This is a warning to all the designers who put sketches up on core77:::
I’ve been hearing some stories of ‘stuck’ designer @ Converse (or any other brand) putting shoe renderings on this site “fishing for ideas”.
Designers who click on “Converse Basketball” see a few sketches from a designer who may or may not be working for Converse. The readers then put own their thoughts on paper and then this web-site. This is a great way to be creative and show your talents to other designers. It’s also a great way to have your ideas stolen.
Many of you already know this but… Once you put a sketch on this site it is no longer your property and can be manufactured by anyone.
I hope the rumors about lazy designers “fishing for ideas” is not true. Being in the industry for many years makes me wonder… “is this site turning into free R&D for some companies”?
It’s probably like the auto industry looking at Car Design News and stuff like that. But to be honest the designers that “fish around” are probably not getting their stuff thru anyway. Generally speaking a lazy designer is a lazy worker.
do you seriously think that’s happening. a professional design at a well respected place like Converse fishing for ideas from people who have no practical experience in footwear design and student, alike.
come on. really. not only would likely any “ideas” here not likely be useable/fit the brief/be “new”, i don’t really believe this is happening.
let’s not start untrue rumors or point fingers. plus, it goes against what the boards here are all about. sharing and helping out fellow designers.
I split this off. Guru, not sure where you are going but careful where you point a finger.
I’m not sure why a designer would want to copy anyone else’s work, but any designer that does is not a designer, and probably has other problems. Nuff said. This site is obviously a supportive community for people to get better. Those of us that share, will improve.
I think what they may be referring to would be the patent law stating that once an idea is presented at a conference or sold on the market it is no longer patentable. I you posted you work here it could be argued that you have presented to your industry, and if you don’t already have a patent you are no longer eligible for one.
I keep reading that line because I have some designs I think I need to patent, but I don’t really understand how that works or why they wouldn’t let you do that.
I also agree that there probably isn’t a designer at converse that is trolling for designs to outright rip off. I do imagine that people come here for inspiration and to see what other people think is hot right now, approaching it in a collaborative way rather than a more negative light.
If you think your work is so ground breaking that someone may steal it and prevent you from making a living from just one idea that maybe you should get a lawyer and learn more about patents.
I thought that the general reasoning was that shoe designs weren’t really worth patenting in general, as they change so fast, and by the time one drops, the company is on to something else.
We do get functional patents quite a bit (depending on your company, but for performance), I’ve got a bunch from various upper fit systems and some cushioning stuff I’ve worked on with our advanced groups. There is a lot of IP surrounding cushioning (Air, Shox, Impax, Adidas A3…)
There are so many sites & competitions…with thousands of shoe concepts.
So this is baseless…
I have been publishing my work on core forum…& I am thankful to this forum that I could able to participate & share my concepts.
I never sketched…shoes before I joined sketch-fu post.
This is a place where you will get inspirations, encouragement …& guidance.
Were just going to easily replace the stolen concepts with way better ones by the years. Most of the stuff we post here is ideation, and practice. I used to worry about it too but the chances of that ever happening were really low.
I agree with yo, those who share will definitely improve as I did
I’ve had my work copied more times than I care to remember. BUT this is work that has gone into production and then copied once it reached trade show or retail. The likes of Converse copy from here? I don’t think so. A Chinese factory with no design team would copy? For sure, but not from here. They don’t like to take risks, so they will copy best sellers that are already in the marketplace - I am certain they would cnsider it too much risk to steal from here - often theres no taste level so it has to be an obvious winner that they copy.
So I don’t think there are any lazy designers fishing for ideas - there are lazy companies with no design teams fishing for ideas in existence, but the work on core would probably never fit their brief for what they are after - as mentioned its concepts - the reality of what these companies want is very boring, very mainstream, certainly not portfolio /talent showcasing work like we see here.
What worries me more is when I see work in designers’ Corefolios on here that is current work for a client (way before launch into retail). That is such bad practise and you could lose the contract if they find you out!
There are so many sites & competitions…with thousands of shoe concepts.
So this is baseless…
I’m sorry for getting everyone so defensive but, I know someone who caught an employee tracing a printout of a sketch from this site to show in a meeting.
There have been many designs lifted from KicksGuide.com’s monthly Artist Series competition and sold by janky shoe brands, usually on the Asian market, as you suggest. Seems like I remember it happening to Pietro Pellicelli a couple times. It happened to me once, about a year ago. PEAK stole my upper for the 06 March Madness competition.
I knew of PEAK only because I remembered press covering their signing of Shane Battier (Houston Rockets) to an endorsement deal. Another designer alerted me to it. I thought at first it was probably a rogue factory using stolen designs to produce fake branded kicks, but then I found my design on their official website.
Here’s my design at the top, with the PEAK shoes at the bottom.
Thats crazy! It’s pretty much exactly the same. Did you ever try and contact them just to ask what the hell they think their doing? lol. I guess at the end of the day though considering this was just a KG entry it’s cool to see the real thing and in a way kind of flattering.
wow, that sucks. Ya, china domestic market “brands” are a whole 'nother breed. guess i should revised my comment to say not 100% true (that you won’t get copied), but maybe 90%. for sure though it’s not that likely that a real brand would do such a thing.
at least they did a half decent job of executing your design, though your render looks much better! ha!
Yeah, it was a mix of feelings when it happened. As I said, it had happened to Pietro and a couple other guys already, so I was definitely aware of the possibility. And I’ll even admit to thinking, “well, if these factories are surfing KicksGuide for free designs, why haven’t they chosen any of mine?” So, when they finally did, I was flattered and pissed at the same time.
No doubt, the China market is a realm unto its own. And you really don’t get a full grasp of it until you make a trip over there and go out shopping. Wow! And I agree that “real” brands don’t do it.
So, when they finally did, I was flattered and pissed at the same time. 