bioneural.net

Sometimes it surely happens by chance that two logos are as alike as peas in a pod. At other times (and I've seen several examples on the 'net) it is equally clear that there is something more than chance at work. During our recent trip to China we noted a few shop logos that looked remarkably familiar, despite a zero probability that we had encountered the shop displaying it before. An imitation is intended to copy or at least closely simulate a design. It is the antithesis of design by inspiration, which implies a certain measure of creativity, innovation and imagination—without stretching all the way to originality and inventiveness. Inspiration is a valuable artistic tool for those suffering from a depletion of vision, but can readily be taken too far. Here is a shop logo that may have been conceived due to lack of inventiveness, sheer laziness, or maybe the constraints of time or budget. But I suspect it may have been re-engineered from a famous logo for reasons of brand association. It makes good marketing sense: a vaguely familiar or trustworthy logo may draw in customers otherwise confused by the visual cacophony of a busy street. You decide: imitation or inspiration?
Continue reading 'IOTW: Imitation v inspiration'