Pay Your Interns

Last week, in our Design and Intention class, we were asked to "design a poster addressed to fellow designers, urging them to practice ethically." This was the second time we've undertaken a poster trying to encourage someone to stop a particular mode of behavior.

It's hard.

You want to steer clear of any language which sounds like moralistic preaching or proselytizing. People shut down when a message is too critical or accusatory. I was quite pleased with my previous solution for this problem and received a good deal of positive feedback for it. But the audience was more focused this time around.

Rather than trying to tackle a massive, weighty issue that designers are, in part, responsible for (sustainability, the commercialization of culture, poor business practice), I opted for a more personal approach. When I first began the program, I knew that I would likely get a summer internship between the first and second year. I was, however, appalled to find that there was a pretty good chance, in keeping with tradition, I wouldn't be getting paid for my work. Bullshit, right?

After rejecting a few photographic set ups I had for my concept, I settled on the image of a disheveled, Dickensian graphic design intern, begging for change, armed only with his MacPro. Steve and Areej hit the streets with me, acting as photographers, art directors and bodyguards, ensuring the computer wouldn't get nabbed by passersby. Another of our classmates, Nick, wandered by during his cigarette break and leant the coffee cup for additional prop goodness. Steve took just short of 100 pictures, some of which I've included below. Click on the final poster for a larger res copy.







(By the by, kerning is the space between each character and word. Much emphasis in the design world is placed on hand-kerning text to ensure beauty and correct layout. Milton thought that "Will Kern For Food" should be the head and "Pay Your Interns" the subhead. I'm on the fence about it.)