Can I Have One Just Like This?

Designers know that one of the most common requests from clients is a request for copy of some other web site, logo, business card, or brochure. Design is a sticky and subjective matter, so clients think they’ll save time and money by finding what they want first, then contacting a designer to just make a copy of it with their own content inside. It seems like a quick and easy fix.

But there are so many reasons you should avoid being lured by the idea of a quick and simple copy.

Copyright Infringement

Copying someone else’s design or even their look and feel is copyright infringement, even if there’s not a copyright notice printed on the piece or at the bottom of the web site. Designs aren’t a free-for-all. American law protects creative works under copyright automatically as soon as they’re created, whether or not the creator officially registers his or her copyright.

Keep in mind, too, that the design community is a technology-savvy bunch. They spend a significant part of their days online, looking at web sites and logos and connecting with their fellow designers. When a designer notices their designs have been stolen and used for another purpose, they tend to get pretty vocal about it. The last thing you want is dozens of articles all over the web criticizing your business for stealing someone else’s design work.

Focus on what sets you apart, not what makes you the same

Your business is unique. If it weren’t, you wouldn’t be in business, because no matter what you do, there’s someone else out there doing it too. You have to give people a reason to come to you rather than go to your competition if you want to stay in business. So think about what makes you and your business unique. If you’re a hair salon, for example, there’s a good chance there’s at least a dozen more hair salons with one square mile of your storefront. Why would a customer in need of a haircut come to you instead of one of the other twelve? Do you have expert training? Do you pride yourself on amazing customer service? Do you include a free scalp massage? Do you have the most comfortable chairs? Do you have the chattiest and friendliest stylists? Does your salon feature a soothing waterfall and zen garden?

The design of your business collateral from your logo to your web site to your business cards communicates the uniqueness of your business to your customers. The design should reflect and emphasize those things that set you apart and make you different from your competition. If you copy someone else’s design,  you’re telling your customers that you’re basically the same and they might as well go to your competitor instead of coming to you.

That other design is a mystery

Sure, that other design might be in your favorite colors and look really great. But there are a lot of things you don’t know about that design.

You don’t know, for example, if that design was made from a prebuilt template. Sites selling design templates for everything from web sites to business cards abound. They seem to make a great shortcut, but then your site ends up looking like dozens or hundreds of others who also used that same template and we’re back to that problem of not telling your customers what makes your business unique and sets you apart from your competition.

You don’t know if the design you like has the same target audience you’re trying to reach. You might be trying to reach young, professional women between the ages of 25 and 35, and the design you like might have been designed to reach male sports fans between the ages of 15 and 25. If your design is aimed at the wrong target audience, you’re not going to get a very good return on your investment, and you risk alienating your true target audience.

Even if you do know that you share the same or similar target audience, you don’t know if the design is successful. A web site, for example, can look absolutely beautiful, but be an utter and miserable failure. It can have gorgeous color scheme and be filled with stunning photography and yet fail to bring in new business or increase sales. There’s so much more to a design than initial impressions and aesthetics. Design can draw the eye to particular bits of content that you want to emphasize. Design can make it easy for your potential customers to find just the information you’re looking for. Design can convey a feeling or impression that would be hard to put into words, creating an emotional response in your customers.

The answer is no

Anytime I’m approached with this type of inquiry, my answer is no. I’m happy to work with you to build an identity that’s unique to you and your business. I’m happy to research your target audience and focus a design to capture their attention. I’m happy to assist you in building an online presence and promoting your business. But I won’t create a copy of someone else’s work.