Racked Mailbag: She Ganked My Font!

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We reach deep into the mailbag today for this interesting query regarding the font usage of a Brooklyn boutique:

Hi Racked,
I'm at my wit's end, and wonder if you or your readers would like to weigh in on this issue. I've been using the Chank font "Asswipe" for 8 years in all of my shop's branding collateral, everything. It's a specialty font and very distinctive. My handmade Thundercut sign is made with it, store bags use it, all ads use it. My boutique is well known in Brooklyn, and visually the font is strongly associated with me.

I received an email from a customer that another boutique, this one in Williamsburg, has started using the exact same font for her store name in flyers publicizing an event. I left a post on her blog asking her to choose another font, since this one could make people think I was connected to her shop, which of course I am most definitely not. Visual branding is key in our business, and I deeply resent being copied. There are millions of fonts to choose from. I think it's extremely tacky and dishonest to appropriate the look of another boutique, and we're both in Brooklyn. Thoughts?

An honest mistake, or a blatant ripoff? Click through the links above for more on the story; we welcome your thoughts and opinions in the comments section and your letters to Tips@Racked.com.