Twitter Design Not Original – Does It Matter?

by Diana Urban on March 3, 2009

Twitter Bird
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About a week ago, I was browsing through a salon and hair product shop at a nearby outlet mall, when a very familiar design caught my eye. The Twitter bird was part of the design of Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree products.

My first thought was “wow, Paul Mitchell stole Twitter’s logo,” so I quickly took some shots with my cell phone.

Paul Mitchell

And here is Twitter’s design:

Twitter

It’s also available in a free wordpress theme called “Blue Bird” by Randa Clay.

Upon further research, I discovered that the blue bird originated from a stock image that Twitter used and probably didn’t buy the exclusive rights to. In fact, the blog twistermc mentions that the iStockPhoto user helloyiying created both the bird and the fail whale. Both images are no longer available, so I assume that someone now has the exclusive rights.

Did the Paul Mitchell company intentionally “steal” the logo after Twitter exploded? Probably not, though I have no idea who bought the image first. But it definitely got my attention in a room full of shampoos, and I’m sure others have noticed, too.

So the question is: does this matter? Who owns the rights now? The Twitter bird has become a big part of the Twitter brand. Enough people associate Twitter with the image and even display the bird on their own websites to publicize their Twitter pages (including the badges I created). Should companies like Twitter make sure that prominent images to their brand are not used as logos/designs for other brands?

What do you think?

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Diana Urban (formerly Diana Freedman) is the founder of ustandout.com, a guide for making your web presence stand out using social media and other web marketing tactics. Diana works in advertising as a User Experience Manager at HubSpot in Boston. Start socializing with Diana by following her on Twitter.


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  • http://isaacbearg.wordpress.com Isaac

    I think for Twitter it doesn’t matter as much (at least at this point) because their marketing needs to be focused on trial and understanding of the service rather then brand recognition. For someone like Paul Allen one would suspect they would like to produce brand recognition around the product to differentiate itself. So for them it’ll be a little more problematic as a significant portion of people will think Twitter not their product if they see that logo.

    Isaac’s last blog post..How concerned are you with your image?

  • http://isaacbearg.wordpress.com Isaac

    I think for Twitter it doesn’t matter as much (at least at this point) because their marketing needs to be focused on trial and understanding of the service rather then brand recognition. For someone like Paul Allen one would suspect they would like to produce brand recognition around the product to differentiate itself. So for them it’ll be a little more problematic as a significant portion of people will think Twitter not their product if they see that logo.

    Isaac’s last blog post..How concerned are you with your image?

  • http://www.talkmobile.co.uk/cheap-phone-calls.html Cheap Phone Calls

    I’ve seen a similar bird on various products throughout the UK, just when out shopping. I must say I noticed it on products before I knew what Twitter was!

  • http://www.talkmobile.co.uk/cheap-phone-calls.html Cheap Phone Calls

    I’ve seen a similar bird on various products throughout the UK, just when out shopping. I must say I noticed it on products before I knew what Twitter was!

  • http://www.kuwaitism.com/wire/lieben/ lieben

    Interessante Informationen.

  • http://ysqqvbgcykms.com/ sroaqnnrsvf

    JPnZWc rhhbkahzwjyf, [url=http://acdbkbzqdqij.com/]acdbkbzqdqij[/url], [link=http://thwfswibtzcf.com/]thwfswibtzcf[/link], http://mghfbviddkcv.com/

  • http://webpaulo.com/pedro/fahrrad/ fahrrad

    Dies ist ein gro

  • http://www.netrostar.com web design miami

    I guess noone thought that twitter would be such a success so they just used some stock image without paying much attention to it.

  • http://www.netrostar.com web design miami

    I guess noone thought that twitter would be such a success so they just used some stock image without paying much attention to it.

  • http://www.shankerbakshi.com Shanker Bakshi

    Smart Inspiration. Randa Clay’s design is exactly as twitter. Now let me dig out which was introduce first – Twitter or randa clay’s theme.

  • http://www.shankerbakshi.com Shanker Bakshi

    Smart Inspiration. Randa Clay’s design is exactly as twitter. Now let me dig out which was introduce first – Twitter or randa clay’s theme.

  • http://www.roompot.pl/ Dekoracje okien

    The design is perfect for both products. But I wonder if anyone's been sued yet. It just seems like something you'd go to the court over.

  • http://www.payrolltampa.com/ Payroll Service Florida

    True Twitter Bird Logo got much famous but now don't make difference its design Twitter already get enough publicity changing in logo or design not too much effect use of Twitter.

  • http://www.odzyskiwanie.com.pl/ Odzyskiwanie Danych

    Of course it matters – the creator should get his share of the “loot” ;) That's how things work, regardless of what “most people” think. Or at least that's how it's supposed to work …

  • http://www.wolnestancje.pl/ Stancje Wroclaw

    It definitely matters to me. I just hate it when people steal intellectual property. And a logo is just that. They should admit it and apologise.

  • http://www.profesjonalne-pozycjonowanie.pl/ pozycjonowanie poznań

    That;s something interesting :) Who stole from who… It is a steal anyway, so the thief should go to prison I think?

  • http://alientalk.com/ Alien

    Hi all ,Where does it show all the colors and stuff so I could actually choose colors? Like, a color palette/table thing..what you say?

  • http://www.advancedhairstudio.com/ hair loss

    Go to Settings from your Twitter profile. Once you're there, click on Design and then select Change Background Image. This is where you're going to upload your background image to Twitter.

  • http://www.advancedhairstudio.com/ hair loss

    Go to Settings from your Twitter profile. Once you're there, click on Design and then select Change Background Image. This is where you're going to upload your background image to Twitter.

  • http://www.hairrestoreadvanced.com.au hair loss product

    if Paul Mitchell company have bought the rights then we should not say it stealing.

  • Ozio Media

    I would have to say yes on this one. If the design is already being used by someone else, why would you want to use it anyway? I don’t think it’s fair to the little guy. (Let’s face it, many companies don’t have the resources to fight with a social media giant like Twitter over design rights). Whoever is in charge of designing a logo for such a large brand should do their diligent homework and make sure their design is unique and original. Great eye by the way.

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