Design Galleries:
Inspiration or Pirate-fest?
A popular source of inspiration and admiration may also be our Achilles' heel.
I’m curious to here what other people think on the nature of online design galleries. I’ve heard from both sides of the argument as to whether or not these are a good idea or a bad idea. I’m going to do my best to give both sides, with emphasis on my thoughts :).
The Pros
The upside of online design galleries is the amount of traffic and visibility it will give you on the internet. Galleries will be a big boost in the number of in-clicks you’ll get from a different area of the internet.
The Cons
The downside of online design galleries is the risk of some one ripping off or ‘pirating’ your design for their own. A number of unethical people will certainly be included in that traffic boost. And it is very hard (take that as impossible, because I’ve tried to no avail) to absolutely protect your design from pirating.
Conclusion
I understand the problem of opening yourself up to the risk of pirated designs. But in all honesty how many new visitors will you get to your website from this inclusion in the gallery. And in turn how many will rip your design. It is not a high percentage, not even close. So I think the possible traffic boost definitely outweighs the occasional design rip.
And after all, imitation is the biggest form of flattery.