So we have arrived at the 4th and last part of this series. It all started with what seemed to be a trademark battle between T-Mobile and the tech blog EngadgetMobile, and in the past three episodes of the Magenta Lessons, we’ve covered some very interesting topics. Part one was about the role of colors in design and branding, which was followed by the role of brands in marketing. Last week, I wrote about trademarks and copyright in the graphic design field, be it industrial design, web design or advertising. And today, we’re going to take a look at the subject of Public Relations - and see what we can find out about why knowing a bit about it can be the best thing that ever happened to us. Read on…
Archive for July, 2008
In this part of the Magenta Lessons, we will take a look at trademarks in the business world, and why it is important for graphic designers to know about this subject. You will also find a 1-page Trademark & Copyright Factsheet for Designers (free download) at the bottom of the page.
In the last two parts of this series, we talked about the role of color in design and the importance of brands. So after the ‘little’ break I allowed myself to take - a lot of work, and even more work fell upon us last month, plus the upcoming complete redesign of this blog (stay tuned for that!) - thanks for sticking with me, and let’s jump right to it!
Why is it important for designers to know about trademarks?
For the simple reason of offering your clients as much service and advice as possible. Think added value. Now quite a few of the readers of this blog are Art Directors in an advertising agency and not freelancing; and those of you might ask how this knowledge will help you. After all, you’ve got your CD and then the Account Managers who advise your clients in this direction. Also, you can assume that your large clients have their own capable people in the field of trademarks and intellectual property rights, or employ a law firm for just that.
My question for you would be this: You’re an Art Director right now, but don’t you want to climb up the ladder one day? Maybe you’d like to be considered for an open position as a Creative Director. And this doesn’t necessarily has to be within your own company. One nice day, you might even decide to go into freelance design and quit your day job. Or you will start a venture of your own, be it a graphic design firm, an advertising agency, a website, or something completely different! The point is to keep your options open and to look beyond the greater picture - by learning everything relevant to the field you are in. If you want to be successful at what you do, you need to strive for knowledge that expands and goes beyond what you currently do. Most of the time, the new stuff will be only peripheally tangent to your actual work, but it will increase your competency, thus your potential, in ways you might never have considered before. So do read on. Read on…
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