Designing Logo's, or anything I guess!!

[jwmdesign]

Hi everyone,

A few months ago I created a logo which I love and the client loves.

Over the weekend I was searching the web when I happen to come across a design that was very similar to the logo I designed. I'm actually a bit gutted as I thought what I designed was unique (I'm not acusing anyone of copying and I certainly never copied their design).

Anyway, this prompted me to do a little research and I discovered that there are soooo many logo's out there that are very similar or almost to the point where they are exactly the same - which is quite worrying!

Is there such a thing as a unique design?

Whoever I design for, I always tell them it will be completely unique - but is it completely unique? am I lying to them?

What does everyone else think, I assume this is an issue for all designers.

James

[Acuity]

everything that is done, has been done before - you just may not know about it.

to be original and unique is a golden grail. every new artist has influences in their work from a predecessor etc etc...

[MickyO]

If you look hard enough everything will have some influence or similar style, but you can tell the really obvious ones...

LogoSauce™ - Truth Sh

and

LogoPond - Identity Inspiration

Way to similar to not have been copied.

Which are yours?

[Design-Disaster]

logosauce = ripped ideas (FACT)

[zumojuice]

It is interesting. It is not excepted that everything has gone before and that everything is a hybrid of the past; if that is a known reference or not.

Of course, those influences to their original creators had to come from somewhere. I guess you can look at it two ways. Either that designers in the past had lots of free reign and created much more imaginative design, where today we are constantly linked to what has gone before; or that there is this previous body of work, whos creators got their influences else where.

With anything now, they are the most often followed routes and then the less so.
Logotype work is a more direct niche, so I not at all surprised that logos will begin to look like each other, intentional or not.

Fact is, one of the ways many of us come into design, is by seeing great design and wanting to emulate it (not copy!); our deconstruction of this design work gives us a design sense; what works and what does not.

[Laura Lynne]

Originally Posted by Design-Disaster

logosauce = ripped ideas (FACT)

Not all, not all

[Cwilk]

Unfortunately the fact is that symbols and shapes are all common and can't be copyrighted because of the obvious. But if you change them enough, and you come up with a cool idea from them, someone is bound to come along and change your idea enough to make it their own cool idea.

I was pretty peaved about someone on LS trying to tell me that a train logo I did was ripped from one on LP. As I stated on LS, all train logos derive from the historical logos or icons so technically the logo on LP that the people claimed I ripped is actually a rip too.

Having said that, the blatant ones are blatant. If you do them blatantly, you'll be found out if someone has gone through the legal channels to trademark them.