Creators and designers have an amazing role of creating
something out of nothing but vague notions and whimsical ideas. But the whole
process is quite exciting and emotional inspite of being performed in exchange
of monetary incentives. That is the joy and pain of creating. With numerous
hours of mind jostling dialogues within and with clients to crack the best
solution that fits the purpose and does much more aesthetically and
psychologically to connect with the audience. It is only natural to take pride
in owning up to something created by the group that ripped their neurons apart
to find that concrete discernible solution out of thin air. But, it isn’t
always that the brief is coming from the blue, often the work is familiar,
similar to something, something like a solution that needs to be improved,
beautified, repackaged and so on. How many times do we get approached for a
ground breaking design solution, one that never existed before? Ha, that’s easy
you could count on your fingers. Its nice to say that every project is new but
we know how ideas and processes get re-jigged thanks to numerous references
that can be found. But for a new idea that has never been thought of? What
about it? Here’s what you would have come across...
Although it is exciting to work on new ideas its best to be
done with those you know very well. Why? Trust! There’s whole lot trust and
assurance that need to be exchanged if you are a starter and most often
confronted by clients and/or companies and agencies who are willing to hire
your services in exchange of an agreement a.k.a the NDA...no its not a
political party although an equally toxic creature. That is our cloaked foe the
Non-Disclosure Agreement. Why so caustic one may wonder. Most agreements are
introduced as harmless veils and something that is only to protect the work in
consideration from being private. How straightforward and simple, if things
were this way in reality? Indeed, nobody wants to release the work in its raw
form, work-in-progress status.... and if the idea is truly revolutionary why
would anybody concerned with the designing not want to keep it in wraps? But
then come the Clause(s) (read claws). There has to be a catch in the phrase
rather paraphrase right? So then come a trail of clauses (in contractual lingo
a clause is a statement that defines the terms and conditions under which the
agreement is drafted as a document {whose length is as per the size of the
client’s business and project}).
So, the clauses are designed elements of this creature
called NDA. Yes, it is an ultimate design to nail down one’s own creativity to a
paper (e-paper) with one’s own admission and signature. Some NDA’s are
straightforward in seeking confidentiality of the creative person whose unique
ideas will be the driver of this unreleased design be it software, game, film,
document, program, product, service etc. But most also pin down the creator to
relinquish their creations over to the client and some even more devious ones (truly
devil’s in the details) can delineate the real estate of a designer. They can
actually prohibit the designer to venture into a sector for a certain duration
of time. It’s like debarring a child who takes the same route to school and
forcing him/her to find an alternative because the roads been booked/ leased/
bought over and thus not to be trespassed, even if the child contributed his/
her free time collecting funds to build the road.
The other kind of venom from some of these clauses is the
one that asks the creator to refrain from admitting that s/he was the creator.
That is ad absurdum. The power of an agreement to turn back time? Kudos to
whoever said Impossible is Nothing.
As a passionate young designer who believes in the model of
collaboration and co-creation these 21st century incidents are
reminiscent of the plight of all those nameless, faceless craftsmen who once
built the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan took all their credit, may be some was left for
the architect/ planner but what remains hidden and forgotten are the names of
all those skilled artisans who painstakingly slogged to created the marble
marvel and later as the folklore goes even lost the very hands with which they
created the masterpiece. Does money, status, a piece of paper/ agreement for
that matter have immense power to erase from history the time and effort put in
by creators and contributors to a massive mission?
Any business big or small is a massive mission at hand until
it is realised. In its realisation a host of services and facilities are a
staple requirement that come from many individuals and organisations. Since its
a given thing that no one person with a unique idea is capable of realising
that at any cost. But may be at the cost of an entire lifetime with extreme
patience and persistence, traits which are inherent to very few wise clients of
this era or to clients open enough to hire designers that establish an
understanding and trust. There that’s where this article comes a full circle.
In the end irrespective of language, literacy, educational qualification,
position, power, status, location, language, etiquette, manners, habits
whatsoever that differentiates us as humans one thing that does unite us is
TRUST. One other thing is TOLERANCE. With trust if we have the ability to
tolerate the other person’s whims and fancies we have a peaceful state where
both are free doing what they do. This is immensely important and appropriate
in this regard.
An agreement is only to certify a mutual acceptance of terms
and conditions. It is drafted with the fear of an unforeseen dispute or
malpractice that arises from doubt and lack of trust on both sides and hence
further safeguarded with further discomforting clauses. As a young practice
there is a great deal to be learned about this practice of applying archaic feudal
laws of dealing with distrust for avant garde times. Physically these
agreements are like glass boxes, (some even multiple-walled) through which the
client and designer communicate. The basis of building a relationship and trust
is communication and free exchange of ideas and the very same is hindered by
these impenetrable walls. What’s more to ensure nothing leaks out of these
glass
boxes are seals that lock in all information with the Client. This is the
shackle named Copyrights. While Copyrights have had great use for artists and
creators in the publishing industry of print, film, music, science and
technology, there are others who have had to regularly give away their works in
exchange of money and anonymity. Can a parent ever sign an adoption agreement
from of his/her child the richest organisation with the clause that states that
the child is not theirs and they have nothing to do with the child forever or
for the duration of the agreement? Why treat design as a commodity that can be
parted away with in exchange of incentives? It is great to be detached with
one’s work of art/ creation but to the point of anonymity?
Often the commercial film industry is sneered at for its
frivolous, dark and unholy practices but what is inspiring and worth learning
from this field is the way every smallest of small contribution from the crew
is faithfully credited for and made part of the last 1-2 minutes of credits for
a 60-90 minutes film. As an advocate of collaborative thinking, its truly
overwhelming to stay on those extra 2 minutes and admire the host of
individuals and organisations who have partaken in creating the 60-90 minutes
wonder. On a human level it feels great to know that a collective creation is
so much worth the money one spent in experiencing it. Why then is design to be
more specific graphic or strategic design of to be released products/ services
so harsh on the creators pushed to oblivion to maintain secrecy?
To me this
aspect of design is not much of a problem for established designers as much as
it is for budding designers. And as the designer gains more foothold of the
design arena, terms can be spelled out in black and white. Also, there is a
personal take on what the designer considers legitimate and fair and what it is
to cross the line. My personal take is this that NDA’s and agreements if they
are meant to be must be true to their word an NDA being only a certificate of
confidentiality and an agreement/ contract a certificate of the committed
service, quality, duration, cost and in case of failure the applicable
penalties/ overcharges. When it comes to copyrights that a whole different
ballgame but for the creator to own the credits to his/her own work is no
copyright infringement. A melodious and soulful song Vande Mataram may be the property
of the record company but the composer and singer was and always will be
remembered as A.R. Rahman. That to me is the recognition and acknowledgement a
designer must always enjoy, if not then it is clear that s/he is yet to find a
secure trustworthy collaborative environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment