Design is something that someone or a team of people have worked hard to create, whether it’s hand drawn, a digital creation, or hours spent slaving away whittling a sculpture out of wood. So if independent artists and designers manage to ensure they don’t infringe on other people’s work, how can a large company like Zara manage to create products using other peoples designs?
One would assume that the intellectual property of another design would be looked into by such a large corporation. Apparently, however, this is not the case. Designers Tuesday Bassen & Adam Kurtz, amongst others, have found that their artwork has been replicated without consent by the brand. Adam has now created a website to show people the original artwork and allow them to buy from the original design sources rather than giving to the multimillion pound brand. Can large brands really use less well known designers by ripping off their work without paying? Never! We shall see how the case pans out from here, but the collective backlash within the design industry to Zara demonstrates just how important design originality and research are for a large company.
