Archive for February, 2009
No, I didn’t copy: The copy versus mutual inspiration debate
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Today I decided I was going to choose my top 5 or 6 blogs that I was going to make an effort of keeping up on. There’s so many blogs out there, but I really don’t have time to keep up on ALL of them. Amongst my top ones to read, I remembered about my early whirl wind romance with Information Architects and realized I hadn’t seen any of their stuff since over a year ago, when I got their last web trend map.
The subject of woe
So, onto their site I went, and imagine my nervous disappointment when I saw their baroque-style frame on their homepage and from WAY last year at the same time (it’s dated 03/08). Now, I have a similar type of frame on my homepage.
Would you say that I copied Information Architects?
Is it even a close call? Probably not. But then, when IS it copying?
There has been a lot of debate on the copying of web designs recently. The most famous one is for Made by Elephant maker, Max Voltar. He created this cute little website as a little contact form.
Soon there were those ripping off his site so blatantly, that they actually left his email address in the contact details, changed none of the code etc (I can’t find the site copied version anymore… maybe it’s been taken down? If someone knows it, can you add it to the comments? I’d be very grateful). Others have written that they are inspired by other people’s web work but there still seems to be a thin line.
Picasso says, “Good artists copy. Great artists steal.”. Those who copied Tim’s website as well as another who copied others’ style were dealt swift retribution on twitter and were asked to take their sites down. Some who were merely inspired were embarrassed into removing their content.
Is it, Isn’t it? Where is the line?
But what happens when you legitimately have a similar idea? There are examples abound about people coming up with VERY similar things at the same time. If there is such a thing as collective intelligence, how can we say with certainty that it is stealing, especially if the idea is well executed and thought out? As in every stylistic era, there are methods and treatments that get used over and over again. And with web trends and styles running so close together, can we, with certainty, say that we were the first to come up with something? Some say “Nothing is new anymore.” I am getting to the point where I really think things have all been done before.
So… am I a copier??
When I decided to use the gilded frame on safetygoat, I had a vision of an old-fashioned circus (and the music… na, na dadedam nadam nam noah! *that’s circus music, fyi).
I wanted a mixture between old, decorative and circus-like, and new-funky. I even think I’m still in the process of refining it. In this case, Information Architects was using it to make the point that we glorify everything we do on the web and think we’re so great. In a way, that’s what my frame does too, I guess.
So, where’s the line? Even though I claim I didn’t see it, have I ‘copied’ information Architects because we’ve used the exact same element? Even if I DID see it, can I stand accused of plagiarizing their idea? Some companies have trademarked a certain pantone colour as their own, and using a certain sort of treatment on a website is just as distinctive!
What do you think? Have I copied? Where IS the line?
My Top 5 Guy Webdesign Heros
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
A while back, I wrote a post about my female webdesign heros, and felt a bit guilty about singling out girls. It does affect me that there are so many more fantastic guy designers out there than girls (although the girls are starting to come up thick and fast), and I wanted to showcase girl talent (Lee Munroe went further and even featured little ol’ safetygoat on his list of top 26 female webdesigners… *blush!*). But the fact remains that I am actually much more inspired by these talented men. (side note: these are my heros, not necessarily *the best* as I really think that’s way too subjective, these are those that really inspire me…) So here they are!
#5
Brendan Dawes
Brendan Dawes is an inspiration mainly because he doesn’t just have a style, he also tries to display data and information in different and meaningful ways. His intro page displays all his articles vertically and sized by popularity. It’s almost incoherent, but done in a way that makes you want to explore. He’s one of those people that is pushing interaction between the different creative industries, and seems to see no boundaries when it comes to web design. His stuff isn’t beautiful, and it’s layered on top of a traditional blog platform (which isn’t exactly cutting edge in itself) but his experimentations, such as doodlebuzz , make the web a more fun and interesting, and most of all, dynamic place.
#4
mikekus
Mike is Carsonified’s designer. Mike seems to constantly push himself to do really fantastic work, and he’s a really fun illustrator with a distinctive sketchy style. Each of the conference sites he’s revamped recently have been gorgeous, but they maintain a similar feel and style (with different illstrations and colours) to keep them linked together. I saw a video of his presentation at FOWD, and his slides were all hand-drawn. You can tell that he is passionate about designing EVERYTHING, and gives himself a hard time about following web trends too closely. He also preaches that designers should get into html/css as soon as possible in the designing process, which I’m starting to agree with– you make more useable, dynamic, rather than flat websites. Mike is definitely the type of designer you can look up to.
#3
wez maynard
Wez is one of my buddies on twitter, but that’s not why he’s here (I have lots of great fun web design buddies on twitter but I can’t feature them all!). I’ve chatted with him a lot, and he’s a really nice guy. Little did I know, he was also the creator of YoDiv‘ and divVoted’s design (my screenshot here), both of them sites I’ve admired and put in my inspiration book. Wez is fantastic at integrating in his illustrations and textures into his headers and footers. His design utilizes his artistic abilities so well, and while he’s definitely a web 2.0 designer, he has his own style which resonates through each and every design. Looking through his portfolio, he experiments with different techniques, but always produces cohesive designs. Take a look at the footer of his most recent design for Dean and Reddyhoff Marinas. I love how the design is bursting out of the water. Wez is one of those designers that pushes me to try and use graphics and illustrations in more effective ways. His work is definitely drool-worthy.
#2
Jason Santa Maria
It’s hard to make one of these lists without this guy appearing on it. Before I knew of his own site, I had admired his work a few times (just look at wordpress or alistapart). Jason really spends the time to design things right. His current blog is simple, but a great framework to allow him to individualize every post. It is nice to see a designer, who is also a good blogger (it’s amazing how many quality design bloggers are not very good designers, but that’s another story), actually spend the time to individualize each post that he writes. He is also thoughtful and conscientious about where he’s come from. You can read how he came into typography and design from an art background in this article, but I love one of his recent posts has been about his first and second online portfolios back in the day. They’re pretty good, yes, but you wouldn’t call him amazing at that point. That’s what makes him an even bigger hero: he used to be mediocre, and now he’s amazing. This says to me, “If I work hard, with a little bit of luck and a lot of sweat, I too can be amazing. That’s a hero.
#1
Olliekav
Ollie has to be my biggest webdesign hero. He’s self-taught, both at design and code, and he is one of those people that pushes himself all the time, because he wants to be better. In code, he is the one who has made me care about standards compliance, microformats, and new technologies. In design, he has instilled in me the importance of grids, pixel perfection, and the value in the little details. A few of my favourite examples of his work is his design for theBoxCat (launching soon). I worked on the logo, but he took that logo and came up with a better webdesign than I could imagine. I remember seeing it and immediately wishing I had done it, and respecting him even more as a designer. His illustrative style is unique, but the area I admire most is his logo design. Just take a look. He loves typography and is always experimenting with type– an area where I need the most work. Of course, Ollie doesn’t sit down and tell me about these things, he is my hero by his example. Now, I’m sure you’re all thinking that I’m just saying all this about him just because he’s my boyfriend. But the truth is, we don’t work together too closely. He always wants to get better, and nothing pushes me harder to want to be better as well. Take a look at his stuff, and talk to him. You will never meet a more helpful and hardworking designer.
How about you? Do you agree with my choices? Who are your heroes?
Adobe’s website drives me insane
Monday, February 2nd, 2009
I wanted to purchase an adobe product, as my trial had run out. Their store is built in flex, and they are the CREATORS of flex (builder at least).
It crashed my browser 10 times (both firefox (7 times) and safari (3 times)), while trying to open the store.
I restarted my computer, and I finally got into the store.
I tried to purchase using paypal. Transferred me out to paypal no problem, but upon returning me to the store, it gave me the spinny ball for 10 minutes. I was concerned that if I refreshed or tried again, it would charge me twice (as it had gone through fine in paypal)…. Took a chance and tried again. Still screwed up (doesn’t look like they charged me, but keep your fingers crossed). Restarted computer, still didn’t work. Finally decided to just use my credit card. Whole situation took over 1.5 hours.
What an absolute pile of crap. I like adobe products, and I really like flex as it’s a great combo between flash beauty and building dynamic applications, but I think that their website is very convoluted and difficult to use. Shame on you, Adobe.
