Helly Hansen is among the many companies accused on several websites for ripping off older logos. Some of the world’s most recognizable logos may have come from a 1989 design book, which Kendall Baker investigates in an The Hustle article titled “Did Airbnb, Medium, Beats, and Flipboard Rip off Their Logos?”
In an interesting piece on Medium, Ferdinand Vogler attempts to distinguish between stealing and copying in design:
“Copying is different. It’s the way we learn. Think about how babies grow-up and learn new skills: they imitate their parents. Thousands of years ago some iconic Roman sculptures were created by casting exact copies of Greek statues. By copying we are acknowlodging the past and building upon existing knowledge. I taught myself how to program by copying code from other websites and playing around with it. Copying means being influenced by an idea and applying it in a different form and context. It pays tribute to the originator and always challenges the appropriate use for itself.”
The gritty process of changing a logo
When a company wants to reinvent something about its business, a logo change is a natural place to turn, writes Maura Brannigan in Fashionista. Historically speaking, fashion brands wouldn’t touch its logos, even during the biggest of in-house upheavals. Last year, however, loads of fashion houses rebranded.
“The logos trending most frequently of late could not, as a concept, be any more averse to shock-and-awe. Both Calvin Klein and DVF’s relaunched titles embrace a bare-minimum, all-black typeface. Balenciaga’s, too, became more compact. “It has to work on a phone screen,” says Russell, adding that today’s logos also must get enough height in a square space.”
Check out logos, old and new, for yourself, in Logobook.