This is a personal project that I have been working on. The poster features the (reversed) logos of the top 100 top global brands of 2009 as ranked by Interbrand, formed into the shape of the copyright symbol. The bottom right text says: “Good artists copy, great artists steal” ~ Pablo Picasso.
The idea behind the poster was to question the blurring lines between art, design and copyright. Can one just take a whole series of others work, put it into a new shape and call it art? Or is it design? I think Picasso’s quote also draws on similar thoughts… what’s the difference between copying and stealing? What is the secret to creativity? What did Picasso mean by this quote?
Anyway, you can interpret as you wish. The good news is that it is available as a free PDF under a Creative Commons 2.0 license. This means you CAN copy, print, distribute, display, and use this work for any purpose under the conditions that you give me credit for the work and that you do not make money from it.
>> Download A3 Sized Logo Copyright Poster (4.3mb)
| 
November 13th, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Wow, that’s awesome! Just found my new background!
Cheers
November 13th, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Very cool indeed. Yeah, that may have to become a desktop pattern. Or just print and hang in my office space. Nice work.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:55 PM
Very nice poster Jacob. Looks great!
November 13th, 2009 at 4:09 PM
interesting POV on the whole complex design/art/©/cc/commercial/notcommercial context. expressed so neatly.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Love it! I wrote an article a couple months ago about that quote (although it was someone else I’d found who said it… hrm..) Great idea. Nothing beats thievery haha ;) Great stuff!!!!
November 14th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
real cool
November 16th, 2009 at 3:32 AM
I am sorry but i do not agree with Pablo Picasso – “Good artists copy, great artists steal” as i believe that “bad creatives copy and great creatives Create”.
November 17th, 2009 at 5:17 AM
Awesome concept and execution.
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:03 AM
Yea, I believe it was T.S. Eliot who is most famous for the quote you attributed to Picasso.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:06 AM
That poster is awesome!!!! Going to download a copy for me to hang up!!!
January 9th, 2010 at 8:04 AM
Great work, defo going up in the office
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:34 PM
My take on Picasso’s quote was that great artists steal the “essence” of the art that has come before them rather than stylistic forms. Put into a design context you could say that rather than borrowing visual style from other designers, a great designer ’steals’ the ‘essence’ of good visual communication.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:46 PM
brillent concept i like it!
February 25th, 2010 at 1:11 AM
Awesome poster. Hung it up on the wall and used it as a point of discussion with my graphics students.
March 5th, 2010 at 5:33 AM
I just love the text at the bottom right. Too funny…
April 14th, 2010 at 1:54 AM
Really nice, just fun! I want this thing above my desk.
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:06 AM
Like it :)
September 29th, 2010 at 12:17 AM
nice poster. i like it.
October 12th, 2010 at 3:04 PM
I love it! I’ll hang in my office
December 16th, 2010 at 6:57 PM
wow good ……………………
February 16th, 2011 at 11:29 PM
thanks for share… ^_^
February 25th, 2011 at 3:01 PM
There are many great logos of top companies.
March 24th, 2011 at 10:29 AM
You know, technically the CC BY licence you chose allows for commercial use with attribution :D
May 17th, 2011 at 5:21 PM
I do not agree with Pablo Picasso – “Good artists copy, great artists steal” as i believe that “bad creatives copy and great creatives Create”.
May 23rd, 2011 at 11:19 AM
wow ><
May 26th, 2011 at 10:36 PM
This poster is a good idea. i like it !
May 26th, 2011 at 10:37 PM
i like it ! Thank you for the great post!!
June 17th, 2011 at 3:18 PM
Nice! I love the idea of this poster.
July 22nd, 2011 at 11:36 AM
Good job, good finish, finally congratulations.
September 1st, 2011 at 1:02 PM
Cool poster. Interesting topic too, I know someone who used altered versions of well known logos on T-shirt prints (i.e Juicy Root, instead of Juicy Fruit). He got himself into trouble from some of the companies who’s logos he had used. I always thought if there is a certain amount of change made, then it is not copying.
December 11th, 2011 at 12:55 AM
I like this idea, it’s make me cool and learn a lot.
December 12th, 2011 at 8:21 PM
i love it and thank u 4 sharing me
January 12th, 2012 at 11:24 PM
Very well thought out. I like it too!
January 27th, 2012 at 12:54 PM
Great poster!
March 11th, 2012 at 4:40 AM
Great poster. thank you for sharing it.
May 14th, 2012 at 6:25 PM
This is good idea
September 20th, 2012 at 5:56 PM
I like it
October 9th, 2012 at 5:56 PM
Great logo design!