22 Blatant Graphic Design Rips Offs
Written by Jacob Cass on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 – 8:14 am -Here is a list of 22 possible blatant graphic design rips off - people who have possibly plagiarised others work? (They could also have been “borrowed”, have gotten “inspiration” from or maybe even had legal right to use them?).
The “originals” are on the left or on the top.
I have given links to the “designers” (people who have used similar aspects of the design) and given links to the supposed original designers where possible.
Illustration for Magazine and Myspace Ads
Original?: http://www.stenc-o-rama.com
Not So Original?: http://www.myspace.com/undergroundsunny
Illustration/Style Rip Off? Or just inspiration?
Original Designer?: http://www.jaspergoodall.com/
Not So Original?: http://www.dolceq.com/home.html
Lots of Album Cover RipOffs Or Homages?
Illustration to Shoebox cover
Original Designer: Simone Van Der Koelen.
Not So Original?: British Knights
Concave Ad Copy
Original? Concave
Not So Original?: Perth Express
Graffiti to Store Signage
Original Designer? Phibs
Not So Original? Smart Creative for JayJays Clothing Store
. 
Graffiti Letter Style
Original: Melbourne Graffiti Website
Not So Original?: Melbourne motorshow
Two clothing brands Original: Verte Clothing Not So Original?: Volcom Stone Clothing 
Nissan vs Btoy
Original? Btoy
Not So Original?: Nissan (designers unknown)
Comic
Original? Dave Kelly AKA Shmorky
Not So Original?: Todd Goliath
Jaws Tshirt Design
Original? 80sTees.com
Not So Original?: Nostromodesign.com (closed)
Designs to Tshirts
Originals? allposters.com and lil-devil0569 on deviantart.com
Not So Original?: DaynoClothing
Cool Tapes TShirt
Originals? Homestar Runner
Not So Original?: Black Market Vintage.
Art photography used by Adult Company
Original? On Flickr Not So Original?: No link
k 
Website
Originals? Christian Louboutin
Not So Original?: Sweaty Betty and/or Monk Media
Advertising Campaign Rip Off
Original: Asahi
Not So Original?: CIstudios.com.au - They do it OFTEN.
Disney reuses Disney?
Source: You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice
What is the worst in your opinion? Design, Inspiration, Plagiarism or Legal? What is your opinion regarding Disney reusing their animations?
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I see four things on display here: coincidence, inspiration, re-use of your own intellectual property, and plagiarism.The first three greatly outnumber the fourth. You have a highly overactive imagination.
Most are definitely rips but I think you’re stretching on some and probably taking it a little far calling them thieves.
Being hijacked, and not so sure what to do was actually happened to one of my photoshop brushes freebies. Kindda messy when dealing with freebies, since people think they can do anything with them after the complete download and selling them for benefit. When I went thru a forum, friends suggested me to visit several articles about copyright violation. Bad things, bad pirates!
A u d e e’s last blog post..Blogspot Design Showcase - Part 2
Which ones in particular do you think are ‘coincidence, inspiration, re-use of your own intellectual property’?
PXLated, well what else would you call them? Borrowers?
I have one too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/p.....261183860/
Re. the “coincidence, inspiration, re-use of your own intellectual property” I think there’s defiantly a couple that are just coincidence, although the rest are certainly blatant rip-offs!
Original: Verte Clothing
Thieves: Volcom Stone Clothing
This one is simply a similar typographically; and both names begin with a ‘V’ - let’s face it there’s really not much in it…
Also the Flamingo lounge is a huge name, google it; it’s a piece of history really, and similar names (and/or influences) are used daily by fashion designers. Un derstandable if it was the exact same design reproduced (as you’ve shown in several other examples).
Finally, Im very doubtful of this one:
Original Designer: http://www.jaspergoodall.com/
Thief: http://www.dolceq.com/home.html
Is every illustration of a woman in monotone a repro ?
Just my thoughts, that’s all - I think the others are certainly plagiarists!
LMAO at the Walt Disney pictures.
I understand people who see that as a rip off. If you ask me I see that as inspiration. Its like open source, you deploy on something that is already there if you follow me.
Plus are there any original left in this world (?)
Great collection!
I think a few could be classed as coincidence being developed from similar graphic styles or trends.
Most of them on the other hand are pure burglary!!
Chris
Chris’s last blog post..How To Create Your Own Vector Cartoon Character
#2…Inspiration, not thievery
#3…Some blatant rip-offs, some similar but not thievery
#6/7…No thievery there
#8…None here, just a similar typeface
#12a…Same symbolism, no thievery
#15/16…Inspiration, not necessarily thievery
dude, you have like three or four things that are rips.
There is no way in the world to not accidentally make something sorta resemble something else.
Have you EVER drawn a person holding a cup at an angle. Well opps thats already been done. OVEr and over and over. You could go frame by frame in a movie and find the same exact pose in another movie.
Your portfolio image has already been done. Three column web design, been done.
Your blowing smoke to get a rating. Bunk.
I would say most are rip-offs and shame on those people for the really blatant ones. This is just not cool and shouldn’t be tolerated.
On the other hand, a couple of the designs in there are not blatant rip-offs, I see designs that inspired someone. And now you go and call them a thief? Isn’t that like the witch hunt in Salem? You can’t look at any design and find a similar element in another and then call one of the people a thief.
If that was the case, I could easily go search the internet for an hour and probably find quite a few logos and designs that the header on YOUR website looks like (especially because it looks like the default illustrator brushes were used). Then by your standards, I could call YOU a thief. But I won’t and never would, because I doubt you are. The same way I doubt a couple of those designs that you called rip-offs, really are rip-offs, but rather inspirations.
I could keep going on about this, but I won’t. Inspiration vs. rip-off is a fine line, it’s obvious when you read the discussions on “You thought we wouldn’t notice”, but I stopped reading that blog purely because of the amount of people that are on a witch hunt there.
I applaud you bringing some of these rip-offs to light, but some of the questionable ones? Shame on you for joining the witch hunt.
One more to add to the CD covers: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi.....eiland.jpg
Some perhaps are inspired, but you’re right, many of these look like blatant rip offs! Hope your professors at uni catch theiving students, too… some might try to put this stuff in their portfolios!
My boss’ husband had someone come in with one of his firm’s pieces in a portfolio and the interviewee wouldn’t even admit it was stolen!
LaurenMarie - Creative Curio’s last blog post..Use Squidoo to Drive Traffic and Make Money
@Piotr
Thanks for the new pic.
@Andy Smith
Thanks for your valuable first comment. I also agree with the majority of people on here that some could just be ‘inspired’ and there is a fine line.
The Verte clothing line has a large story behind it and is in fact a rip off, you can read it here… http://youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com/blog3/?p=17
Verte means green in French, Verde means green in Spanish, it’s the same font with exact same spacing between the letters.
Regarding the Jasper Goodall post, I did question that one myself that’s why I put ‘inspiration?’ as the title.
@Johan
I was very surprised as well with the Disney pictures, I wonder why they do it?
@Chris
I agree.
@PXLated.
I agree with number 2 and I even put ‘inspiration?’ as the title.
#3 says homages.
#6/7 Well it is exactly the same… you can read the full story at http://youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com - Both are confirmed rips.
#8 Read comment I wrote to Andy Smith.
12,15,16 Believe what you want to believe I say.
@TripDragon
The majority is blatant rips but I can agree that there is a fine line between inspiration and thievery.
@Scott
Thanks for your input first up…I can see where you are coming from and as I said above, I can agree that there is a fine line between inspiration and thievery.
I was not trying to go after some witch hunt and never have, nor will I (unless maybe if someone copies off me). Just so you know, most of the discussions actually do clarify and prove that the majority are rips.
@Brian
Thanks for the rip.
@Lauren
Our Uni is actually getting pretty strict regarding plagiarism, have to complete a 40min course (just once) before your allowed to enter an assignment in.
That’s just ridiculous regarding the firms pieces, how stupid can you be?
I’m a musician - not a graphic designer.
Can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to rewrite or play with a phrase or musical hook because it caught too much of a song that’s already well known to the masses.
But if you’re influenced by artists X, Y or Z it’s fully natural to see their art reflected in whatever you try and craft yourself.
I’ve come to believe that I’m not really creating anything new - it’s all been heard before but I’m just giving it a personal interpretation.
Regan’s last blog post..Bullfrog Music special: February 2008
But, you use the word “thieves” , even though you use “inspiration”
“it’s all been heard before but I’m just giving it a personal interpretation”
—–
In all my years in the biz, I’ve only met two artists/designers where I’ve thought they were “true” originals.
Pxlated.
You are correct, I did too. I just used the ‘original: theif:’ template for all of them and didn’t change that particular one but I did have the heading there which was my mistake.
sure there are some obvious ones… but there are so obvious that its probably a case of a marketing person saying to the designer “make it look like that”! which is how s*** goes down on plant earth.
As for originality in general… man havent you heard of postmodernism. Nothing is original… its all built on the past. Not just in art but in scientific discovery also. Nobody busts Galileo’s ball for ripping Copernicus.
Rob: Indeed, it was an article that did russle a few feathers but I agree with what you say. Thanks for taking the time to comment, hope to hear from you again.
Here’s another for you that we spotted a while back:
http://www.younggogetter.com/2.....charities/
Thanks Travis.
This is fascinating. I know that Disney frequently reuses some of their work. On some of the DVD bonus material the designers and creators mention this fact and say they went to the archives and reviewed so and so’s work. That didn’t surprise me, but it is darn right criminal to see the others. Do we know for sure whether Nissan stole that image? Or did they commission it?
PublicRecordsGuy’s last blog post..If you plead the 5th, SHUT UP and STAY SHUT UP
Hi PublicRecordsGuy,
You can follow the Nissan story here… http://youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com/blog3/?p=272 - There is a heated discussion on it. You can make up your own mind…
I am with this guy..
“If it was a Picasso at the wall, there would be no problem because everybody knows picasso. so the artist who made the original graffiti is not that famous… so? The question is if the nissan guys are claiming the drawing to themselves, or they assume it is a re-use of a third party artist?”
Hope to hear from you again.
muito divertido…
beijos
Speaking of Picasso
“Good artists borrow, great artists steal”
- Pablo Picasso
And lets not even start on the great masters…….
I mean really, we are in an age of post-modernism, even the title itself is taken from the word modernism…
I think that there needs to be rethinking of what is and is not “stealing”.
An example of this analysis can be taken from an IP law professor speaking at the TED conference (Technology Entertainment Design) http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/187
Also regardless of what people can think of Walt Disney and his studios, not a single place could create near the quality that they could, so how can you keep coming up with new things if your already on top of everyone else and have nothing else to take inspiration from when you are the creator of that inspiration. Not to mention the time and cost it took to create the animations that could have been simply reused.
Ill admit though, on some of the pieces they are simply taking the same drawing from a poster and making the same piece with one different title, which is pretty bad.
I’m even stealing this font to make this text that Im typing into this blog, so who wants to sue me?
I don’t even know if a formal contemplation of what truly is “stolen” and “inspired from” could be mandated into law, just too many combinations.
Hi Tom thanks for your input, I never knew this would cause such a rustle! There is such a fine line between inspiration, borrowing and plagiarism. As I mentioned earlier at our Uni we have to complete a compulsory 40min course on plagiarism before we can submit anyway which I think is a good start, and should implement this into every uni.
Thanks for the TED link, I’ll watch it on the weekend.
Regarding Disney, I never really thought about it like that… On GDF forum someone mentioned how all animators reuse frames, even in Family Guy and the Simpsons they make fun of it.
I believe the ones that just directly copy 100% are more the ones we should be reprimanding. There is no true answer between what is inspiration/plagiarism and something has to be done about it, but who has the answers? Maybe Picasso?
It is so obvious…Walt Disney could be the most blatant theme style riped off I ever know
A u d e e’s last blog post..What is Graphic Design Poster Competition on Veerle’s Blog
Hi Audee,
I believe it is just them reusing their own animation, but they certainly got some good ‘inspiration’ from the last frame.
I think inspiration would emerge something new to the next frame, in how they animate and the background coloring and the like…reusing the previous frame seems to be sort of creativity blocks.
A u d e e’s last blog post..What is Graphic Design Poster Competition on Veerle’s Blog
re: Disney… is it creativity blocks or having to hand draw millions of cells per movie, so why not reuse the poses and backdrops that we’ve already spent thousands on and save unnecessary work? It’s like asking an artist to NEVER use the same vector or part of an image ever again in their own work… that wouldn’t make any sense. Some of these are valid ripoffs, but many, like most of the album covers, are really reaching.
Hi B.K - I don’t blame them either, good point in general. Thanks for your input.
Those album covers aren’t rip offs they’re homages!! Can’t you see the correlation of the artist and the originators they’re givin respect?? But cool anyways, didn’t know J5’s album was based off something else, but what is it? Can’t read..too small
I think that we as artists should stop feeling guilty that we may be “stealing” an idea from somebody else, and appreciate the creativity and beautiful work that we see and get inspired by. When I am feeling uncreative, I go to an art museum or check out some old Print magazines, and I get supercharged with new ideas. And besides, there is so much CRAP in advertising and design, that jump starting off a good thing is better than reinventing the 2D wheel. People, lighten up. Life’s too short.
I agree with Rob that often companies or groups WANT to make their message look like something else recognizable. For heaven’s sake, look at Weird Al - the guy’s made a fortune completely on knock-offs. Do we despise him? I don’t know about you, but I think it takes creativity to effectively knock-off, spoof, or pay homage to another piece.
And yes, we all get our ideas and material from SOMEWHERE. Props to postmodernism. The fun is in re-inventing it.
Neat post, and worthwhile topic. Certainly, this list seems to represent a spectrum — some rip-offs and some that simply look “inspired by X”.
Along the lines of what Scott said earlier, what surprised me after reading this post, was finding in your own very impressive portfolio that you yourself seem to have taken very direct inspiration from others’ designs on occasion yourself (I’m looking specifically at your “Mates” logo) You do admit as much in its description, but nonetheless I think this falls squarely in the same realm of “piggybacking” as many of the examples you list.
I don’t mean to be accusatory. We’re all constantly on this same spectrum as designers, and admitting when we’re doing this is better than not. Just remember that whenever you point your finger, you’ve got several more fingers pointed back toward yourself.
Here’s another one:
‘Britney Spears’ new perfume ‘I Believe’ by Elizabeth Arden has been accused of shamlessly plundering another brand for its logo. The organization in question is Canadian charity Mondonation.’
http://www.betleywhitehorne.co.....-shamless/
Ric’s last blog post..Betley Whitehorne Relaunch Website
Thanks Ric
Hey, I’ll admit it. I’m not creative enough to come up with the beautiful designs I see so I copy stuff from them. It makes my work better than it ever could have been on its own. But haven’t artists always used other artists for inspiration?
There’s a principle called universal connaturality where different people (or animals) come up with the same idea at the same time in different parts of the world. It is gutting when you see your ideas somewhere else because it makes you feel unoriginal/cheated.
But yeah some of these are blatant rips offs, but even the ‘original’ designer will have had inspiration from somewhere.
And drawing the line between homage and rip off is always going to be a difficult one.
Totally off topic here, but all of your comments (and rest of page content!) go italicized after the comment “By déia”.
And I really can’t believe the Concave ripoff. They didn’t even TRY to make it look different.
I didn’t read the information yet about the verte/verde ripoff on the other site, and I understand the names are the same and they have used the same spacing/font, but the two logos are so much different aside from that you really can’t call it straight copying or straight thievery. I think they modified it enough from the original to call it their own.
I mean, you can’t claim copyright infringement on spacing, that’s ludicrous. And there are tons of companies who use the same fonts in their logos with the same letter-spacing, and hey maybe a few of them might even have the same (or similar names). It happens. Big world, lots of people, not so much room for many brand new fresh ideas.
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Hi Lindsey yes there is a very fine line between what is inspiration and plagiarism and it changes between person to person as everyone has their own beliefs. Thanks for the tip about the italicised problem.
nice collection… i remember a while back my portfolio got completely ripped off and I found out because they left my tracking code on the site.. (morons) but, once again.. a very nice collection.. i love how some of them just changes thing by a little bit… WTF..? you think someone one won’t notice you completely ripped them off…?? it’s crazy how some people have no creativity..
androos last blog post..Amazing Artwork
What I am wondering is this … where is the proof that the “plagiarizers” didn’t ask for permission before reusing the stuff? As the Art Director for a toy company I reuse licensed art all the time. Further, I know that regardless of who makes the art, if it is related to say Monty Python, I have every right to use it. And that is a LEGAL right because my company is the licensee, and simply by making an unlicensed piece of art does not entitle you to the rights. Can someone plagiarize something that the original designer doesn’t own in the 1st place? Such as … the “Jaws” t-shirt. Was the 80stee version licensed? If not they blatantly ripped off the makers/creators of Jaws FOR PROFIT in the first place. Sure, all the people in your list obviously copied designs, but just pointing out the details doesn’t make it so.
Personally, as an Art Director I know I would be hesitant to hire someone yelling plagiarism without providing a shred of proof. Its a very significant claim to levy against someone, especially in this field. Lastly, what if these acts fell under Fair use policy? The law provides a certain amount of plagiarism for the pursuit of academia and scholarship.
Hi Androo,
A whole portfolio, wow. I am not surprised that people have no creativity, not everyone has it. Have you heard about the left or right bright test? Check it out… (http://justcreativedesign.com/2007/12/05/right-vs-left-brain/)
Hi Walt,
Thanks for your comments, just to let you know if you have a look at the source http://www.youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com you can check up on the stories behind each design.
Regarding the jaws shirt, the actual orignal owner of that shirt has a license for the Jaws shirt but I still agree with you… they are all obviously copied designs.
Thanks for raising some issues that have not been raised here so far, I have learnt a lot and I have changed the words thieves to “Not So Original”? and the original sentence saying they are plagiarised to something else.
For some reason it now says comments are closed on this post and it won’t let me enable the comments but hopefully it will fix it self soon. Walt, Please email me a comment if it doesn’t let you post a comment.