Hello Tuesday,
Today I am writing something different in my blog... Something that most of you designers have already written or are thinking of writing in near future. The topic is nothing new or amazing... Its just as simple as it can be ---
'' My design has been copied by a company and is been used without my permission/without my knowledge!!! ''
So, is there anything new in this--- ah, NO!!! YUP, I hear this answer.
Most of you, my fellow designers/artist, have been going through this pain of getting your work copied and used without your permission. I know it hurts. Whether the company that uses it is big or small, but you are genuinely hurt. You are hurt because you are not given any credit of all those hard work, all those super brilliant ideas that had gone wasted just to create that ''simple'' design/artwork that catches other's eyes and are stolen quietly, printed on some beautiful products (as it is or may be sometimes the colours are changed to misguide
YOU---THE CREATOR!!! )
Haa...haa... funny, isn't it???
And the one common thing you'll notice in all these crime is that the cheaters are designers themselves...!!! Working for some GREAT and REPUTED companies. Getting a good pay cheques for the cheating done properly--- very cleverly!
This is the case with me. My
''LOTUS MOTIF'' that I had posted in this blog sometimes in
Aug-2011 has been copied and printed as stationery product, and now it is very gracefully decorating one of the shelves of an Indian company ---
INDIA CIRCUS!!!
In my very own country, wow, really!!! Amazed, are you...??? Hmm... me too!
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You would have noticed that I used the word---
AGAIN --- in my blog title. Wondering why I used this word! Hmmm? Simply because this is not the first time that my design has been copied and used by some company... Yes, you guessed right, it had happened to me a few times before too... and may be now I am quite used to it too (smile).
I know I am a fabulous designer! No, not kidding, seriously!
OK, OK, jokes apart, how do you feel or what do you do in such a situation...? OK, what I did was to keep mum, yes, I didn't had guts to fight with big companies... I was new in this
treacherous industry at that time!
But now I have learned from my experience that
''This is a highly competitive industry, and everyone is ready to cut your throat to get to the TOP!''
I am a designer too... I am a hard-working surface designer, burning my midnight oil to create every single motifs/repeat patterns... And the result ends in getting it been copied and selling elsewhere without my knowledge. Why? Am I cheating on any other fellow designer? Am I copying your work to get that topmost position in this creative market? No, I am not doing anything like this.
Why do people don't understand that without true knowledge, without creativity inside you, how many times will you cheat others and get the credit??? Don't you feel any guilt when the companies praise you for your super brilliant ideas and designs that are not originally your own??? Do you ever get the peace within when you know deep inside your heart that you are not a designer--- YOU ARE A CHEATER!!!
I am a designer and have written very clearly in GOOD ENGLISH too that I do commissioned work and give my designs for licensing too!!! So, why don't these cheaters read these lines when they come to my blog searching for some ''so-called inspiring designs and ideas'', and who all the time end in coping my design--- taking all the credit and leaving me feel hurt and lost! LOOSERS--- that's what we are, isn't it..???
Its simply because we are the people who always stay behind the scene. Because we are the people with small websites and no big and famous brands are behind our backs to support our talents--- our Creativity. We do commissioned works, meet deadlines, get cheated, rejected... but we never complain! NEVER!
I know I sound harsh today... very harsh, but this is the only way I can release my failures, my anger!
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Do you think I am wrong?
If you want to share your experience with the readers about how you felt when something similar happened to you, you are absolutely free to write it down in the comment area. And, if you want to be anonymous because of any fear then you can mail me about your thoughts and views... I will be glad to read it!
Thank you for your patience for reading this long post....
Have a lovely week ahead, see you all soon next week!