At 99designs, we tend to define the “original” relative to its opposite — the much maligned “copy.” Somewhere in between these two poles, though, exists a no man’s land known as the “generic.” Any designer who has brushed against our originality policy or followed our blog knows how crucial this third concept is in determining a design’s originality: while maybe not that exciting, generic is fair game. But what exactly do we mean by it?
image by San Jose Library
Chances are, you deal in the generic more than you know — with the world of trademarks. Like logos, brand names are unique signs (only linguistic instead of visual) meant to stand for a specific product. Companies trademark them to legally protect their uniqueness; once trademarked, other companies cannot use them.
image by RahelSharon
However, sometimes the power of the masses overrules the power of law. Take the word “escalator,” a brand name originally trademarked by the Otis Elevator Company. Soon, people started using the word “escalator” to refer to all moving stairs, not just Escalator-brand moving stairs. This improper usage eventually became so common that the U.S. court declared the term “generic.” Now, any company that produces moving stairs may call their product an “escalator.”
image by Nicola since 1972
In summary: the more widely entrenched a word becomes in the common vocabulary, the harder it is to legally claim it as ones own property.
image by ecastro
The same occurs, again and again, in graphic design. For example, placing a speech bubble in a social networking-oriented website’s logo, though perhaps original at one point, has since become such a common part of our “visual vocabulary,” it is now considered generic. If a brief involves networking, then, speech bubbles are open for anyone to use. The same goes for leaves in environmentally-oriented company logos, simple abstract geometries, the fusion of a company name’s initial letters and a vast array of other such endlessly re-used concepts.
image by dandeluca
Throughout this post we’ve included images of once trademarked brand names that have become generic, either officially or in practice. Did you recognize them? The Yo-Yo, the Escalator, the Zipper, the Band-Aid and the Kleenex have all gone the way of the generic.
Thanks For voting 99designs.com a Webby Award winner
25 tutorials to build up your design skills
Designer profile: Jurgen
99designs homepage redesign contest!
What not to do: overdone and overused logos
Xerox machine (which of course is a company). But nobody says copying machine anymore, they say xerox.
Good article :)
In parts of the USA (bible belt area), people largely refer to all sweet, carbonated beverages as “Coke”.
Hi David, I’m from the South and we definitely call everything Coke. I, personally, say soft drink although occasionally say Coke. ;)
See, this is why not just ANYONE should be allowed to enter contests. There should be perhaps a 10 contest limit, then you work is reviewed against originality/talent standard and then you are granted full membership.