Last week Ben (humorously) speculated that Cathay Pacific might be joining Star Alliance soon, since Star Alliance is using a photo of Cathay's first class cabin as part of its own marketing campaign -- even though you can't fly Cathay on Star Alliance. 🙂 May I suggest that the graphic designers behind Hilton's new Curio…
Continue reading: The Curio(us) Case Of A Copycat Brand
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Perhaps I am missing the point but are you trying to say that the Curio and Edition logos above are using the same font? Because they are clearly not.
@DougG: The Curio and Edition logotypes are both in the Bodoni font: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodoni
Okay, I think the issue here is terminology. I am not a font expert but I will certainly concede they may be in the Bodoni typeface or family. They are however, different from each other, i.e. they are distinct 'fonts'.
If you stay at the property, you'll see that branding in the room (i.e. fire escape plan on back of door) has just had the Westin part blanked out. So what was "The Westin Diplomat..." is now "The ______ Diplomat" For supposedly being a high end hotel, this is pretty chintzy.
@Nick It may be the same font-family but that is definitely not the same font by any means.. There is fairly obvious big differences between them.
By that logic, any company using one of the 4-5 main sans-serif font-families (which are used in most modern logos!) are copying each other..
The Edition font is Bodoni, but the Curio font very definitely is not. Both are serifed fonts with a very big variation in stroke width between vertical and horizontal strokes, but look at the shape of the serifs--in the Edition font, they're longish thin lines; in the Curio font, they're little tapered triangles. Not the same font at all.
Both the Diplomat and the Westin use Friz Quadrata, but that's a very widely used, 50-year-old font.
Gotta love the title.
The edition and curio fonts are different though, not major but you can make out the ever so slight difference just by looking at the 'O'.
Nick,
I have plans to visit the Diplomat next month for a 5-night stay. Did you stay there recently? Any advice/suggestions? I'm Hilton Diamond, FWIW. Thanks.
@zow, I haven't stayed there since 2010, but you may appreciate Lucky's review from 2012.
It seems to me that people who are picking apart exactly the differences between the Curio and Edition fonts are missing the forest for the trees here. From how I read it, the Curio/Edition similarity is only an aside after the main point that the hotel released a file named DiplomatLogo_ExactWestnFont_wHllywd.jpg to the press. (If we're going to be really pedantic about it, they aren't even exact, the Diplomat logo uses a slightly heavier weight.)
Part of what that hotel was paying for when they paid dues to Starwood was the Westin brand, and they're still trying to loosely use it, even if they are keeping just enough distance to have what they're doing be legal. Legal or not, it's scummy.
Just looking at the "I" in Curio and the "I" in Edition show they aren't the same font.
As for the Diplomat, maybe they used the same font for continuity, because they wanted people to think of it as the same hotel, "The Diplomat", regardless of brand, which is a different motive than trying to make you think it's a Westin.
The Curio and Edition logotypes are both modified versions of the same font, Bodoni. Yes, the serif on the "I" has been modified in the Curio logotype, and the Curio type has been "thinned out" to a lighter weight, but I assure you they are both derived from the same base typeface.
If the best people can do is be pedantic and nitpick over the differences in bezel angle on the serif of an "I," it's clear to me there's no disagreement that the typefaces are substantially similar, which is really the point.
@Nick I'm not sure where you are spotting these similarities.. Apart from the fact they're both serifs they're not alike at all..
I do agree the top one is a copy for sure but is likely just a hotel with a hate for their former partner and wanting to show it meanwhile Curio which was designed and/or approved by Hilton top management is not a copy of Edition logo in my mind.
With that being said, you can't really blame the actions of one hotel on the whole brand.
The serifs on the two fonts are completely different for starters. I'm not sure how you can't tell these are two different fonts. Edition is definitely Bodoni but Curio is something different.
@Nick: Your condescending assurance notwithstanding, anyone familiar with fonts can see that these are different fonts. Both fonts have serifs and thick vertical strokes (and they're both all caps in the Latin alphabet), but that's where the Curio logo's similarity with Bodoni (which does appear to be the Edition logo's typeface) ends.
A Bodoni "C" has serifs top and bottom. The Curio "C" has one serif. Bodoni has hairline serifs. The Curio logo has wedge serifs. The Curio "R" has a spur at the end of the right leg; a Bodoni "R" doesn't. Pretty much every typographic detail of the Curio logo differs from Bodoni, once you get past the serifedness and the thick stroke width. (The Curio logo is reminiscent of Baskerville Old Face, but the "R" is different.)
Maybe pointing out differences between fonts is "nitpicking" in your mind, but that's how people who deal with fonts and typography distinguish fonts. I assure you these are not the same font.
Nick says:
"If the best people can do is be pedantic and nitpick over the differences in bezel angle on the serif of an “I,” it’s clear to me there’s no disagreement that the typefaces are substantially similar, which is really the point."
Thank Zeus there was a point to all this pointlessness...
curio doesn't use bodoni or even a modified bodoni
nick, i'm a graphic designer and you're not and you better think twice before writing this kind of stuff and stick to writing about travel related content ...
there are zillions of websites that are dedicated to brand identity, new logo, plagiarism and last time i checked OMAAT isn't one of them
@Nick, thank you. I enjoyed Lucky's review, but I think a lot has changed. They apparently don't have a club lounge anymore (must have gone away with Starwood-->Hilton). Still, looks beautiful.
@Zow I stayed there this past weekend as a Diamond too. Its a great property but they charge you for everything. They charged me $3 to send a fork to the room! Also, the beach chairs are supposed to be free but they mess up and at the beach they will try to charge you, just say that you already paid the resort fees and that its included for free! Parking is expensive at $36 valet and $26 self park since there is no other parking around! As a Diamond you also get $15 per person (max $30) in credits for breakfast, just remember $15 is a parfait and coffee, which is ridiculous since they should at least offer $25 since there is no lounge or even a free breakfast!
@frank. Thanks very much. Must have been a very special fork! We'll do Uber to avoid the parking. And we'll bring our own plastic cutlery and snacks to supplement the "breakfast" allowance.
I worked for Hilton when they were launching Denizen the concept which was stolen from Starwood and Ross Klein the guy Chris Nassetta brought in from Starwood led to a $75 million dollar settlement so its not surprising they copied Edition and "intrepreted"it as Curio...