Shameless Self Promotion?

SamC

Junior Member
Ok,

I’m relatively new here and am looking forwarding to hearing from the voice’s of experience.

I stumbled into design a while ago and have stayed within the same inhouse design team since then. Now I’m looking to spread my wings further and am wondering;

a) Are there any accepted limitations to what work I can/can’t show, or is it a case of I worked on it, I’m free to show it?
b) If my boss(es) have chosen one design and I would rather show case a different version of the same design is it worth me showing both and explaining or just my preferred versions?

I guess these could be individual threads and if they span that much debate so be it, but I look forward to your feedback/input.

Ta

Sam
 
I guess it depends on your relationship with your employer; have you asked them if you can showcase any work as such?
 
there are things in my portfolio that aren't the live versions. posters I've done, that the client prefered the over the top version rather than the restrained version.

If its your work, do what you want. not sure on the legality though if the work was for bigger customers.
 
blueocto - thanks for the feedback. No I haven’t asked my employer. As I’m hoping self promotion will lead to extra curricular employment and possibly a whole new job this isn’t the easiest subject to broach.

mrp2049 - Also thanks. The work isn’t directly for big customers that are going to be overly possessive of their work and I’m sure there isn’t an issue with showing the differences. I was more after an opinion on is it worth explaining that my final design wasn’t what I wanted to do - is the benefit of showing I’m prepared to give the clients what they want greater than admitting the final design wasn’t what I wanted? does that make sense?
 
SamC said:
mrp2049 - Also thanks. The work isn’t directly for big customers that are going to be overly possessive of their work and I’m sure there isn’t an issue with showing the differences. I was more after an opinion on is it worth explaining that my final design wasn’t what I wanted to do - is the benefit of showing I’m prepared to give the clients what they want greater than admitting the final design wasn’t what I wanted? does that make sense?

I think designer client relationship is important, and yes there are times when you don't get an end product that is exactly what you would have done, but we aren't artist (don't jump on my choice of word there anyone please) we are designers, we create our work for a purpose and that purpose is to satisfy our clients wants. At the end of the day, you did the work in the first place, so you should be relatively happy with the outcome regardless?

the myspace design I've just done (check the work/feedback section), its not the way I would have done it, but they prefer it that way, and I don't hate it.

Sometimes its easy to be a bit overprotective of your/our work and at times, we shouldn't. A good client can help the process. That help?
 
Im pretty sure that work created while at agencies for clients actually belongs to the agency, you DO have to ask permission to show it. Give berry a PM because I think hes said similar on here in the past.
 
That would be my view too, I don't know of any company that would allow a employee to show off company work as their own without permission.
 
mrp2049 - Thanks for that, I agree that the client can help the process and I’ve gotten into the habit of not being too over protective of my designs, I think this conversation could go down a long and winding route about compromise etc...

All I’m wondering is, is there much benefit in displaying the process, including different directions as part of my portfolio rather than just the finished article - thanks for your advice, guess I haven’t been wording my queries very well :)

Br3n Levi and others - looks like I’m going to have to bite the bullet and speak to my boss about this before I progress it far.

However out of curiosity has anyone ever had an employer say no?

Thanks for the feedback
 
SamC said:
However out of curiosity has anyone ever had an employer say no?

As an Employer the answer is 100% Yes!

Think very carefully, there are 2.8 million people unemployed.

Never take someone's food if they are paying for it. ( BB Book of Life)
 
Photography, Illustration and Freelance is a different copyright issue. They are not paid employees, but sub contracted and the origination is their copyright and their intellectual property not the agency ( unless assigned). Employee infingement and usage of intellectual property is cut and dried. ( Trust me... I paid £15k for that mistake many years ago). Always ask permission - but expect a refusal. Ask, what's in it for them? Who benefits?

A man who didn't make a mistake , didn't learn anything. ( BB Book of Life.. the expensive edition)
 
the expensive edition of the BB BoL is that the one with the leather cover or the signed copy? :p
 
Ok, thanks for all your feedback. Interesting to see how complex this is, I guess the complexities of a personal portfolio are more, well complex then expected.

Any thoughts on the benefits of showing the process over just the final product?
 
Depends on your market I guess. Average client wont really care about the process just the finnished article, employer might dig a little deeper into the design but end of the day its what you come up with that matters.
 
Berry said:
Think very carefully, there are 2.8 million people unemployed.

Never take someone's food if they are paying for it. ( BB Book of Life)
Out of 6 billion people on earth... 2.8 isn't too shabby, is it? :p
 
If you're going to show work you have done for your employer as your own personal work be clear in crediting it - "design produced for [client] whilst employed at [company]" , I have a public facing part of my website and a hidden part I only provide a link to for recruiters or once conversations about possibly employment have begun.

Also be clear if you are part of a team as to what it is exactly you have be responsible. I've worked on lots of educational CD roms, but my part has been small - maybe just some layered flash artwork, static illustrations or GUI layouts. Credit the people around you "Under the employment of [company] I produceed static screen designs and icon sets for this [project], working as part of the development team in ..."

In summary it's good carreer advice to "Never piss anyone off" you never know when you might cross paths again and what influence they might have on your carreer in the future. I have freelanced for numerous old bosses or colleagues, people that I've worked with in the past have often opened new opportunites for me. Be nice and stay likeable!
 
I've also worked on some jobs where I have had to sign that I would not use for self promotion and that once the job had been handed over I had to confirm that all electronic copies had been removed from my computer and that no backups were kept. I have stuck to this!
 
A credit is not enough. Permission must be granted by the Employer who holds the legal copyright assignment for work. If you are a freelancer and have been subcontracted the intellectual copyright is yours unless passed over to the client. Paid employers have no right to claim any ownership or to display anypiece of work without full permission and assignment. If you do, you are in clear legal copyright breach.
 
Onartis said:
Out of 6 billion people on earth... 2.8 isn't too shabby, is it? :p

60 mill in the UK, and I can not begin to hazard a guess how many of that 60 are the active workforce.
 
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