Well this is pretty much the design. I really love the contrast of white on top and charcoal black. To the right under “pixellife” I will have the highlight content, downloads, projects, for easy access and noticeability. “Freshness” will hold short clips of just what ever. “Sourapples” is just some of my favorite links. [...] The city below was added to give a little more flavor, to use up some space, and to help make a transition to the charcoal bottom.
Eric [http://eric-taylor.com/], we think just like each other! Except, here’s the problem, you were looking around for coders to re-create something that you claimed to have designed yourself
My original 2006 Reboot can be viewed on Flickr.
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He takes the exact same pictures that you do. Amazing!
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That’s the best part! It’s like, we see the same things! What a small world we live in.
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So is he going to take it down? Sucks when people do this crap. I’d mail bomb him if I knew how
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I haven’t heard from the individual, but the comp was removed from his site around the time this example was being posted. A make it a habit to snap visual samples early on to circumvent the problem of deleted evidence
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This theme is really famous! A lot of people are ripping it in your face, Derek, maybe its to release it for good. Hehehe. *drooling*
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If there are other rips that I may not know of, do share the URLs. The 5ThirtyOne Reboot is not a theme. The term theme elicits the notion that at some point in time, it will one day find itself as a public release. Reboot is a personal project which, to be honest, is very unlikely to be released to the public. There are some pieces of work which are meant to remain personal, and the effort and time invested into this warrant the decision to keep it thus.
Seeing others claim personal work as their own does little else than sway myself into thinking that investing time into public projects is not as worthwhile as I had thought it to be. I provide public themes in hopes that others will find them viable options from which to build from. There is a discernible difference between something labeled as public, and something labeled as copyrighted.
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imitation as they say is the sincerest form of flattery but if something you worked hard for and spent countless hours working gets ripped off by someone and tries to get credit for it, it can really piss anyone off.
that’s something expected when your work becomes famous. it’s good that you found out about it early and have evidence to prove it. anyways, what’s important is most of us know what the truth is. more power and God bless with your endeavors Derek!
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How do you track URLs using your design, BTW?
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Referral links, word of mouth, or good Samaritans. Often times, individuals who make a habit of claiming content as their own are negligent in removing all traceable links to my server.
in reality, the greatest asset is respect from peers. If I were randomly browsing and found a site a very unique site, I would make an effort to send the author a friendly email inquiring if they were aware of “x” site. Why would I do this? I would like to think that someone else might do the same for me (which is exactly how the above example was found).
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Originality is a rare resource. Just the shame of getting caught and then almost always publicly humiliated should be enough to deter people when ripping site designs wholesale. There’s nowhere to hide on the web.
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This is outrageous and I have emailed him to say so!!! Inspiration and originality should be clearly defined. Sheesh your own CSS and artwork for a start!
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Hold a sec there man….
I have a concern.
My blog, marketingop.us has a white top and a black bottom sorta like this, but its a theme I found called Hemingway. Are you saying something like this would be ripping you off?
I can see the direct rippoff in your example, but how far does this go? Claiming a white top and black bottom is not ripping off because you can only go so far.. I am just trying to get a feel of what you are saying.
By the way, didnt you base your design from Hemingway? What part of the site are you claiming as yours. .the white top and black bottom? the shades of blue? the graphics?
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In a way I think you’ve answered your own question. Copyright infringement is a relatively subjective thing but with visual design it really comes down to the similarities you can see. Does it obviously copy an original work to the point that it becomes an obvious rip-off?
Something like a split background is probably too generic on it’s own to be copyrighted but in a case like this I think re-using it does add weight to the arguement that the design was copied.
Other elements of Eric’s design are very similar to 5thirtyone’s design. The headers are practically identical using the same typography, colour scheme and in some cases the text used hasn’t even changed that much (PIXELFEATURES to PIXELLIFE). Also the layout is used in the exact same way, it’s the same number of columns on both the top and the bottom used for the same type of content.
This isn’t the most blatant rip-off I’ve seen (actually there’s a worse one linked to at http://www.joshuaink.com at the moment), I think that Eric just took inspiration that little bit too far and crossed the line here. His replacement isn’t exactly what you’d call completely different but it’s probably original enough.
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I am by no means inferring that the two tone contrast was copied. Color schemes can not be “copied”. It would be far-fetched for anyone to say “hey, you’re using #333, #6699CC, and #FEFEFE”. A ridiculous angle to approach the situation from.
I’m not going to address the question concerning Hemingway with much detail. Consider browsing the archives to get an idea of the evolution of 5ThirtyOne. Maybe start with Foliage, then Foliage Mod, and finally my last public release V2.
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What Eric did, is pretty much a stupidity and I won’t comment it anymore.
On the other hand your theme for 5ThirtyOne has become something like a landmark in the vast wordpress-driven internet world.
I’d like to compare it with the impact “Kubrick” had when all that blogging started, but Kubrick is outdated (K2 will never reach final and is becoming a monster) and your theme sets a new standart for blogs design. Why? Because it’s a functional and beautiful design, offering your readers everything that is interesting in one page.
Everytime I see your blog it’s like “Yes, this is the PERFECT way of organising information on a blog”. It surprises me that we do not see more copied or “inspired by 5ThirtyOne” web pages out there. Maybe you really should reconsider to release this theme “as is” and enjoy what other people could contribute to it’s design and functionality.
Finally I have to admit that I’m jealous because you are a excellent designer AND an excellent coder. I’m just a coder, but my design is just uninspired.
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Derek, I wouldnt call it ridiculous, as many ‘designers’ try to push examples like this for ripping them off. I have been in web development for over 10 years and I have seen examples where designers try to push things like coping a two tone contrast was ripping them off.
You can see this everyday in the corporate world as well, things so generic but people blamed for ripping off when it was too generic to try to make a case on. I know where your coming from in your example, I just want to make sure everybody else understands it as well.
Matter of fact, Jeep tried to sue Hummer saying they copied their grill ( 7 bars ), but that was too generic.. but again, someone tried to push it even though it might be too broad.
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Just to make sure everyone is clear, I posted the above comp as an example because of the content presentation; the structural aspect. Again, colors are not the core of my argument. Just restating my position.
I must have missed that Hummer / Jeep scenraio. Have linkage to do further reading?
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Well, I think you should have a look at my post, i don’t feel like telling the story over again, and I really think you need to read all of it.
http://eric-taylor.com/2006/08/11/is-it-a-copy-i-dont-think-so/
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Now I remember you. So you were that guy that emailed in thinking that I would pass my code out to anyone who might be willing to ‘donate’ a little something into the tip jar. I thought the request was ridiculous, and your follow-up post humorous to say the least. Good luck on your endeavors. Just know that your progress will be bookmarked. And if you don’t mind, I’d love to see the PSD complete with layers.
Usually when someone shares public posts about design progress, they leave posts up for reference.
Nonetheless, this post remains, as have all previous posts, available for public viewing.
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I have to say Derek, that I agree with Eric. He hadn’t actually ‘ripped’ you at all. He used some of the similar colours.. so? He used parts of the basic layout… its not exactly criminal.
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I am sending you the PSD, I’m sending you the first draft one to prove it to you, but im not going to send my new drafts.
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I feel like I’m beating a dead horse. You line up Eric’s work next to mine and great majority are going to say, “wait a minute, that looks just like Derek’s”. From the text formatting and presentation, 3 / 2 column layout, sub archives, etc. Stop denying this. I didn’t say it was criminal, but it sure as hell isn’t original or his own. Deny all you want, but the smallest details are obvious and much too noticeable to ignore.
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Ya, the first draft does look alot like your site. I agree, and I’m not one to steal anything, thats why its a draft, and thats why there are more drafts, and the newer ones are far from your site. By the way, the PSD is sent.
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Far from I’m sure. Remove my pics from your “working” drafts.
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It is obvious to me (and I think everyone else) that actual code was lifted, then modified.
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I don’t understand why your all crying like little babies. It was a draft. It has never be implemented, nor has it even been coded. The draft that 5thirtyone.com as obtained is the first draft. I now am on the 6th. The sixth isn’t even comparable to this site. Drafts 1-3 have things pretty close the same, but 4,5, and 6 are all different in there ways.
You all need to just take a deep breath and relax. Your all getting fired up over something that hasn’t even been implemented at all.
“You are, in essence, attempting to profit (if not financially, then just attempting to parade around in the aforementioned facade and gain respect/credibility) from someone else’s work without their permission. And that’s bad.”
lol. Sure it is, if it looks the same, but my design only has one, ONE simulatiry, and thats the white on top, and black on bottom. You can’t say I’m “copying” just because of that.
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You continually fail to see the error in your design thought process.
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If it was ‘never implemented’ i.e. put on a public-facing site, there would be no screenshots to prove it.
Nobody here is crying like a little baby. You, in fact are flawed in your thinking. Admit your error, and move on.
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hey Derek, I think you might be interested in seeing his new design and its similarity to this creation on deviantart
man, he sure has no ideas for himself
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Well I hope that at least some credit went to the respective author of that piece.
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Wow. It was to my thinking that he wasn’t too bright, but after reading his claim that the black on the bottom and white on top are the only similarities, I’m more inclined to think he’s straight up simple.
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