The Letterville BullBoard: ethics question

This is topic ethics question in forum Old Archives at The Letterville BullBoard.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.letterville.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/13/2516.html

Posted by Rick Cooper (Member # 375) on :

Ok, one of our small time graphic artists comes in and says she really admires the logo we did for a local painter- his signs, trucks, etc. She's real nice and deaf so we try to accomodate her.

So two days later she has a client who needs site signs and truck graphics and she sends us the logo she designed for him in the next town, 10 minutes away. So here is mine on the left and hers on the right (hope this works)

So what's the professional opinion out there?

Has she got alot of nerve or what? Or am I overreacting and it's not a big deal? I should call her and complain- should I refuse the work? What would you do?

------------------
Rick Cooper
Sierra Sign & Award
Lake Tahoe, USA
www.engrave.pctrader.com
$$$Letterheads Website Supporter$$$

"The early bird gets the worm but the second
mouse gets the cheese."

Posted by Christian Slager (Member # 1074) on :

I don't see the problem... That is a popular thing to do for a painting company... I've done the same thing tons of times... so whats the deal?

------------------
Christian S.
Slager's Budget Signs
Bradenton, Florida
BudgetSigns.Graphics@verizon.net

Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :

Rick...Aside from the fact that both images have a paintbrush involved, I can't see any similarity at all between the two. And if you think about it, I'll bet that 75% of all painting companies either have a brush or a roller or a paintcan or all three involved in their logos, so a paintbrush isn't exactly a unique idea.

It is no big deal and I would take the work!

------------------
Dave Grundy
AKA "applicator" on mIRC
"stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!"
in Granton, Ontario, Canada
1-519-225-2634
dave.grundy@quadro.net
www.quadro.net/~shirley

Posted by Neil D. Butler (Member # 661) on :

Ditto to all of the above.. you know there is nothing really original under the sun, and if reality were known, I bet we all draw inspiration from other peoples artwork or design...to a certain degree. No you should'nt copy other peoples designs... but you can get Ideas from them.
Neil

------------------
"Keep Positive"

SIGNS1st.
Neil Butler
Paradise, NF

Posted by Rick Cooper (Member # 375) on :

That's what I love about this! I can get on the board and get my brain calibrated!

So I didn't invent the paintbrush thing, huh?
I'll get an original thought one of these days ;-)

Thanks you guys!

------------------
Rick Cooper
Sierra Sign & Award
Lake Tahoe, USA
www.engrave.pctrader.com
$$$Letterheads Website Supporter$$$

"The early bird gets the worm but the second
mouse gets the cheese."

Posted by Pierre St.Marie (Member # 1462) on :

Hey, Rick!! That looks exACTly like MY design. Please remit $14.27 at your earliest convenience!

:^)

------------------
St.Marie Graphics
& Makin' Tracks Sound Studio
Kalispell, Montana
stmariegraphics@centurytel.net http://www.stmariegraphics.com
800 735-8026
We're chiseling every day of the week! :^)

Posted by Stephen Deveau (Member # 1305) on :

May the Best Person Win!
Can you hear this!
I like her design as there is colour to her Palette..or Brush or Design or Sign..

------------------
Raven/2001
Airbrushed by Raven
Lower Sackville N.S.
deveausdiscovery@sprint.ca

Posted by Pierre St.Marie (Member # 1462) on :

Thanks, Steverino! I was afraid to say it first.

:^)

Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :

She also used the three primary colors.

------------------
"autograph your work with excellence"

Wayne Webb
Webb Sign Studio
Chipley, FL
850.638.9329
webbsignstudio@digitalexp.com

Posted by Linda Silver Eagle (Member # 274) on :

I like the boldness in her design but would have an issue with the pho numb coz it's too bold to read...without my reading glasses, anyway...there's a lot of folks who will get the blurry version. The color is nice as well, but I think something in the middle would be better.

The first design, has some nice elements in it, however, it's weak from a distance...I term that "stringy." Yet, it is readable.

I did a design with a paintbrush in it for a customer, that's what they asked for...it's hard not put it in, if that's what they demand. I don't think theft of design is an issue. If they went to her after you, they may have showed the design to her and asked her to come up with one that would show up from a greater distance, or asked for color, with a simple twist to it. That puts her in a tight spot...but she did a nice job.

------------------
DrQuill - Mural Woman
PEACE SIGNS
logodesign2@icqmail.com
Georgia, USA

Posted by Cam Bortz (Member # 55) on :

No offense, Rick, but script on an arch makes my skin crawl..... well, you asked.

------------------
"A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson)

Cam
Finest Kind Signs
256 S. Broad St.
Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379
"Award winning Signs since 1988"

Posted by Bill Biggs (Member # 18) on :

I had a realtor once that complained to me
that I used his color on his competitors signs,
LOL, your problem is in the same ballpark.
one of the first designs I ever did was with a paintbrush swooshing across the sign leaving white letters in a red dash of paint saying J & L painting, and then a phone no underneath. That was in 1951. They still use
it till this very day.

Bill
PS:
I too think script in an arch is the pits, maybe slanted up or down, but not an arch, you don't write that way. That is as bad as
all caps old english, LOL.
Bill

------------------
Bill & Barbara Biggs
Art's Sign Service, Inc.
Clute, Texas, USA
Home of The Great Texas Mosquito Festival
Proud Third year Supporter of the Letterheads Website
MailTo:twobeesusa@netscape.net

Posted by Rick Cooper (Member # 375) on :

Hey! I wasn't looking for a critique!

You guys are tough! I guess you're right about the arch though, the customer loves it-
maybe I'll try all caps script on these people too.

Duh, the color is better on the colored logo! I used the b/w art for my plotter in this example, sheesh!

Thanks again for the advice.

------------------
Rick Cooper
Sierra Sign & Award
Lake Tahoe, USA
www.engrave.pctrader.com
$$$Letterheads Website Supporter$$$

"The early bird gets the worm but the second
mouse gets the cheese."

Posted by Cam Bortz (Member # 55) on :

I've rarely met a customer who didn't love lettering on a arch, even when it's script. They also love things like all-cap Old English, Murray Hill Bold, and all sorts of other unspeakable graphic disasters. Children love chocolate for breakfast, too. But that doesn't mean they should get it.

------------------
"A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson)

Cam
Finest Kind Signs
256 S. Broad St.
Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379
"Award winning Signs since 1988"

Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :

I can actually see why you were concerned. She utilized your angle of the brush and built her design around that. That's the only similarity I can see on this.

I wouldn't refuse the work. I'd suggest some small changes for better readability on her version to her. (and charge accordingly for it) After all, that's what we do best. Why not share what we're suppose to be good at?

If she says no, to keep it the way it is, well, whatever. Take the family out for a pizza with the money.

[This message has been edited by Donna in BC (edited April 03, 2001).]

Posted by Mark Jordan (Member # 291) on :

As a rule of thumb...I never steal artwork from a competitor who is less than 25 miles from me.

------------------
Mark Jordan
Houston, Texas
msign205@aol.com

UBB.classic™ 6.7.2