Our logo for a toy collector community got ripped off

I rarely get any notices of logo ripoff’s on this site but when it’s a logo that we made for a for a local community of high-end collectibles, I think it deserves a feature somehow.

So I just have been notified that a certain Instagram account, Toy Spot Collector, has clearly been doing some ‘minor’ shifting to the original Hot Toys Philippines logo.

ToySpot aka ‘the ripper’ is also using the copied logo on the same theme and items as the original ones. Not that it wouldn’t also hurt to see the copied logo on say, a beverage one for example, but this is just a direct lifting and re-editing of a logo then using it as your own, for your own toy collectible community.

Some costumes in the @prcomiccon #hottoys #hottoyscollector #hottoyscollectors #hottoyscollection #toyrevolution #toycrewbuddies #actionfigures # #actionfigure #toyspot #toys #toygram #toylife #gamer #gamers #toycollector #figurasdeaccion #toyphotography #toy4life #toyslagram #toyartistry #toyelites #toysaremydrug #toptoyphotos #toygroup_alliance #prcomicon2015 #cosplay

A photo posted by Toyspot Collector (@toyspotcollector) on May 22, 2016 at 6:30pm PDT

The logo clearly lifted the “Toys” portion in all its form and edited in the P and T along with the exact same letter O on their copy. I also find the detail on the merging P and T quite cunning since it lifted the curved cut on the red line just below the S on the original one.

This is really not a big brand logo and just a local fan community for a specific line of collections and collectors. I just want to bring this out in the open and address it officially hence we may look like the ones who did the copying down the line – plus, the fact that stealing is just plain wrong.

Their account photo uploads look quite good actually - but the logo, the one that is emblazoned on every Instagram photo and some of their shirts, is not originally theirs and just a ripoff of the original Hot Toys Philippines.

http://hottoysph.com/forums/
https://www.facebook.com/hottoysph
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hottoysphilippines

Where Do You Work?

Our place is currently being reconstructed after so many years of neglect for only being used as a large storage area. It’s being designed now as a small office, home office (SoHo) type of environment. Since we are now doing lots and lots of stuff having a work-from-home job, it’s a perfect way to balance what’s work and what’s not work.

With all the leg work that the construction guys are completing every day, the second part of building now comes in – working on the interiors. What should the walls look like? How would the lighting be on this and that area? What paint would be perfect? Where will the workstations go? How about the Kidrobot toy collections? and just now, at the back of my mind, how will we fit the Kinect in this crampy space?

At the moment, the paint is done, the lighting, wires and all are already in place, the floor is already tiled but I was thinking of having some sort of carpet or rug to cover the area and provide some cushion. By chance, a representative from Tretford sent a sample carpet for me to try out. Surfing for more information revealed that the designer carpet, made from Mongolian goat hair, has anti-static properties which is perfect for me since I'll often handle a lot of electronic devices on the area. It also came with a lot of color options to suit the tangerine wall we already had. (Bell Floorcoverings Inc. - 7819525)

Another idea that I had was to use these magnetic paints that you could buy on hardware stores. I initially thought about drilling in rare-earth magnets, or the extra Buckyballs that I had laying around, to allow for some clean mounting of posters or light frames. That spark of genius died when the thought of magnets embedded on walls could affect the wireless performance inside the room, and out.

Float - Humanscale Adjustable Table

After reading dozens of articles and infographics saying how sitting for long hours is a bad, bad thing, I’m also considering on ways to limit my sitting time. I have already tried the air-filled gym ball but had to revert back to a normal chair after getting tired of it rolling around the place (though this seemed to have solved it.) Another alternative would also be a standing workstation. Not this overkill.

The photo on the right was my early 2010 setup on a different corner of the room. It looks different right now. The secondary monitor is now on portrait mode all the time while that laptop has been loaned to my brother and has been in repair for 4 months. The desk plant has since grown and transferred into a larger paso.

How about you? Where do you work? How does your workplace look like?

Thanks to Tretford Philippine distributor Bell Floorcoverings Inc. for providing the sample carpet. For those interested check out tretford.com or call 7819525.

Artist vs Designer

I recently had a conversation with my best friend regarding the difference of being an Artist and a Designer. I haven’t gave it much deeper thought honestly but she asked me if I also consider myself an Artist, I thought about it for a while and explained my own definition of both profession/passion.

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Raffles Design Institute opens Manila campus

This is a press release from Raffles Design Institute, Manila

From as far north as Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and all the way down south to Auckland, New Zealand – Raffles Education Corporation (REC) has been setting the standard for design education in the Asia-Pacific region. REC is Asia-Pacific’s largest private education group, with 38 colleges in 35 cities across 14 countries and it is opening the doors of its very first campus in the Philippines this July.

Raffles Design Institute, Manila (RDIM) – the flagship design institute of REC, is located at the trendy Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The brand new campus will be rolling out four programmes for a start this July: Two-year, full-time, advanced diploma courses in Fashion Design, Fashion Marketing and Management, Graphic Design, and Interior Design.

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Specialized Arts Center of the Philippines

The Specialized Arts Center of the Philippines (SACP) is an art and design school located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

Classes are composed of lectures and workshops. Workshops are a combination of lectures, demonstrations and hand-on execution by the students which are closely mentored by the teacher. They are having Basic Drawing, Flower Arrangement workshops this coming July 2010.

For more information visit: www.psid.edu.ph/sacp/sacp.html

After todays election, I’m getting this!

Already reserved mine! Admittedly unnecessary but from the looks of it, sure looks fun! A nice reward after all the hustle and tussle of today’s election. eMagazines galore!

We Support Team Transformers

This is not a design related post. Nevertheless this coming election will definitely have an impact on every Filipino in the next 6 years.

Let us do our research, analyze the candidate’s backgrounds and check their track records. Always vote according to your principle and not according to popularity and winnability.

What this country needs is not just a change of men, but a change in men.

– Dick Gordon, March 3, 1980

If you are still undecided, may I suggest that you consider reading what these men have done in their districts and constituency. We need men of action, not men of words. Gordon and Bayani has the experience and track record to back their candidacy. Vote wisely. Vote Dick Gordon for President and Bayani Fernando for Vice-President.

Download Gordon-Bayani PDF poster here

We Love Blogger

One Design PH just got picked as one of 80 Beautiful Blogger Designs by BloggerBuster.com under the Pale/Minimal Category. Zune Philippines was included as well. For more Blogger design showcase and inspiration check out We Love Blogger.

Happy New Year!

Here’s to a new year of design and happiness! (Yes, those 2 things are interconnected in some ways if not most of the time.) I think the new decade starts next year. I don’t think we had a year 0 (Zero) to start with.

May this new year bring more blessings, wisdom, and growth in our lives. God Bless everyone!

Building a Design School for Filipino Artists Living in Poverty

An ambitious goal to start a nonprofit design school in the Philippines for young adults who can't afford college. Support and spread the word.

Ferdinand Center for the Creative is a nonprofit center opening up soon in the beautiful archipelago of the Philippines. Our aim is to provide the finest graphic design education for young adults who can’t afford quality art education.

FCC already started a project at KickStarter.com to fund this design school. They have 90 days left for people to pledge in and reach their target of $50,000 (roughly 2.5 million pesos). They already have a lot in Camarin, Caloocan City and blueprint of the school. All they need is the money to actually build it. If they can’t reach $50,000 on March 13, 2010, they won’t get anything and those who pledged won’t be charged.

This is a cause worth supporting. For more information visit www.ferdinandcc.org.

Do designers really prefer Macs?

Is it because designers like well-designed products? Is it because they get the job done? or is it because of the cool factor? I’m not sure why exactly.

My theory is that designers want to focus on designing and not on fixing virus and tinkering registry entries. Just like the separation of Designer and Programmer. Photoshop and Dreamweaver. HTML and CSS.

I’m a designer and I like modding, fixing stuff (even broken hardware) so not all designers are stereotyped mac users. I’m sure that most powerful desktop right now is a PC.

I’ll soon find out if OSX Snow Leopard (+ magic mouse) really fits my taste hopefully in the coming weeks when I get to try out the new 21.5” iMac.

I just don’t like the fact that the hard drive is not easily user replaceable. Thinking long-term, I just opted for the 1TB configuration. Thinking 500GB for OSX and 500GB for Windows 7 bootcamped.

I also didn’t like that I needed to buy a special cable to hook up my external monitor. The Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter costs 1,500 pesos whereas a Class A China-made cable that does the same thing sells for only 200 pesos on eBay. (I still ended up buying from Apple Store Philippines online for warranty purposes.)

I hate Apple Tax, that’s why I still prefer my Asus PC when it comes to price versus power.

Are you a designer? Do you use an Apple computer?

8 Filipino Artists & Designers you should follow on Twitter

List of some great local talents that you should check out and follow if you’re on Twitter. If you know some one that should be in this list. (or even yourself) feel free to comment away! See the list after the jump.

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10GUI: Reinventing Desktop Human-Computer Interaction

Is it time to ditch the traditional ‘windows’ interface and mouse in exchange for these multi-touch pads?

The mouse and the window led us out of the confines of the keyboard and the text prompt to the world of graphical and spatial possibility we enjoy today. But there's no reason to stop there. - R. Clayton Miller

I agree that multi-touch desktops like HP’s TouchSmart PC’s can’t be used for long hours without arm strain. It would be like doing that wax on, wax off thing in karate kid while working.

http://10gui.com

First Philippine International Comics, Cartoons, and Animation Festival

The first Philippine International Comics, Cartoons, and Animation festival will be held at Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP Building) San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center Pasig on October 15 to 18.

The festival aims to call attention to the local comics and animation talents. There will be guests coming in from the US, Canada, China, and other Asian countries.

Date: October 16, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM onwards
Activity: Industry Talks OPEN FOR Educators and Practitioners
Fees: Students-P500 / Industry Practitioners-P800

Description

1. Why We Outsource Animation to the Philippines by Trevor Bentley and Mauro Casalese
2. Intellectual Property:The protection and promotion of The artists to be conducted by The Intellectual Property Office Director General Che Cristobal
3. Demonstration of Propriety Software on Puppet Animation by Reggie Vinluan & Alex Calero
4. Comics Trend Worldwide by Mr. John Lent
5. The Asia Pacific Association of Animators and Cartoonists

For more information, please visit http://www.piccafest.com