We have all heard the quote “imitation is the highest form of flattery.” But when does imitation cross the line and become a scapegoat for a lack of unique design? Lately I have seen a number of sites that are strikingly similar. Now to be clear, I am not talking about template sites from the companies who let you choose a template and then change colors so that your real estate site looks the same as the local accountant’s site just with a different shade of green. I am talking about blatant replication of design. Is it a case of don’t reinvent the wheel? Is it a case of lazy designers? Is it a case of there are no new design options available? How often have we seen movies, songs or tv shows that send us into a severe case of deja vu all over again? I love this quote from Leo Burnett, advertising pioneer, ” The secret of all effective originality in advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships.” It makes you rethink the concept of design and the relationship of the key items that make up your site. While there may be tangible realities of best practices that doesn’t mean we should stop our endeavor for better interaction with our audiences. So I would challenge you to find ways to create the “new relationships” Leo Burnett spoke of in his quote and lets see some originality.