Legal and Ethical Considerations of Afrikan Visual Design in the Digital Age

Abstract

The world is enthralled by the digital age and visual design because of its untold benefits for a greater
tomorrow. Africa is not left out in considerations of the effect of visual design in all aspects of individual
lives and the society in general. In the legal profession, visual design plays a particularly crucial role as
legal practitioners interact with visual design by creating visual material across a variety of formats like
the web, publishing and the industry in order to convey ideas and concepts. As such, the legal practitioner
plays multiple roles in the context of design; the legal advisor can be a designer, a client, or even render
legal services and must always take into cognizance, the legal and social issues that pertain to visual design
and this is especially important in the African context, as there is a struggle to harness the advantages of
the digital age without losing the region’s individual and communal talents, and culture. This paper will
adopt a doctrinal and desktop approach to examine emerging issues in visual design in Africa, vis-à-vis
some of the existing legal considerations that pertain to visual design such as intellectual property, visual
design rights and ethical considerations. The paper examines visual design and the legal dimensions
involved in this practice, in the context of the power of visual design to influence the digital age in Africa.