Stolen Goods
Out of context: Reply #11
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- jevad0
I think this needs a bump.
My original email to them:
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If you are going to rip off a website and claim it as your own - as you obviously have done with:
https://www.shopcomposition.com/…
Then at least try to make it better...instead of a poor, poor imitation.
And next time - maybe try not to rip something off that has won a bunch of awards and is
a pretty high profile website in the design comuunity.Tards.
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Their reply today:
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That was mean!
You're right, we totally based our design on shopcomposition, because we love it. My attitude is that in this case, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Consider a good design for a house or a shoe--people copy it because it's nice and user friendly and people like it and it works. That's how product / idea development happens. That's why so many websites have handy little "contact about policies" links at the bottom--because one person did it first, and it turned out to be a good idea for everyone.
Anyway we don't compete with shopcomposition at all, so I don't see the harm?
If the only way to not be a tard or get insulted by a hip design community person is to come up with something completely and utterly new and original each and every day, I'm afraid I'll constantly fall short of your high standards. I understand that your peers look very highly upon things that are constantly fresh & original, but in the world of people like us who can't afford $10,000 to build a website, we have to work with what we've got.
That said, I think we've got some pretty neat products, and I think we did something pretty interesting with our site--despite the fact that it is admittedly based on the shopcomp. design. For example, we're selling our car & our friend Tom's toilet seat, which I think is pretty funny.
Sorry to make you so angry. Didn't have to call me a tard, though. We're just a young couple struggling to make our business work, we're not looking to get insulted.
I like your work a lot, and I bet if you knew us we'd get alongfamously. Didn't mean to offend you or anyone by paying homage to adesign that we fell in love with and thought would be really useful.
- Chad & Vanessa Shalgø
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And my reply to that:
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Perhaps it wouldn't have bothered me so much if I didn't know Ian (Coyle - the
composition designer), and how disgusted he is by your blantant rip.Of course - it is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But in
this case the resemblance is just too close. What you have done is basically steal Ian's
design - right or wrong that is what you have done.If I was going to become a furniture designer - would I have the gall to rip off the
Eames Lounge Chair and call it my own? I certainly would not.I really can't believe you are comparing how text links at the bottom fo a website
became the defacto, to how you have completely ripped off another website.Don't you find it rather lazy? Wouldn't you rather have had the vision and inspiration
to have created something extraordinary that could ahve launched you to the forefront of
your market? As it stands, people are going to visit your site and think that you came
up with the design, the motion, the whole VISION behind the website - when you did not -
and that is just plain wrong.I don't consider myself apart of any 'hip design community'. I'm just looking out for a
friend who has had his work stolen by another company with no acknowledgements to his
original design and ideas.I also think you have some neat and original products - so how about having a neat and original website to support them?
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Their attitude completely baffles me. Am I in the wrong here? They do sound like lovely people jsut trying to make a go of it - but ffs...they just totally ripped off shop composition and tried to justify it...