A student publication of a private university in Manila became a hot topic recently as it committed design blunders and received accusations of plagiarism.
Red Wire, a student paper of the University of the East, previously posted graphic artworks of the school’s men’s basketball team who will play at the UAAP Season 82 with a noticeable error on the slogan.
After fixing the mistake, the editorial board of Red Wire also issued an apology for it.
Shortly after, a Facebook user accused the publication of copying the design of another university paper.
‘Make It Count’
Red Wire’s initial artworks of the UE’s men’s basketball team accidentally spelled an obscene term by covering the letter O. Filipinos immediately criticized and poked fun at the posts online.
The photos were soon fixed and the editorial board also updated the album. The correct slogan is now: “Make It Count.”
Some Filipinos were still able to make screenshots of the blunder that’s either amusing or crass. The album made rounds more than 7,000 times on Facebook.
Posted by Vanz Goh on Sunday, September 1, 2019
Red Wire also posted a lengthy apology on August 30 for the trouble it caused and stressed that the design boo-boo was not intentional.
And I oop—that ain't supposed to be there.This time, we make it C(O)UNT.#BeyondConnections #MakeItCount
Posted by RedWire on Friday, August 30, 2019
“We assure you that the obscenity in our post is not intentional and far from the message we wanted to convey. We mean no ill will to UAAP, UE, and its basketball players. Our deepest apologies to our fellow UE students for the nuisance we might have caused,” the statement read.
“As an organization, Red Wire hopes to be a medium that knows how to acknowledge its mistakes and learn from its perceived mistakes,” it added.
It also acknowledged that its graphic designers were attempting “unorthodox” visuals, however, failed in doing so.
“We were simply trying to exercise our creative freedom by executing what we thought was aesthetically pleasing in our pubmats, but we seemed to have failed [in] doing it successfully,” it said.
Copying designs
University of the Philippinbes alumnus Jan Andrei Cobey noticed the similarities between Red Wire’s design with those of the materials released by the state university’s Diliman campus’ Philippine Collegian.
"Despite being a student organization with limited resources, we have done just that for the past four years with honor,…
Posted by Jan Andrei Cobey on Saturday, August 31, 2019
He did not indicate where he got the images from and when these were posted.
The Philippine Collegian, popularly known as Kulé, worked hard to come up with their online designs, Cobey stressed, and he lamented that another university’s paper would just copy them.
“During my time in the Philippine Collegian, the entire graphics team worked hard to deliver fresh design ideas that are unique and faithful to the current term’s design language and identity. It’s a long process, usually mulled over and scrutinized by the editorial board and later presented to the rest of the organization. This takes a couple of weeks at the very minimum, with plenty of sleepless nights and shattered egos,” he said.
Cobey went on and denounced Red Wire’s graphic designers for their lack of originality.
“That’s why this infuriates me. Mahiya naman sana kayo sa mga graphic designers who try their best to reinvent, innovate, and most importantly, stay original. You have done great disservice to the students you represent and serve,” he said.
Neither Red Wire nor the Philippine Collegian have released statements against this issue as of press time.
