As a graphic designer, what should you do if you find your work in someone else's portfolio?

Have an attorney send him a cease and desist letter with a clear deadline in it.

If he doesn’t comply, sue his ass for infringement of intellectual property.

I’ve considered this solution already. In fact, the first thing I did was contact the owner of the company I used to work, who was already in the process of contacting lawyers, as he has other unauthorized work up on his site. For me personally, however, this route looks like it will cost more than it’s worth, as a lawyer can charge up to $1000 to do the proper research and write a letter. Thanks still!

Ask if a compromise can be made? If he was Jr. at your company, perhaps he feels he contributed to making it? (Unless I’m misunderstanding his position)

Maybe you can find a good generic cease and desist online and email it :D
It would scare me enough to remove it!

Did he actually work on it as a production artist? It depends on how he’s representing the work. If he’s saying he designed it, that’s one thing. If he’s saying he did the page composition (assuming he did), that’s quite another.

I wonder if the Better Business Bureau would be of any help, or your community’s graphic design organization/ad club?

Or maybe contact a nearby law school and see if they have a pro bono legal clinic? or try this listing from the American Bar Association?

Thanks for the suggestions people!

To clarify, he is SHOWCASING the work: http://studio365.ca/krupa.html
I got him to layout 2 back pages of the catalog (which I later retouched). However, I developed and sold through the concepts, sourced the flower pics, art directed the product shots, did all the photoshop assembly and retouching, did all the type, and prepped it for production—(I’ve worked my way up from production design/pre-press, so I work to production-ready files). Basically, I threw him a 2-page spread to keep him busy… does this warrant a feature portfolio piece in his (or anyone’s) book? Had he only put the spread he did on display, then perhaps I wouldn’t mind so much… but he’s showing one of the main images (which took me some time to put together in Photoshop—notice the reflections/shadows/blurs and pink of the flower reflecting on the ring—that was some serious clipping/feathering/retouching work!) as well as the cover, which again was my work (1 of 4 image concepts presented). Anyone savvy enough will notice that none of the other pieces look anything like that piece—which is probably why he’s using it. Apparently there’s a few more pieces on there that aren’t his. I was actually notified of the situation by other designers who are also claiming that their work is on his site.

We’re all counting on the company owner to take legal action (since the work he has up there is unauthorized and a breach of contract). But, who knows when that will happen.

Currently trying pressure tactics… so if you think what he’s doing is wrong, feel free to email him your opinion… his email addy is on his site through the link above.

Cheers, and thank you for your help.

The clear implication to any viewer is that that image is his work. Assuming that your claim is true, this is grossly misrepresenting it. In your place I would definitely seek legal support. This display is diminishing the value of your work and may also be a violation of copyright (if the brochure is copyright-protected and he doesn’t have a contract allowing him to use it). In my completely nonprofessional lay opinion.

He’s on LinkedIn, and that’s where someone wanting to hire him would check him out, so perhaps there’s a way to bring awareness of his transgressions through there. Also, I would make sure the Montreal Ad Club and the Canadian Ad Club are aware of what’s going on.

You could create a Facebook page in his name, with an open profile, link to his page, and explain his lack of honor. When you google someone’s name, you always get the Facebook hit. Anyone wanting to hire him will do that.

Thanks! I’ll definitely hit up the Montreal and Cdn Ad Clubs (didn’t even know there was such a thing!).

As for Facebook, I’ve already posted a bad review on his business page.

If my only proof of truth are PDF layout pages with my name on the slug, as well as alt cover image concepts, would that be good enough evidence to prove that the work is actually mine?

I ask, because I’ll assume people will want proof, as I’m sure this type of thing occurs often.

The company I was working for (technically) owns the piece, and all my linears are with them. However, to ask them to go digging through 5 years of files to prove my case, may not be something they’re willing to do.

It’s like people looking at Matisse’s work, and thinking “I could do that.” Perhaps he’s looking at the work and thinking. “I could have designed that if I had been given the chance.”

As for proving it, did you do timesheets? Client billing with time codes is the easiest way in an agency to prove who did what.

Unfortunately, the company’s billing and timekeeping weren’t that sophisticated at that time. I helped build the studio systems and processes during my stint. Prior to that, we used punch cards to record working hours.

There will, of course, be some sort of justice when a client says “I’m looking for the kind of work you did on the Krupa brochure.”

That’s what hurts us as a community—when designers are hired on false merit, only to let clients down. That client (if they haven’t worked with a professional designer before) will then have a bad perspective on graphic designers in general. We already have to fight to prove that business only benefits from good design—what then, if more and more businesses don’t believe in professional graphic designers? It makes it harder for all of us.

Furthermore, if I approach the same client/agency for a job (and they’ve seen his portfolio before mine) then my own credibility is thrown into doubt… and that would suck.

Same thing happens to freelance writers and freelance editors. I agree: it sucks. Approaching a client who’s been burnt or traumatized by a bad experience and winning his or her confidence is more of a challenge than some of us are prepared for, no matter how good our professional skills.

I have made it a point to keep my own work samples, showing stages of progress, regardless of who was paying me. I can prove my own claims to ownership.

Good point and good practice.

I’ve started to do that as well, especially as the projects I’ve been working on have been getting bigger and I now have teams of designers doing alot of the production/design work. I now show two portfolios when interviewing: 1-with finished pieces 2-with concept work and thumbnail linears.

I’ve been told to take this situation as a bit of a compliment… if it wasn’t good, he wouldn’t have stolen it. Problem is, it’s one of my feature pieces when interviewing for magazine/book work… and although I now have stronger pieces to show, it’s still one I like to talk about since I took it from concept through to production… and 5 years later, it still looks good! (at least, I think so ;)

No reason you should sit still for theft even if it were your poorest work. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, perhaps, but outright misappropriation is an affront to decency. I would not value a compliment from a person of so little integrity.

Where did the photography come from? Was it printed? Who did the press checks?

Somewhere in all this is a good lesson in documenting your work and file naming. My background in is ad agencies and marketing.

We had an in-house photographer that I worked with… and I learned alot from him! He was way more experienced than I was, yet he allowed me art direct the product shots in terms of angles, and what I wanted to do with them. The flowers were purchased through a stock photo site—and yes, I did the search and selection myself. I did the press checks, as well as the prepress work. I have a few of the finished printed copies… I always like to show the actual finished work (as long as it fits in my bag).

Jeruba: I know what you’re saying… just trying to keep a positive perspective :)

Tell a bitch the showdown is about to begin and draw a picture of your kicking their ass then put that in your profile and see what happens. Especially if they hotlinked that sh*t then just replace the image with the ass kicking one haha

Unfortunately, if you did this work while you were employed by a company, you forfeit all rights to the intellectual property. You don’t own the look, your employer does. You can claim you created it, but I don’t believe that you can bring a suit against him. Your employer, however, can make that claim.

Honestly, I think the healthiest thing you can do is to try to let it go. If you work in the business long enough, you will get screwed. I designed this logo for a cycling team to use, and only the cycling team. The owner of the bike shop which was the main sponsor, who ironically told me flat out that he hated the mark :), ended up using it for his store, and has been for the past four years. I approached him one day and showed him the signed invoice for the project which clearly stated what it was to be used for and that all other applications would require written approval and he basically laughed. Needless to say I was furious. But in the end I decided that it just wasn’t worth the hassle. Now I look back at it as a lesson in a missed opportunity to up-sell my work. I should have convinced him to do the complete brand overall early on and charged 10 times what I did.