Design is a profession that thrives on creativity. Us designers are constantly trying to innovate by thinking outside the box. We’ve seen design evolve across all sectors — print, digital, product, architecture etc. We have gone from typewriters to sleek laptops; from clunky handsets and landlines to compact mobile phones; and socialising in person to poking each other on Facebook.

設計是一個依靠創造力而繁榮的職業。 美國設計師不斷嘗試創新思維。 我們已經看到設計跨越了各個領域 -印刷，數字，產品，建筑等。我們已經從打字機發展到時尚的筆記本電腦。 從笨拙的手機和座機到緊湊型手機； 并親自進行社交，以便在Facebook上互相戳戳。

Brands that have lasted all this while have adapted themselves to stay ahead of the curve. Let’s take Coca-Cola for instance. The image below shows how the brand logo has evolved. What is noteworthy that though the font has changed drastically over the decades, Coca Cola chose to retain the color red as their primary color over the past 70 years. This is solely because the corporation believes that the color red distinguishes them from their competition.

歷經如此艱辛的品牌已經適應了潮流。 讓我們以可口可樂為例。 下圖顯示了品牌徽標的演變方式。 值得注意的是，盡管數十年來字體發生了巨大變化，但可口可樂在過去70年中選擇保留紅色作為其主要顏色。 這完全是因為公司認為紅色可以將它們與競爭對手區分開。

JioMeet，鎮上的新模因 (JioMeet, the new meme in town)

I came about writing this piece when ~3 weeks ago, my social media was flooded with memes about JioMeet, a video calling application launched by Indian telecom giant Reliance Industries.

大約三周前，我開始寫這篇文章，當時我的社交媒體上充斥著有關印度電信巨頭Reliance Industries推出的視頻通話應用程序JioMeet的模因。

JioMeet, as we see in the image above, seems to be a replica (down to the icons) of Zoom — an application being used across the world for video calling in personal and professional capacities. Zoom usage reached its peak when the pandemic hit and employees were forced to work from home. The Zoom desktop and mobile applications have proven to be extremely intuitive and straight-forward, making it the go-to choice for video calling and screen-sharing.

正如我們在上圖中所看到的，JioMeet似乎是Zoom的副本(圖標下方)，該應用程序在世界各地用于個人和專業人士的視頻通話。 當大流行和員工被迫在家工作時，Zoom的使用達到了頂峰。 事實證明，Zoom桌面和移動應用程序非常直觀，簡單明了，使其成為視頻通話和屏幕共享的首選。

So when JioMeet allegedly ripped off Zoom’s design, their counter argument must have been — ‘Why not?’

因此，當據稱JioMeet撕毀Zoom的設計時，他們的反對論點一定是-“為什么不呢？”

When an organisation is looking to build and launch a product, one of the most important steps in the process is user testing. Products are tested for weeks and months before being released into the market. Success after testing with real users is what decides the fate of the product.

當組織希望構建和發布產品時，該過程中最重要的步驟之一就是用戶測試 。 產品在投放市場之前要經過數周和數月的測試。 與真實用戶測試后的成功決定了產品的命運。

So if Reliance Industries found a tried and tested application for a product they were building, why not use a design that is tried and tested successfully with people across the globe? (Apart from the obvious ethical implications)

因此，如果Reliance Industries找到了他們正在構建的產品的久經考驗的應用程序，為什么不使用已在全球范圍內成功地經過嘗試和測試的設計呢？ (除了明顯的道德影響外)

尋求“靈感” (Seeking “inspiration”)

We have all been in a position where we have browsed Dribbble to get over a design block. We do this NOT to find a solution, but to see the creative alternatives put out by people across the world. Perhaps looking at some variation is what helps us oil our thought machine.

我們一直都在瀏覽Dribbble來跳過設計塊。 我們這樣做并不是要找到解決方案，而是要尋找世界各地人們提出的富有創意的替代方案 。 也許看一些變化可以幫助我們為思想機器加油。

That being said, we also find ourselves using design elements and patterns that we end up noticing.Let’s take TABS as an example. Tabs are used commonly across domains and devices. We see tabs being used in websites, mobile applications, transactional portals, etc. I personally have used tabs without giving a second thought because they work so well for a requirement.

話雖如此，我們也發現自己使用了我們最終注意到的設計元素和模式，讓我們以TABS為例。 選項卡通常在域和設備之間使用。 我們看到在網站，移動應用程序，交易門戶等中使用了選項卡。我個人使用這些選項卡時沒有三思而后行，因為它們可以很好地滿足要求。

So would that mean I plagiarised a design? Probably not.

那是否意味著我竊了設計？ 可能不是。

取得平衡 (Striking a balance)

I too, like most my peers am a flag bearer of innovation and blue sky thinking. Us designers are taught to constantly push ourselves to put our best design forward. But we are also taught to create the best possible solution for our users. In another post, I spoke about how users more often than not cling to what is familiar to them. Steve Krug published an entire book telling designer to not make their users think.

我也像大多數同齡人一樣，是創新和藍天思維的旗手 。 我們的設計師被教導要不斷推動自己，以提出最好的設計。 但是我們也被教導要為我們的用戶創造最好的解決方案。 在另一篇文章中 ，我談到了用戶如何更多地堅持不熟悉他們所熟悉的東西。 史蒂夫·克魯格(Steve Krug)出版了一整本書，告訴設計師不要讓用戶思考。

While it is 100% unethical to simply copy paste a design, a good designer should always keep their eyes open for the best possible solution for their user, even if it means using an idea didn’t stem from their minds.We need to strike a balance by using design elements or components that work best for our users, while brainstorming to come up with multiple other mind-blowing solutions.

盡管僅復制粘貼設計是100％不道德的做法，但優秀的設計師應始終睜大眼睛為用戶提供最佳解決方案， 即使這意味著使用的主意并非源于他們的想法 。通過使用最適合我們用戶的設計元素或組件來實現平衡，同時集思廣益，以提出其他多種令人振奮的解決方案。

An example of this could be, while designing a mobile application, I ended up using a hamburger menu to incorporate all my menu items. This is an element that users have seen before, and use frequently. Thus I am confident about my decision to use it. The landing page on the other hand is something I will willingly break my head over. This page being specific to my application isn’t even something that could/should be plagiarised. So I end up focusing all my creative energies creating a great landing experience, than trying to figure out an alternative way to do up my menu.

例如，在設計移動應用程序時，我最終使用了漢堡菜單來合并我所有的菜單項。 這是用戶以前見過且經常使用的元素。 因此，我對使用它的決定充滿信心。 另一方面，目標網頁是我愿意打破的。 特定于我的應用程序的頁面甚至還沒有/可能/竊。 因此， 我最終將所有精力都投入到創造出色的著陸體驗上 ，而不是嘗試尋找一種替代方法來準備菜單。

In conclusion, just remember to ALWAYS think of what is best for your users first, and then decide the route you need to take!

總而言之，請記住始終要先考慮對用戶最有利的選擇，然后再決定需要采取的路線！

Drop a comment and tell me what did you think about this ethically on the fence article!

在圍欄文章上發表評論，并告訴我您對此有何想法！