FormFiftyFive™

Inspiration / Dalston

What do you think?

Julian Harriman-Dickinson
3rd May 2011
5:35 pm

1. I agree this is very beautiful work which was made by creative agency HarrimanSteel and not studio Dalston as stated in your post. These are all HarrimanSteel clients and not Dalston clients. Sofia was a designer at HarrimanSteel who was indeed involved in all of these projects but to state that this was created by studio Dalston is completely untrue.
   We are very passionate about our work and credit where credit is due. I don’t expect you to publish this but thought you should know as I respect the opinion and output of FormFiftyFive.


Sofia Leverbeck
4th May 2011
5:00 pm

2. Julian, HS is on Dalston’s website credited on all projects that was done while I was still with you guys, as you say, credit where credit is due…


Gareth Rutter
6th May 2011
10:47 am

3. If the site is for your company, and not your personal portfolio how can you think to use other studio’s work on there, even if credited? Surely your companies work should be there and that alone?


Jack
6th May 2011
12:43 pm

4. Hi folks, just caught up on this thread. I’ve now also linked HarrimanSteel.


john
6th May 2011
4:25 pm

5. Now this is a worthwhile discussion! In this instance Sofia did not claim that the work was created by Dalston, FFF made that mistake. To be honest I’ve noticed a lot of studios display work that was created while at previous employers, so if said designer was an integral part of the process, why shouldn’t they display on their new site? It has been credited as the work of the original agency. It’s not been plagiarised, in fact its a heads up.
   Who does the work belong to? Is it at the discretion of the employer and employee?


Bob
7th May 2011
6:47 am

6. I agree with Gareth. Personal portfolio, yes. Your new studio, no way.

   Bad form Sofia. Sounds like HarrimanSteel didn’t get a phone call or email from their previous employee. Why should Dalston be able to cash in on HarrimanSteelhard work? For credit in 6pt?

   All in all some great work being done!


Dancer
9th May 2011
9:17 am

7. Bob, I would probably get your facts right before throwing around accusations. Dalston never claimed the work was theirs and HS never mentioned that Sofia did not have permission, and by their post I can *assume* that Sofia did get permission.

   Also, what’s with the “6pt” comment… have you actually seen the website (Assuming it has not changed).

   I think it is fine to show work produced at other agencies if:

   a) Credit is given
   b) Permission is sought
   c) The Designer has indeed worked on the project… We all work hard on our projects and I think it’s the least the agency could do is grant permission.


Rob
9th May 2011
9:57 am

8. Agreed with Dancer. If permission has been given then there is no argument, if there is no permission then it is a copyright issue.


Bob
9th May 2011
12:48 pm

9. Dancer, you tell me to get my facts right in your 1st sentence, then make your own *assumption* in your 2nd! Looking at the first post from HS and Sofia’s reply, their was no correspondence at all.

   As I mentioned before, no qualms for the work to go into a personal portfolio. But to showcase that work for your own business is different, even if is credit given. Studios work hard to get their clients – why should Dalston be able to cash in on HS work? Get your own clients and showcase your own work!

   Any studio owners out there – what are your thought’s? Am I being pedantic?


Spencer
9th May 2011
12:56 pm

10. Employment contracts tend to cover this area pretty rigidly for full-time employees. There seems to be an accepted standard that differs for full-time employees, and freelancers/independents. At one agency, my full-time contract even stipulated that I couldn’t display work in my own personal portfolio, and they enforced it.

    I think full-timers and freelancers should be able to display absolutely all of their own (100%) work in their personal portfolio, with credit to the commissioning agency of course. If someone trades as a freelancer/independent under a brand name/studio, again it’s fine but it should be made even more obvious who commissioned the job.

    I don’t believe at all however that individuals should be able take their portfolio from one agency to another, even as a start up. It’s just misleading. Even worse to list them in the client list! This is something we should all stand pretty firm on or we run the risk of having silliness like 5 agencies displaying the same work simply because the designer worked there at some point. We all know that the design is a small part of the process when it comes to big clients and campaigns, and the designer certainly should be allowed to take all of the credit with them wherever they might choose to go.

    Otherwise, I could just hire someone who once worked at Mother and see our portfolio and client list instantly improve dramatically. And that would be ridiculous.


Spencer
9th May 2011
12:58 pm

11. *certainly shouldn’t


Shirley
9th May 2011
12:59 pm

12. I see this is all ironed out now but I just wanted to add (after reading Gareth and Bob’s comments), that as a newly established studio (registered or not) you may not have a lot of new work to show on your website and if you do then it might not show your full set of skills. Maybe you’ve been doing a lot of newspaper ads or flyers to pay the rent . Maybe it’s front-end web design through collaboration and the site isn’t live. Maybe you’ve been freelancing at studios while you try and build up your own client base and they give you a lot of artworking to do. This is exactly the situation I am in now and as much as I’d love to start with a clean slate and show my own work I will be showing work I did in my previous 2 jobs. I have already gained permission to do so, with a full credit and web link, and when my site goes live there will be a ‘portfolio’ page and an ‘experience’ page. Hopefully with time I can remove the projects and continue to add my own work.


Skill
9th May 2011
8:20 pm

13. Dodge.

    No way can you take work from one studio to another! (or a new studio that you have started).

    You could get in some serious trouble.

    If the previous studio has given you written permission then fine (but they would be stupid to do so! it would not benefit them in any way).

    Employees don’t own the work, the studio does. The client commissioned the STUDIO to do the work, NOT the individual. The client payed the studio for the work, not the employee.

    .


Sofia Leverbeck
10th May 2011
4:12 pm

14. Just to clarify, permission was given by HarrimanSteel for Dalston to use, as long if it was credited, which it is. It was just unfortunate that HS wasn’t mentioned in the first place.

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