WWF’s panda logo, yours for $69
Be careful your designs aren’t also being sold by LogoGarden.
Steve Douglas gives the lowdown on the perils of DIY logo makers.
Here’s another rip from the same site.
The Maplewood Lions logo (above) was designed by Felix Sockwell. Very nicely, too.
The one above? Sold on DIY logo site LogoGarden.
Just the tip of the iceberg. The wall of the Logo Garden Facebook page is littered with other ripoffs. (Comments on the Facebook wall have since been removed by LogoGarden.)
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Update: 18 August 2011
Logo Garden in the news elsewhere:
How to get your logos removed from LogoGarden.com, on Prejean Creative
Love Thy Logo: Charlatan, Huckster, Moron, Thief!, on RockPaperInk
Thoughts on the Logo Garden controversy, on Dani Nordin
In Brief: August Miscellany, on Brand New
LogoGarden.com harvests logos from pros, on LogoMotives
How logo can they go? on LogoLounge
LogoGate 2011, on Drawsigner
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Update: 21 December 2011
LogoGarden secures $2M in funding
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27 appreciated comments, click here to add one
Lee Woodbridge
I’m hearing a lot of bad things about this “logo garden” surely there’s something that can be done about it? I know a few designers have tweeted and re-tweeted their disgust. I’m glad that there are blogs and forums to inform people of such sites. Keep up the informative posts.
Cheers
Aug 16th, 2011
Paul Smith
This is truly unbelieveable. I am truly shocked. How has this site not been pulled down yet due to breach of intellectual property rights? What goes around goes around, comes around… word gets around
Aug 16th, 2011
davidblunt
I’m sure once the lawsuits and cease-and-desists start rolling in, LogoGarden will just say “hey, we’re only a market place”
Aug 16th, 2011
Stolkramaker
This is ridiculous. This whole site needs to come down. Not only are cheap logo websites cheapening the industry, they obviously have little to no quality/copyright control.
I’d be pretty embarrassed about this if I were them, and on that note, I’ll do what I can to spread this article.
Aug 16th, 2011
Vanessa
That’s awful.
Actually “awful” isn’t strong enough a word.
Aug 16th, 2011
Chris
I’ve been following this via Jeff Fisher’s Logomotive facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Fisher-LogoMotives/18597299183 I think he’s found 30 – 40 of his logos in unauthorized use on the site . . . Un-F’ing-believable!
I’m trying to make it through the archives myself, but so far I’m finding multiple “rips” per display page and there are often subcategories within each that reveal more. I doubt that LogoGarden has made an original logo/icon themselves at this point.
I can not underemphasize the importance of everyone in the design community to pour through their archives, especially if you’re featured on Logo Lounge, much of what I’m seeing looks like it’s being stolen directly from their archives, and like David said above, don’t just look for your own logos, if you see one you recognize try to point it out to the original designer or company.
Aug 16th, 2011
Adam R. W.
I don’t understand how these people live with themselves. Absolutely terrible.
Aug 16th, 2011
Shaun Hensher
Wow. That’s just shameful. That is the opposite of “right livelihood”. “So what do you do for a living?” “Oh I steal other peoples’ ideas and resell them for profit.” I hope they get the pants sued off of them.
Aug 17th, 2011
john spiegel
This site is outrageous!!!
It’s owner and anyone who does work for them is giving the design field a bad name! Haven’t any of the original designers of those “ripped off” sued this guy
and his associates? Let’s really start a campaign to stop this guy and his associates from continuing this charade!
Aug 17th, 2011
Abbas
It amazes me how they can get away with it. The Facebook page is a real eye opener. I’d like to hear what Logo Garden have got to say for themselves.
If you pay peanuts…
Aug 17th, 2011
Dylan
There is one logo on the home page that is a direct ripoff off Obama’s campaign logo. They have disclaimers saying they are not held liable since it is a DIY piece together site and other dubious items.
This is incredibly ballsy.
Aug 17th, 2011
Jonathan Patterson
There are “testimonials” under each logo with supposed images of the person being quoted. I recognize one of the faces as a stock photo. I’ll go out on a limb and guess that all of them are probably fabricated. Can’t say for certain but that’s what it looks like.
Aug 17th, 2011
Chris
Here’s a thought, what if we set up a “watch-dog” website that specifically pertains to this LogoGarden deal? We can use social media to bring attention to it and get a round-about count of how many logos/designers have been ripped off. It can serve as a platform to share comparisons/comments all in the same place. Ultimately we can update it with the legal outcomes of the effected parties and share it with our clients and the online community. We need to scare like minded plunderers away from similar ideas, but more importantly we need businesses to understand the risk they take with using sites like this. After all, the only way to make these unethical morons go away is to educate and convince “the market” not to use them. I have never seen this many stolen identities in one place and I really hope this will be the flagship that helps brings down this awful plague . . . I know that’s some extreme optimism, but if we abandon that then they’ve already won and have stolen our profession away from us along with our logos.
Any volunteers / nominations to spearhead something like this? I am willing to help in whatever way I can.
Aug 17th, 2011
Anton
I’m no expert on this, but is this one of those sites that’s exempt from any form of copyright law or the reach of law enforcement because their site is being hosted on some shady server in the Cayman islands?
These people have no shame.
Aug 18th, 2011
Martin Cartwright
We will now get clients saying ‘well I can buy a logo for £50′. This site truly upsets me…
Aug 19th, 2011
Chris
Here’s a link to Paypal’s Infringement Report. If you’ve been affected by John Williams or LogoGarden, fill this out and cut off a vital resource for his ability to collect money to finance his illegal operation(s). https://cms.paypal.com/cms_content/US/en_US/files/ua/infringementreport.pdf
Aug 19th, 2011
Nancy Wu
Thanks for the heads up on this David! Been on holiday mode and out of the loop when friend pointed out that she found one of my logos being ripped off (badly, of course). Are there more, I groaned??? I can’t believe this is happening and that the site is still up! So frustrating and so wrong….
Aug 21st, 2011
Jerry Kuyper
As part of the Landor team that revitalized the WWF panda in the late 80′s, I was amused to see the addition of the detailed eyes. We had closely looked at that option and rejected it.
I also found a close cousin of the Touchstone Films logo and a pathetic version of the Cigna Tree of Life. Perhaps they have created and copyrighted “LogoDestructo”, software that scans and destroys logos.
Initially I thought the best recourse would be to take (or buy) one of Logo Garden’s logos, redraw it and flip it for thousands of dollars. But then I realized anything worth using on their site is probably someone else’s property.
I believe incidents like this help legitimate logo designers in the long run.
Aug 22nd, 2011
Alice Soelberg
I don’t know why anyone would want to steal a logo. They will be associated with the other company which won’t do them any good.
Aug 23rd, 2011
James Random
I just don’t get the logic here. Did someone honestly come along and think they could rip off one of the most readily identified logos in the world and think nobody would notice?
Aug 25th, 2011
felix sockwell
thx. keep us posted
Aug 26th, 2011
nikkieve
Honestly it is so annoying how site’s like this degrade the value of a designer. People who are stingy enough to used this kind of service don’t realise they are waisting there money as neither themselves or the website have the knowledge and talent of a designer so their product will always be inferior.
And honestly what about the copyright laws? what a nightmare!
Sep 6th, 2011
Micha
though no one can ever condone what they are doing, and for the life of me, i’m shocked at exactly how they thought they could get away with it… i do take slight issue with ‘designers’ who knock out logos on illustrator for a couple of hundred dollars a time referring to others degrading the value of what a designer is.
this site is charging bottom dollar which is what people that use their site are requiring. if the client wanted something better they would go to a ‘designer’. if they really wanted something done properly they would go to a real agency with branding experience.
how much is a logo worth on its own?
the issue of copyright is however unforgivable, and i certainly feel for those who have had artwork stolen.
Sep 22nd, 2011
Matt
This is terrible and just sad. Not only is he ruining design, but he is ruining what ever of a reputation he had.
If I can find any solace here, it would be the fact that it seems that none of the testimonials are actual people. Maybe no one is actually buying this bullocks.
Sep 26th, 2011
Danny
Incredible.
Just goes to show the very nature of these sites. Not only is the final outcome truly laughable (Which is curious, considering the fantastic works that are stolen in order to create them) but it’s actually shocking that this is happening and that people somehow don’t notice.
The fact that you can take a masterpiece such as the WWF logo and completely butcher it with nothing more than a couple of minor tweaks really goes to show how delicate logos are. I guess it’s best left to the designers.
Shame on that website.
Nov 18th, 2011
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