Did Microsoft copy the Adobe AIR Poster?

I often see a lot of the Adobe communities rant and rave ignorance about how Microsoft follows' Adobe’s every move, like some how they’ve got it all figured out.

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vs

The reality is that majority of the time, Microsoft was the first to make the move, sadly though, folks just can’t be bothered doing their homework and actually look beyond the delicate conscious bubble of Adobe that they live in.

The poster in question, was commissioned by my team based off the cool look and feel we saw in a poster called “A Website Named Desire”.

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Now the next argument was “well that copied Adobe AIR poster then”.

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(former Adobe employee – Mike Downey)

Actually no, we’ve been doing these posters for years, beyond Adobe AIR’s even birth. xplane.com are a company whom specialize in these posters and have done many for Microsoft over the years.

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An example is the Microsoft HealthVault. It was done BEFORE Adobe AIR poster was even thought of (Ours, 2007. Adobe AIR 2008).

Another one before Adobe AIR, was “The universe of windows embedded devices”

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There are more. I can’t find the links to them anymore, but there was one really cool one about how Microsoft can connect Government departments together that I saw in 2007 via the Microsoft Brisbane office. I have noticed many more in the offices over the years, and I can honestly say that to state we “copied” Adobe is immature and extremely ignorant.

Did Adobe copy Microsoft? I don’t think so, I think eBoy.com are brilliant at what they do and they simply appreciated the artwork that these folks do.

We have used xplane.com for years as they are also brilliant at what they do and the way they tease out the poster from you, is an amazing thing to witness and be a part of.

I found the xplane.com guys extremely gifted and amazing in how they can take a simple idea and explode it into design.

Hope that sets the record straight.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    April 24, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 24, 2009
    Yikes!  Uh, ok - you win!  LOL! (...ixnay on the ms/adobe rivalryay :)

  • Anonymous
    April 27, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2009
    Thank you Scott for setting the record straight. I'm the Founder of XPLANE and "XPLANE vs. eBOY" does come up from time to time. Like any creative team, we take inspiration wherever we can get it, and many on our team are eBOY fans. I am sure we inspire each other. However our business models are not similar at all. XPLANE is an information-driven consulting and design firm, and eBoy is much more oriented toward illustration, retail, toys and merchandising. For the record, XPLANE was founded in 1993, and eBoy was founded in 1998.

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 11, 2009
    Comcast must also be watching their website (and commercials) http://www.ComcastTown.com/ follow similar format, but are nicely animated.  Like the remix of digital assets. No comments on technologies used... although it wold be interesting to explore behind the scenes workflow for building the RIA site. :)

  • Anonymous
    May 11, 2009
    The comment has been removed