While these are indeed strikingly similar, I really doubt it's an actual rip, but rather someone arriving at the same visuals independently. It's one of those concepts that one can converge to naturally by repeatedly simplifying a house icon or a up pointing arrow. Same results, different concepts (in housing's case the arrow doubles as a roof), different domains.
I would seriously entertain a possibility of this being a pure coincidence, in which case it's rather unwise to burn bridges and call other guys thieves.
The author assumes that this was stealing. I doubt that, housing.com visual identity is very different:
different color scheme / different spelling LookUp vs. LOOK UP / different font /different relative positioning
Basically all they share is the "caret up" symbol and the words Look Up. Both are very common and hardly unique. It can happen that people independently get similar ideas.
We actually once designed a logo after we had redesigned an app. And the logo drew from the app design. We found out a few months later, that there was a hungarian company that had the same name, same concept for logo (which was typography only), very similar font and almost identical color scheme. It can happen. In our case you could blame us for not researching it, but similarities hardly mean stealing, especially if there are no really unique attributes...
It's convergent evolution at work. Upsetting for you personally, but I don't think this is going to change how people view you or cannibalise any of your market.
Don't posts like this usually first have some description of the complainant's attempts to notify the offender, the offender's response (possibly a blow-off, even), and THEN commence with the shaming? Is it really so difficult to believe that another company would simply be unaware that a tiny (four-digit download) app is using a similar logo and product name, especially when said name is such a common term that it is the title of four other [1][2][3][4] apps?
I'm sure this is all a big misunderstanding. As it clearly says on the LOOK UP (housing) website, the up arrow has a "unique character [that] gives the Look Up symbol distinction."
13 comments
[ 4.9 ms ] story [ 51.5 ms ] threadBoth are meaning to denote the direction "up". If you put two mediocre designers in two isolated adjacent booths - they'd come up with the same thing.
This is not stealing. This is an unfortunate coincidence of the lowest common denominators crossing each others paths.
Honestly I feel like the dictionary logo makes little sense to me. I don't see the connection.
While the housing one does due to placement. (It's an obvious roof.)
Sorry, your non-competitor has a different, and better, logo.
I would seriously entertain a possibility of this being a pure coincidence, in which case it's rather unwise to burn bridges and call other guys thieves.
Also, this looks like one big coincidence.
different color scheme / different spelling LookUp vs. LOOK UP / different font /different relative positioning
Basically all they share is the "caret up" symbol and the words Look Up. Both are very common and hardly unique. It can happen that people independently get similar ideas.
We actually once designed a logo after we had redesigned an app. And the logo drew from the app design. We found out a few months later, that there was a hungarian company that had the same name, same concept for logo (which was typography only), very similar font and almost identical color scheme. It can happen. In our case you could blame us for not researching it, but similarities hardly mean stealing, especially if there are no really unique attributes...
edit: corrected syntax, formatting
I think I might have stolen a lot of stuff lately if that's the case.
[1]http://xyo.net/iphone-app/lookup-by-privacystar-mCQNMsg/
[2]http://xyo.net/iphone-app/lookup--xt0VAGM/
[3]http://xyo.net/iphone-app/lookup-syIFzuQ/
[4]http://xyo.net/iphone-app/lookupp-_8wZ.Lk/
I have a few business ideas for him.
IN->PUT
^UPLOAD
>COPYRIGHT
Such clever logos, wow
http://i.imgur.com/L4n6VLM.png
See? It's a totally original, distinctive logo.