Ernie Smith — a designer for the D.C.’s Express but also the creator of the wonderfully fresh ShortFormBlog — has a new fan.
Apparently.
Here’s what Ernie’s ShortFormBlog looked like, just a few minutes ago:
And here is a new web site that offers “news in a shorter and cooler way” to folks in the Philippines:
The similarities to Ernie’s site are striking — not just in overall format, but even in typography and color scheme. Again, here is a screen snap of the original ShortFormBlog…
…and SigawMo:
To give Sigaw Mo credit, they acknowledge the inspiration at the bottom of their home page:
A closer look at that little type, reversed out of red:
Ernie, for one, is not amused:
I’ve been torn about this. Imitation, flattery, what have you.
I appreciate that this person liked the site enough to recreate his own version. But what worries me is the implicit endorsement, along with the fact that the basic structure (not just the design, which imperfectly recreates many basic “look and feel” elements) is almost exactly the same as my site. It’s too close for comfort. They even used many of the same plugins and doodads.
I’m trying to get in touch with the site’s owner and host, and plan to do what I can get this resolved.
A 2004 graduate of Michigan State, Ernie worked as a temporary designer with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel before joining Bluffton Today near Hilton Head, S.C., in 2005. A year later, Ernie moved to Link, the Virginian-Pilot’s free tabloid. When that publication closed in December 2008, Ernie caught on with Express, the free commuter tabloid of the Washington Post. Ernie launched ShortFormBlog in early 2009 and updated his design late last year.
