Gasp! Plagiarism, again! Or is it?
Even though this is different, I don’t think I would have done this…
…so close on the heels of this…
Read the back story at newsdesigner.com: http://www.newsdesigner.com/archives/002508.php
Here’s the VizEds thread on the Pilot/Journal Review controversy: http://www.visualeditors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4971
Note: I’m not at my usual computer today so I’m sorry I can’t give you actual links. I miss Firefox. 
Ernie: So when...
September 26th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
Quick answer: No, it’s not.
September 27th, 2006 at 1:40 am
wow cool! i do like how the gold is from marlboro lights.
using an idea that’s been done before: sure
use of an icon: yes
plagiarism: no
the marlboro icon is so easy to draw. next time, i wanna see joe camels or 2 marlboro men used in a concept. =P
September 27th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
I don’t think this is plagarism.
I do think this idea is slowly being beaten into the ground. Is this going to be the default treatment for every smoking related story from this point forward? Is there anyone left that hasn’t seen the marlboro treatment? It’s becoming a tacky cliche. Can’t we do better?
September 27th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Yeah. Try KOOL instead. Or maybe Benson & Hedges. Virginia Slims. Pall Mall. Parliament. Or even Camel.
Guess the butt stops here, eh?
September 28th, 2006 at 1:22 am
I don’t think so. Many traditional centerpieces will have that cigarette box shape anyway, so it’s not a stretch to imagine a large box on there. And it’s the most recognizable design that could easily reproduced. The thing that makes the other one so bad is because it’s reaching across six columns, also it has several similar elements.
September 28th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
The first two are obviously cartons while the new one is merely a pack. (Wink, wink.)
September 29th, 2006 at 9:55 am
[...] Bob Stepno, who teaches journalism at some modest local college, asked me the other day if I was aware of lawsuits or other actions periodicals had taken when designers “lifted” graphic elements for use elsewhere — especially elements associated with branding, such as the logo typography or red box of a Time magazine cover. I told him the Society for News Design, at least, has made design plagiarism a major issue in its new ethics policy discussions. And I found a conversation thread at Visual Editors about a specific case of too-close-for-comfort designs that appears to be contagious. [...]
September 29th, 2006 at 11:15 am
While I wouldn’t call it copying another newspaper’s design, doesn’t the layout of all three pages act as kind of free advertising? That’s what would keep me away from doing any of the designs.