So recently, during an ongoing trial between Samsung and Apple, Apple submitted as evidence a document on how to make Samsung's phones more like Apple's. It is not unusual, when faced with a usability design issue, that a designer would get inspiration from competitors. This could even be beneficial to end users, creating a de-facto standardization effect. But then, it would be better to figure out the reasons why some design was chosen so that you could achieve the same effects in a novel, potentially better way. Instead, simply mimicking another's design is like cheating during an exam. While there are various physical and technological constraints, there is always more than one "correct" answer in design.
In Samsung's case, we see traces of them figuring out the intention of the design, and then simply giving up and doing the same. This means that, instead of the similarities being the result of having only one source of "inspiration", it might have been the purposeful intention to copy Apple even to the smallest design details. As best this imitation is a form of flattery, at worst it is a deliberate attempt to mislead customers into thinking that, because it feels similar, it may be just as good.
I find that there is great opportunity in design, especially when it relates to usability and software, to explore potential solutions by using creativity. For me, simply copying another design (in any way other than learning) is to deliberately avoid one of the most fun and appealing part of design, making the process of designing tedious and somewhat pointless.
Published on August 8, 2012 at 20:52 EDT
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