Commentary
10.16.08
Imitation is Flattery?
Hi all, quick question...I illustrated the logo on the left a few years ago for a small burger shop in Brooklyn, it's copyrighted on all display / menus / collateral. I got a text the other night from the NY Food & Wine Festival, saying a major restaurateur ripped it off. The logo on the right just came to me...I think they're pretty different, others say it's too close for comfort and find out the extent of their usage. Not a new topic but an ongoing one; I'm curious what you think at what point is a copyrighted design is original, inspiration, or just an idea out in the world? It's basic deconstructing a sandwich... but if it was your small startup business versus a multi-million dollar franchise does that change the picture?
I don't know if you can copyright something like the "deconstruction" approach. Can you? Popular Mechanics, ReadyMade and a slew of others including just about every owners manual would be in big trouble! While there are similarities we gotta give them credit for also utilizing the tried and true "blueprint" approach!
I think these two approaches are different enough that I myself do not equate it with plagiarism or copyright infringement.
That being said if they had used a similar color palette and line weight while ditching the Blueprint feel for something more minamalistic then I'd say there could be a case made especially since the subject matter is so similiar.
The one on the right also reminds me of this D Magazine cover from 2006. It's a small image but if you look closely you can see it has a similar treatment):
http://www.dmagazine.com/Media/PublicationsIssue/May%2006.jpg
I agree--the concept is out there in the world--in magazines, how-to books, and originally, instruction booklets. It's a tough call. A recent issue of Martha Stewart Living had a burger feature which utilized the idea photographically. A small pic here: http://tinyurl.com/5rxbzo
I gotta agree with LaCroix. All creativity is culled from a host of sources, so the issues around 'idea' protection will be a permanent challenge to contend with. I saw the concept of one of my book covers ripped by a different publisher, but I think aside from blatant copying and reproduction, good ideas will be community shared (I, myself, felt the idea a natural evolution from an art exhibit I attended).
Something like the construction of a sandwich has been parodied and brought out in design since the late '80s (as old as I remember), so I just don't see any infringement. It is a good idea, but I think the real personality comes through in the nuances of application - not the idea itself. It is clear the other designer was adding their own bit to it.
Fun stuff! and making me hungry for lunch!
Hi,
I work for a restaurant franchisor. In the restaurant business, these are called build charts and they are a common BOH (Back of House) job aid. Both of these designs are pretty common to the trade, however, the ingredients and the builds themselves are what a restaurant usually copyrights as intellectual property.
Hope this helps.
JT
Great comments by everyone.
My 2 cents:
As everyone else pointed out, the concept of breaking apart a burger (or anything else) into floating ingredients is a very old concept. The "originality" (one of my most hated words) or "custom" quality comes in the execution…and both of the treatments are different.
As JT and others noted, the build chart is definitely a common visual device, however maybe not so common for 2 new burger joints in the same town to both use one as an advertising element.
All that being said it is probably only annoying (even if it was unintentional).
Say two restaurants selling the same product in the same town are both using bright red signs out front.
Neither of them invented the color red of course.
But it's definitely still a little annoying.
And now i want a burger too.
I don't want a burger, but I now want a diagram showing me how how all my meals should look.
Done Darrell, send me your lunch and I'll plate it right up;)
reminds me of the 80s video game: burgertime. =)
http://www.arcadefever.net/flyer/BURGERTIME.jpg
In April 2007 I asked our food photographers to shoot the sandwich article in this fashion. I loved having come up with this concept, and brought home made photos done at home to explain my idea hanging the ingredients on thin thread in my livingroom to create a realistic look of floating ingredients...
Do you think someone from MS saw our distant small magazine printed in Hebrew in Israel only?
It is a great idea.In fact, I wish I was the only person who had come up with it.