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No Labels Designer Apologizes, Design Pulled from Site
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 14, 2010
Modified Dec 14, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 14, 2010
Modified Dec 14, 2010
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Within hours after we reported that the graphic designs for No Labels were apparently stolen from another designer, the non-partisan political organization—which formally launched yesterday—pulled all the designs from their website and Twitter page. And sorry Christmas shoppers: their T-shirts featuring the design are no longer for sale, either! Last night Dave Warren, the designer who "did the work" for No Labels, agreed that the animals in "his" design were "too close" to those created by Thomas Porostocky, who created the design in 2005. Warren initially blamed the mistake on an underling grabbing misidentified clip art, but today his story changes. In a letter to Porostocky, Warren apologetically backpedals:
Late last night, after I got home and finally saw the nearly identical figures and arrangements between your designs and ours, I realized we could not have gotten our designs from clip art. I confirmed that fact later on last night with my staff. So I totally understand your anger—especially considering the quality of your work. There's no excuse for this. I take full responsibility for it. And I'm sorry.
Porostocky tells us, "I haven't had a chance to speak to Dave or No Labels (they both reached out this morning), but will hopefully soon. While an apology might not be the only step, it's not a bad place to start."
And so, it looks like Mayor Bloomberg's thinly-veiled presidential campaign pep squad is going to have to come up with another design. Or maybe they've learned their lesson about hiring graphic designers and will just stick this iStockphoto of an American flag jigsaw puzzle. It's about as inspired as this stage-managed astroturf "movement" itself!
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no labels
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Thomas Porostocky
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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