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GitHub ripped off Octobox for their new notifications UI

11 points by vvoyer 7y ago

kvczor 7y ago
...is this guy for real? One of the first things that designers do during the design process is to check how a certain problem was solved by others. The goal is to make it work well not to make it original.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
stephencoyner 7y ago
It seems like a silicon valley thing that people are so deeply offended by copycats. Designs are easy to copy, building a deep moat for your business is not. Copying should be taken as a form of flattery and a push to keep innovating. There's no need for "acknowledgment." Edit: Kai-Fu Lee talked about this in his book "AI Superpowers" and mentioned how copying stigmas differ in China vs U.S. and what the impact is long-term. Great read.
mrpotato 7y ago
I don't know, they both look like gmail to me. I wouldn't be surprised if this is some Material UI pattern. edit: typo
DeonPenny 7y ago
So
leepowers 7y ago
> the same gmail-like GitHub notifications experience So it's OK for your design to emulate gmail, but it's wrong for anyone else to emulate you. Got it. Inspiration can only travel one way.
killface 7y ago
Uhhhh... Octobox clearly ripped off Google's Gmail. Flat design with left-side tabs is not a UI innovation.
danpalmer 7y ago
There I aren’t many options for displaying a list of things with various filters on that list. Both of these go for that design, as does Gmail. Many have pointed out that the product GitHub have apparently copied takes inspiration from Gmail, but it also uses iconography from GitHub itself as well. While I think it would be nice for those who have inspired designs/features/etc to be thanked, doing so publicly or as part of the product is likely going to detract from the user experience for most users who won’t know about the original. A quick thanks by email from team to team may be a better approach, but we don’t appear to have a culture of doing that. And that’s only if designs were inspired. I’m this case I think it’s entirely possible that these were developed in isolation.
ksaj 7y ago
Isn't that like saying CNN ripped off BBC because they both use the same style scrolling text mattes? Like pretty much all other news sites, too? When looking to add a feature that is the same feature everyone else is using elsewhere, developers do try to keep things uncomplicated by sticking to the expected norms. That's why McDonald's and Wendy's both have fries that follow a certain expected form. It's not one copying the other - it's them providing what the customer expects from a french fry. Gmail's solution clearly works and is popular right now. That's why Octobox, Github, and everyone else is using that format. EDIT: Since we're talking about copying things, let's start here: https://www.google.com/search?q=infinity+logos&7&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X https://www.google.com/search?q=infinity+logos&7&source=lnms... You get really familiar results by searching "infinity snakes," too.

11 points by vvoyer 7y ago

...is this guy for real? One of the first things that designers do during the design process is to check how a certain problem was solved by others. The goal is to make it work well not to make it original.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

stephencoyner 7y ago

It seems like a silicon valley thing that people are so deeply offended by copycats. Designs are easy to copy, building a deep moat for your business is not. Copying should be taken as a form of flattery and a push to keep innovating. There's no need for "acknowledgment." Edit: Kai-Fu Lee talked about this in his book "AI Superpowers" and mentioned how copying stigmas differ in China vs U.S. and what the impact is long-term. Great read.

mrpotato 7y ago

I don't know, they both look like gmail to me. I wouldn't be surprised if this is some Material UI pattern. edit: typo

DeonPenny 7y ago

leepowers 7y ago

> the same gmail-like GitHub notifications experience So it's OK for your design to emulate gmail, but it's wrong for anyone else to emulate you. Got it. Inspiration can only travel one way.

killface 7y ago

Uhhhh... Octobox clearly ripped off Google's Gmail. Flat design with left-side tabs is not a UI innovation.

danpalmer 7y ago

There I aren’t many options for displaying a list of things with various filters on that list. Both of these go for that design, as does Gmail. Many have pointed out that the product GitHub have apparently copied takes inspiration from Gmail, but it also uses iconography from GitHub itself as well. While I think it would be nice for those who have inspired designs/features/etc to be thanked, doing so publicly or as part of the product is likely going to detract from the user experience for most users who won’t know about the original. A quick thanks by email from team to team may be a better approach, but we don’t appear to have a culture of doing that. And that’s only if designs were inspired. I’m this case I think it’s entirely possible that these were developed in isolation.

ksaj 7y ago

Isn't that like saying CNN ripped off BBC because they both use the same style scrolling text mattes? Like pretty much all other news sites, too? When looking to add a feature that is the same feature everyone else is using elsewhere, developers do try to keep things uncomplicated by sticking to the expected norms. That's why McDonald's and Wendy's both have fries that follow a certain expected form. It's not one copying the other - it's them providing what the customer expects from a french fry. Gmail's solution clearly works and is popular right now. That's why Octobox, Github, and everyone else is using that format. EDIT: Since we're talking about copying things, let's start here: https://www.google.com/search?q=infinity+logos&7&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X https://www.google.com/search?q=infinity+logos&7&source=lnms... You get really familiar results by searching "infinity snakes," too.