are in the Western PA area, do yourself a favor and check it out. We are so so so incredibly proud to be included in a show with such amazing artists.

"Interlocution"

The role of printmaking as a catalyst within graphic design and illustrative aesthetics. A printmaking, poster, and design show organized by John Lysak and Laurie Godfrey of Egress Press and Research. This show continues the dialogue between Graphic Design, Illustration and Fine Art Printmaking in terms of design, process, and stylistic content.

Print, poster and design work by select artists:
Toulouse Lautrec
Arthur Wesley Dow
Gustave Bauman
Oskar Kokoschka
Takashi Murakami
Bill Fick
Tom Huck
Jenny Schmid
Jay Ryan
Diana Sudyka
and many more... (this includes lil 'ol Hero Design Studio)

Letterpress Chocolates

Spell with em, then eat em.
http://typolade.de/

[via]

How to be a Good Intern

WOW! I couldn't have put it better myself. This will for sure be getting printed and put in the intern workstation here at Hero.


How to be a good intern (PDF). By Number17.

On that note - if you think you can hang at Hero we are now interviewing for College interns for the Fall and Spring semesters at Hero. Contact us here for more info

via swissmiss

5 Great Social Networking Sites for Designers

Are you a graphic, web, industrial, or other designer? If so, there are 5 invaluable sites where you can network with other designers, get inspiration, and build a sweet portfolio.

1. Coroflot has the largest bank of portfolios I have ever seen, recently adding their 100,000th portfolio! You could spend weeks just browsing. Coroflot also has a great design job board. http://www.coroflot.com

2. Behance lets you build a dynamic, multimedia portfolio of your latest projects, open to all or shared selectively. You can comment on others’ portfolios. The Tip Exchange is also a great resource for sharing sources. http://www.behance.net

3. design:related is similar to Behance, but it is more focused on inspiration and collecting things that inspire you as a designer. The site also has a lot of great news and features. http://www.designrelated.com

4. Design Spotter is an online design magazine dedicated to everything related to young modern contemporary design. It focuses on designer portfolios, new products and prototypes, and promoting young designers. You can add your own portfolio too. http://www.designspotter.com

5. DESIGN 21 is a joint-venture project of Felissimo and UNESCO created to inspire and promote design for the greater good. http://www.design21sdn.com

These are also great places to check out upcoming designers or find a designer for a project. If you have more suggestions for helpful social designs sites, please post in the comments.

via Design Milk

Type Scarfs

Holy poop, I need one of these!! In it's total graphic designer geek-ness, it's available in uppercase, lowercase and numbers!! Laser cut 100% micro-fiber suede and 200% awesome.

via Core77

Paul Rand - Animated Video

A work of art is realized when form and content are indistinguishable. When form predominates, meaning is blunted; but when content predominates, interest flags. But the genius comes in when both of these things fuse.” - Paul Rand

Wise words from a design genius. The Paul Rand video above is filled with nice little quotes like this. The video also brings to life some of his well known logos and illustrations. Who wouldn’t want to see Sparkle and Spin animated? nuff said

via Grain Edit

Pantone Eyewear!!

Pantone has developed eyewear!! I need new glasses, very very badly, and I need to find out where to buy these!! They are amazing. Change-able pantone color swatch arms!! OOOH GEEEEK OUT!!!

www.pantoneeyewear.com/

Kinetic Typography

I have come across a handful of these in the past, but I finally found a bunch posted in one spot. Check them out here, or do a search on YouTube for "Kinetic Type". Some cool stuff.

Hero Featured on Behance

Beth from Hero is the featured article on Behance today check it out here.

The Behance team develops products and services for creative professionals. Their goal is to better organize the creative community to make ideas happen. They have a wonderful website that is truly inspiring.

Book By Its Cover

Book By Its Cover
This blog has easily become one of my many daily stops on the interwebs. Kept by Julia Rothman, a brooklyn based illustrator and designer, this is an amazing collection of nice books she comes across regularly. It's even neatly organized into subcategories.

I always love going to the bookstore and geeking out over all the amazing design happening on all the book covers. I admittedly have bought books SOLELY on their covers.