I haven’t emphasized this in class at all because I didn’t know if it would become a problem and I don’t want to assume bad will in anyone.
But…
it’s become clear that many of you are using outside graphics (vector packs and/or icons) in your work for class. If I give you an assignment and I am assessing your level of skill with a particular software program and design language, I expect that I am assessing your work and not someone else’s. So, if you give me something that relies on another person’s graphics, I am assessing partially you and partially that other person. By my standards, that is plagiarism. SJU defines it as:
using information, ideas or language of another without proper citation, attribution, or acknowledgment of its source.
If you download other people’s work (graphics, photographs, outlines, vector packs, etc.) from the internet and use it in an assignment you submit to me with no attribution or acknowledgement of your source, that is plagiarism. It is the same thing as copying a paragraph from the internet and pasting it into your paper with no citation. At the very least, you need to include a note on Blackboard to say “I used sources from xyz website.” Even better, I expect that you would verify the license of your sources — they should be licensed (under Creative Commons or something else) for modification. And even better make your own graphics! You worked through Chapters 1-3 in Foundations — why not put those skills to use? You are reading about layout in White Space — why not practice with an original layout instead of downloading an InDesign template from the internet?
In short, avoid using other people’s graphics unless the assignment tells you to. Keep your designs simple and within your skill range. And if you do use other people’s stuff, you have to cite your sources.