How to create a faux project remaking an existing brand -

[HannahB593]

Hi there, so I'm working on my portfolio and I have a kind of silly question I'm just not sure about so I wanted to ask here. So I want to make a faux advertising campaign for an existing brand (a french combat boot company). I am wondering how to use their font and logo when the only logos I can find on their website are at their largest 400x400. Is it ethical to trace their logo and put it into my faux projects? They always say "put the type of work you want to make into your portfolio"- well I want to create an advertising campaign for an existing pretty big brand but I don't know how to do the logistics of it with incorporating the brand's copy font (it's a custom font that isn't for sale) and the logo (which would be pixelated if blown up to a larger scale due to the pixel size. Any suggestions? Thank you!! 

[Mylenium]

And what happens when they find out or artwork from your portfolio leaks? They'll kick your deriere with those robust boots and sue you over false representation of their trademark. Unless you actually worked for them and have references from a real campaign, this is a big no-no. A fitting example would be when Nike came down on 3D artists in the mid 2000s when they sculpted their shoes in ZBrush and sold the 3D models.... And if you know the product well, it should not be difficult for you to create your logo "in the style of X" rather than using their actual branding.

Mylenium

[HannahB593]

totally! I'm going to ask my mentor! She's an art director and can probably better answer this. But thank you! 

[Monika Gause]

So this is just for your portfolio and you will clearly communicate that you do not work for them? I don't know how that company usually reacts to fan art. So basically you have to take into account what Mylenium said.

You have no chance qhatsoever to get the font.  The logo wmight already be in collections such as Brands of the world.

Maybe just ask that company if this would be OK with them? 

Or design a new branding for them in the way you think would be appropriate?

[HannahB593]

Yeah it's absolutely just for my portfolio. I wouldn't be able to ask them- they are too big of a company for that. they are Palladium. that's the name of them! A french company for a combat boot. Don't people create website design mockups of companies like Nike all the time that state clearly that it's a PASSION PROJECT and not a real project? I could have sworn people do stuff like that but idk maybe I'm buggin'. 

[HannahB593]

Also I found an interesting reddit on this! Apparently it's called Spec work! You learn something new everyday. https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/lbvh3/is_it_legal_to_create_fake_publication_design... 

[HannahB593 · Accepted solution]

it can also be clearly labelled in the portfolio project section as a Pitch. Meaning it's not real- it's just a concept.

[Bobby Henderson]

Many larger companies often have vector-based versions of their logos contained within PDF files they post online. It could be anything such as corporate annual reports, product brochures, manuals, brand guidelines documents, etc. You just have to do a bit of web searching. The PDF can be placed in Illustrator and run through the Flatten Transparency dialog box to outline any embedded fonts. I've had to use this tactic from time to time to get logos for sign design projects when their people couldn't manage to tell the difference between the first JPEG they found on a computer to something that's actually useable. Other companies are better (they send proper logos and brand guidelines documents).

I am NOT a fan of the Brands of the World web site and other similar sites. Some logos posted there are seemingly legit. But there is a lot of fan-reproduced copies of logos posted there that are not accurate. In addition, many companies update their brands from time to time. The Brands of the World site won't always have those latest versions. I very much prefer getting corporate logos directly from the company or extracting logos out of one of their own PDFs online.

The sample ad campaign idea sounds like it falls under the legal category of fair comment.  If you're not getting paid for creating the project or using that company's logo to make money from it, such as selling kinds of merchandise, you should be in the clear. Still, I would probably not post such work online where it could be seen by lots of people. It could be misunderstood as being actual commissioned work done for that company when it isn't.

[Monika Gause]

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@Bobby Henderson  schrieb:

Many larger companies often have vector-based versions of their logos contained within PDF files they post online. It could be anything such as corporate annual reports, product brochures, manuals, brand guidelines documents, etc. 

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I would probably go for the environmental report. Those reports are most probably created by different agencies or providers. I have found that the people producing the the corporate annual reports are often very careful with logos.

[HannahB593]

Totally! yeah it does go under the fair comment thing- i'm just a student.

[Nancy OShea]

This would be a violation of the name brand's intellectual property, design and copyright.  I wouldn't risk it.  That could pose a serious legal problem for you. Courts always side with copyright & property holders. 

Brands are fiercely protective of their identity & recognition. Even fake & parody ads can have legal consequences. As in the case of

Jack Daniels vs Bad Spaniels trademark case

https://www.sullivanlaw.com/viewpoints/in-jack-daniels-v-bad-spaniels-trademark-case-supreme-court-h...

Best advice, stick with mythic products and mythic names. Don't try to copy real ones.

[Bobby Henderson]

The key problem with Bad Spaniels is it was a commercially sold dog toy product (along with several other toys that lampooned other drink brands). It's merchandizing that capitalizes off the equity of other existing brands. That goes well outside the boundaries of fair comment.

Through the decades various comedy magazines and TV shows have used existing corporate logos or alterations of them as a form of parody. That is legal as long as the use is editorial in nature, not commercial. There's an artist I follow on social media named Cris Shapan who creates some great retro parody art that sometimes involves existing brands.

My chief concern about using an existing brand in a fake ad as a portfolio example is that it could be easily confused for being real and then possibly considered an act of misrepresentation. The fake ad wouldn't be the same as a form of parody or editorial either. The work is being used as a form of self promotion (part of a portfolio). With that in mind, I'd lean more to using a fake product/brand just to be on the safe side.

[HannahB593]

Heard! I did some more research into it and it's under "fair comment" so it's fine. I'm not profiting from it and of course i'll have that clear for folks to read and see that obviously i didn't actually do the design for money for the company and that is is clearly a faux conceptual idea. Thanks though! Yeah i've done all fake products/brands thus far but my mentor recommended I try doing some conceptual rebranding with existing semi-well known companies- hence why i'll be doing this.

[Nancy OShea]

1. Self-promotion is not fair use. It's promotion.

2. When students complete assignments and prepare projects using other peoples' works, or when students copy materials in any format, copyright law applies.

https://nic.libguides.com/copyrightforstudents

[HannahB593]

WOW I DIDN'T KNOW THAT I'M SO AMAZED HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY YOU ARE SO COOL AND THANKS A BUNCH.