Dickon Sire from the 2paragraphs Designer Interviews:
I was recently reading about the 2007 Johnson & Johnson lawsuit against the Red Cross disputing the rights to using the symbol of a red cross in commerce. Now I realize that Johnson & Johnson has been using this for a very long time (since 1895!) and it’s an important part of their brand… but this is a universal symbol that is all about helping others, healing, and identifying places of refuge both in times of peace as well as war. The simplicity of a cross with equal length arms is a very powerful and instantly recognizable mark that transcends language and culture barriers.
So if there was something I could’ve designed – across time – and maintain the rights to, it would be this cross. From an egotistic standpoint because, how cool to have created something so universal? And from an altruistic position, so that any healing, helping, hospital, clinic, or organization could freely utilize this symbol without fear of legal action from a commercial enterprise. There’s nothing wrong with commerce but when it interferes in something such as this, well it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth doesn’t it?
The Ubiquitous Red Cross
Dickon Sire is the owner and founder of dsire, inc., a web design studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he creates some of Hollywood’s biggest films on the Internet. Clients include Disney, DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox, among others.
