In one of the most transparent website design copy jobs I have ever seen, the Herald-Sun stole basically the entire frontpage format of the online version of the New York Times this week, and as far as I can tell, does not give the NYT any credit as the inspiration for the visual upgrade.
Open the two websites in two browser windows to compare:
At the top left in light blue, the NYT lists: Jobs, Real Estate, Autos, All Classifieds
At the top left, in light blue, the Herald Sun lists: Jobs, Real Estate, Cars, Classifieds, Obituaries
The NYT has a Most Popular feature with three tabbed rankings for stories that are either Emailed, Blogged, or Searched. The Herald-Sun has a Most Popular feature but its tabs are Recommended, Commented, and Viewed.
The NYT encourages people to Log In at the upper right. The Herald-Sun encourages us to Sign In at the same location.
Both sites feature subheadings with two right-facing hard brackets, such as OPINION >> (NYT) or AREA NEWS BRIEFS >>. (Herald-Sun)
Both use a BLACK heading for major sections in the far left column and GREY text for subitems.
Both have a four-column layout with a picture under the masthead in the third column, with the date underneath. The NYT, finally showing evidence of its considerably larger budget, also adds the day of the week and the time the site was last updated.
Visually, the I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-NYT design IS an upgrade over the previous Herald-Sun setup. Not having to register to read articles is also welcome, since even when you registered, their cookie system did not always work.
Still, in an industry in which plagiarism is one of the most serious offenses, was it too much to expect them to admit they borrowed this design?
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