• 17 Feb




    It’s well known that Apple is one of the most creative and innovative companies in the world, so it’s no wonder that many software companies and web designers would choose to follow Apple’s style of branding.

    The Apple website is one of the best websites out there due to its ease of use, functionality and the beautiful environment that it creates.

    I looked at websites that use one or more design elements inspired by Apple.com. Some of these sites sell Mac software and apps, so it makes sense for them to keep the same Apple look and feel. Consider this though: How many software companies that develop for Windows, choose to brand their websites to look like Vista? I have included a few screenshots of the Apple website, just in case you haven’t never seen it before.

    Apple.com




    1. Icon Designer

    2. iSlayer

    3. Versions

    4. Checkout

    5. Small Transport

    6. MacRabbit


    7. 280 Slides

    8. Disco

    9. Warehouse

    10. Cha-Ching

    11. RapidWeaver

    12. DeskLickr

    13. Tangerine!

    14. 1Password

    15. Jumsoft

    16. Roxio Toast

    17. CandyBar

    18. Cultured Code

    19. Anxiety

    20. Tao Effect

    21. TaskMate

    22. The Invoice Machine


    Chad Mueller owns and runs the design inspiration blog; Inspiredology. He is also a freelance designer who enjoys working on websites, blogs, logos and anything to get his creative juices flowing.

    Do you know of any other good examples? Please share with us…


  • 91 Comments »

     
    #1
    Lee Milthorpe
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:04

    You can clearly see why Apple’s design is used as inspiration so much. It’s just so crisp, clean and usable!

    As far as websites go, it’s definitely one of the best I’ve seen at selling it’s products and the sites you have showcased here, while they do look “nice” will never be as impressive as the original Apple design!

     
     
    #2
    Brandon Cox
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:09

    I only wish that my HP PC was inspired by Apple! Cool list, makes me envious.

     
     
    #3
    Walter
    February 18th, 2009 at 04:32

    It’s never too late :)

     
     
    #4
    michael evans
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:17

    I’m not seeing the connection for the first three layouts…?

     
     
    #5
    MCV
    February 9th, 2010 at 17:44

    try taking off your sunglasses

     
     
    #6
    Spunk
    March 17th, 2010 at 22:28

    Knob.

     
    (Comments won't nest below this level)
     
    #7
    Chad Engle
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:27

    I think you could call that “sexy web-designs inspired by apple” those are all amazing and engaging. Rich web design for the win! :)

     
     
    #8
    Ben Jacob
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:34

    Pixelmator [http://pixelmator.com]
    GOG.com [http://gog.com]
    Has direct relations with apple.com most of the sites you listed has only minute relation like, may be a button, an icon or something similar

     
     
    #9
    dpencilpusher
    February 20th, 2009 at 02:35

    sorry to digress, but your avatar; I’ve seen this style come up very often online these days, who started it? where can I get it? where can I see more?

     
     
    #10
    Chad
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:35

    There is no direct connection with the first 3 examples. The examples are there to show the current Apple site. The connection is from anything Apple, software applications, some of the sites use the iTunes carousel. Very subtle gradients, great use of white space. Heavy use of beautiful icons.

     
     
    #11
    Walter
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:38

    #1: has huge Apple like icon on homepage
    #2: iSlayer has search box and menu like Apple.com at the bottom of site (scroll down)
    #3: Icons and text layout (scroll down)

     
     
    #12
    Kumo
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:39

    Nice,
    I have to confess that I actualy follow very often Apple design (web or OS interface) on websites and even sometimes print. Its clear, user-friendly and simply beautiful !

     
     
    #13
    James
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:46

    I hesitate to use “inspired by” on this one, but http://www.gibson.com is an example of a fairly blatant rip off.

     
     
    #14
    Walter
    February 17th, 2009 at 21:56

    Interesting one – but the footer section is bigger than the entire site?! :)

     
     
    #15
    ray
    June 20th, 2009 at 19:32

    Haha, That is awesome! i wonder how much Gibson paid for that site.

     
     
    #16
    Scott
    February 17th, 2009 at 22:41

    Funny how all these inspired sites are mostly for apps that run on apple products :)

     
     
    #17
    James De Angelis
    February 17th, 2009 at 23:22

    I’d had to agree with what others have said, the first 3 are a pretty weak comparison…

    I find Checkout slightly dubious with how close it is, but on the same token it’s an original layout and very well designed so you can’t take that away from them!

     
     
    #18
    khurram
    February 17th, 2009 at 23:55

    Well all of them look good ones. Bus yes inspired by apple site.

     
     
    #19
    Trisnadi
    February 18th, 2009 at 00:45

    to me, RapidWeaver site looks closer to Vista scheme than Apple’s (particularly the top nav)

     
     
    #20
    Jon Bergan
    February 18th, 2009 at 01:11

    Although some of the examples aren’t the best, I still think its a good roundup and a fabulous source for inspiration if you’re interested in designing a site with similar design elements. Some of these have already made it into my personal inspiration library!

    Thanks :)

     
     
    #21
    Ben Pedroza
    February 18th, 2009 at 02:39

    All great sites. Apples typography style is a good example to follow on any web site

     
     
    #22
    Chris Wallace
    February 18th, 2009 at 03:07

    Yeah, I thought it was funny how many are actually products related to Apple. I guess that makes it ok to be unoriginal.

    http://www.iqase.com

     
     
    #23
    Jason
    February 18th, 2009 at 07:43

    I don’t necessarily agree that all of them are apple inspired beyond the basic idea of clean and crisp layouts… but I can see how most of them are.

    Heres an almost bit for bit copy site:

    http://www.imemories.com

     
     
    #24
    rixh
    September 21st, 2009 at 04:50

    fabulous

     
     
    #25
    insic
    February 18th, 2009 at 09:53

    quite a list. original is the best

     
     
    #26
    Luis
    February 18th, 2009 at 12:34

    Some people get so inspired that they plagiarize what they see in a very bad way.
    I love apple website. I hate designers emulating those effects. Why not start using our brains as the apple graphic designers did?

     
     
    #27
    floor
    October 23rd, 2009 at 22:11

    sure. show us what you got?

     
     
    #28
    TJ @ StumbleDigg
    February 18th, 2009 at 12:42

    Cool list. Liked it a lot. Keep more and more list like this coming.

    Regards
    TJ

     
     
    #29
    Andrew Rossborough
    February 18th, 2009 at 13:14

    @ Scott

    I was going to say the exact same thing

    @ James

    That is as blatent as I’ve seen in a long time!

    Decent collection of “nice looking” sites, but as many are for apple apps as Scott said, they’re meant to blend in with the corporate image. An inspired site would take inspiration from the design elements but be for something completely unrelated.

     
     
    #30
    Steaf
    February 18th, 2009 at 15:14

    Would you all have a look on my MacWeblog, which is an Arabic blog about Mac.

    http://macweblog.com

    Mustafa

     
     
    #31
    Jonny
    February 18th, 2009 at 16:53

    1. sans-serif font
    2. rounded corners
    3. shines/reflections on literally EVERYTHING

    thats all it is. take a basic css site, add a rounded corner background image and photoshop the buttons and there you have it. I doubt most of these sites took their influence directly from apple, it’s just this ‘web 2.0′ craze. And yeah it looks useable and polished but it’s also incredibly lazy.

    DESIGN SOMETHING NEW.

     
     
    #32
    Shack
    April 27th, 2009 at 12:01

    Greetz Jonny,

    Appreciate your assistance in referring me to some resources on the net to design a site similar to Apple, i mean training material, tools, forums etc.,

    how to do rounded corners
    how to apply shines/reflections on every element

     
     
    #33
    Ben
    February 18th, 2009 at 17:16

    Nice collection, +fav :) Thanks.

     
     
    #34
    Jerome
    February 18th, 2009 at 22:13

    Hmm, I’m not sure they are inspired by “Apple.com”, they are mostly inspired by the interface guidelines from Apple, but mostly these websites all have their unique and extremely nice looking style.

    When developing an application for Mac OS X, you need to follow certain conventions for icons and other UI related stuff so it integrates better with the system. Now it’s hard to create a website for a product with a completely different style than what’s generally accepted in regards to “Apple style.” I’m not saying they all look the same, they are incredibly imaginative in how they create their design within those boundaries!

     
     
    #35
    logo design guru
    February 18th, 2009 at 22:25

    As usual, always a nice group of websites. thanks for posting.

     
     
    #36
    burgin99
    February 18th, 2009 at 22:51

    “And yeah it looks useable and polished but it’s also incredibly lazy.”

    Yeah! Let’s all make our sites incredible hard for users to interact with so it’ll be *edgy and original*!

     
     
    #37
    Ben G
    February 19th, 2009 at 00:40

    Apple rocks! Thanks for the cool post.

     
     
    #38
    matt
    February 19th, 2009 at 01:26

    great post. i guess there could be worse trends to follow, i mean Apple does seem to get it right when it comes to their OS, UI, UX, etc,.

    Some sites don’t go for the entire Apple.com theme, but instead use some similar elements, like input, and button styling.

     
     
    #39
    Rahul
    February 19th, 2009 at 08:01

    Nice list of websites inspired by apple.com

    i guess we could also be inspired by these as well ;)

     
     
    #40
    Ronnie
    February 19th, 2009 at 10:05

    Apple has always lead the way. I see the infuence in the designs, but they still have som origininility to them also. I use some of these applications and I love em. The apps are as good as their designs.

     
     
    #41
    Andreyco
    February 19th, 2009 at 12:45

    Apple’s design is awesome and many people/companies copy its style.

    Here is one blog inspired by apple design.
    http://macblog.sk/

     
     
    #42
    Redsan
    February 19th, 2009 at 19:26

    Nice collection!!

     
     
    #43
    iGameFlash
    February 19th, 2009 at 19:27

    Apple very Good IDEA! Thanks for the cool post.

     
     
    #44
    Aran
    February 22nd, 2009 at 01:20

    Nice! Some really great designs here, taking and extending the apple concept to some great ideas :)

     
     
    #45
    Sklep Wędkarski
    February 22nd, 2009 at 04:24

    Yup, some of them are even better than apple.

     
     
    #46
    Cipper Tech
    February 22nd, 2009 at 20:09

    nice list, how could you have time to make it :)

    thanks.

     
     
    #47
    sammy
    February 23rd, 2009 at 14:08

    this design looks a bit like apple style : http://www.sub-deluxe.de

    Anyway its a nice shop. You collection is nice too.

    best from germany

     
     
    #48
    Chad
    February 23rd, 2009 at 17:54

    Thanks for all the great feedback, Apple is a huge brand that is respected around the world, it only made sense to try to pay a tribute to that brand, by showcasing many of the websites that love and believe in that brand.

     
     
    #49
    krebaltzer's journal
    February 24th, 2009 at 06:46

    I had lots of fun looking over your designs. Thanks for entertaining my grey matter.

     
     
    #50
    Casper
    February 24th, 2009 at 17:59

    Curio website is one.

     
     
    #51
    Dario Gutierrez
    February 24th, 2009 at 18:55

    I like the apple design, is an universal style I think so. Thanks for sharing this list of website. Best regards!

     
     
    #52
    Sharon Zahra
    February 25th, 2009 at 18:29

    I love the Apple design, it focuses on whitespace and usability. A site which uses the same concepts of whitespace etc like Apple and which I like is http://www.mediatemple.net/

     
     
    #53
    zaw hlaing oo
    February 28th, 2009 at 13:08

    I like it…. please sending this tutorial ..brother .
    i wanna make like this (sorry for my English )

     
     
    #54
    Antonea Nabors
    March 2nd, 2009 at 22:51

    Big font, big buttons, big graphics! I love it. Great finds :)

     
     
    #55
    ODWGOOG
    March 3rd, 2009 at 13:53

    All are selling Mac’s software, so branding is justified ;)

     
     
    #56
    Richard Ward
    March 18th, 2009 at 23:01

    While I see a lot of similarities in the Mac and iPhone/iPod software developer websites, for a reason, there are a lot of sites that made this list which have absolutely no resemblence aside from also being fluid, clean and professional — such as:

    Warehouse
    DeskLickr
    Tangerine!
    1Password
    Roxio Toast
    (And others….)

    Unfortunately the fact that most of the graphics and screen shots on these sites are Apple/Mac related doesn’t help the fact that Apple.com inspired them. Just like Windows developers taking after the “Vista look” — you won’t see many Apple developers mimicking Microsoft.

    I think a lot of these layouts were added to this list just to generate comments and debate. Boo.

     
     
    #57
    asma
    March 25th, 2009 at 12:23

    Its nice to see people inspired and able to apply it to their product… Its not so easy as it seems .. :)

     
     
    #58
    Shack
    April 28th, 2009 at 10:16

    Why not start a group project to create a fresh mockup with totally new effects and dazzling design.

     
     
    #59
    James Dalton
    March 27th, 2009 at 01:42

    I am not truly an apple fan as too people swear they are god-like, however their designs are truly top notch. I love the apple site because it sells their products so well. Just looking at the site makes me want to get a touch….not. It’s still very good, kudos to the designers

     
     
    #60
    Kelly
    April 22nd, 2009 at 20:14

    Might want to check out http://www.gibson.com. I think they actually left Apple references in the source code.

     
     
    #61
    vincent
    April 23rd, 2009 at 20:10

    Does anyone know who designed/developed apple.com?

    By the way, not only it is greatly designed, the front end is also well thought out and executed.

     
     
    #62
    Michael Moodie
    April 28th, 2009 at 07:45

    Great Article ! I have so far converted my entire family into mac lovers – and these are just some of the reasons why.

    Thanks for the article.. will be sure to go check out anything I have not yet seen already.

     
     
    #63
    terkoz
    May 8th, 2009 at 07:29

    I am not truly an apple fan as too people swear they are god-like, however their designs are truly top notch. I love the apple site because it sells their products so well. Just looking at the site makes me want to get a touch….not. It’s still very good, kudos to the designers

     
     
    #64
    Web designer
    May 13th, 2009 at 22:20

    For my money I like #8 280 Slides, I think its very clean and eye catching.

     
     
    #65
    Jonathan
    May 19th, 2009 at 01:20

    Stating that Apple’s website inspired all of those websites would only make sense if you spoke with the designer(s) and they stated as much. Some of the sites on this list are just well-designed, and are not reminiscint of Apple.com in the least. Apple is not beginning and end of good, simple design — they simply have / have had great designers work for them.

     
     
    #66
    Suite 171
    May 23rd, 2009 at 17:31

    Well-designed sites, looking forward to see more… maybe a new trend?

     
     
    #67
    FinalVisual
    May 29th, 2009 at 23:13

    Nice collections!

     
     
    #68
    Mark
    August 2nd, 2009 at 02:32

    There’s a big difference between a company copy and design trends. These are mostly design trends. Most of us have seen the Apple site more then most sites on the web. So we are more conditioned to Apple’s site. Since most people are used to Apple, this creates an advantage for marketing. Creating a similar look and feel creates a since of safely and similarity in the visitors eye. Customers will be more likely to buy from you because you look mainstream, trusted and a feeling of “I’ve been here before”. Specially if it’s a product for Apple. Then make it look like Apple. What are Apple users used to seeing? Quality, friendliness, shinny objects, screenshots…whatever. You’ll need to meet that criteria. The work has already been done for you.

     
     
    #69
    forex signal providers
    August 15th, 2009 at 04:12

    I love the Apple style website.Do you have wordpress theme?

     
     
    #70
    Sorin Istudor
    August 27th, 2009 at 00:20

    Sweet colection

     
     
    #71
    Pece
    August 27th, 2009 at 00:25

    Nice collection. It’s not a sin to be inspired by the Apple site :)

    Thanks for the post!

     
     
    #72
    Most Interesting Ideas
    August 27th, 2009 at 10:04

    Not each form these designs are inspired from Apple’s

     
     
    #73
    Thijs van Exel
    August 27th, 2009 at 17:41

    it strikes me that at least 3 out of 22 are designs made by an agency called Sofa (www.madebysofa.com) and are, like you mentioned in the intro, product websites for Apple savvy products. Apart from some design details, I really don’t see many similarities between those and Apple.com.

     
     
    #74
    Thijs van Exel
    August 27th, 2009 at 17:42

    oh, and I do not work with them ;-)
    the Sofa websites above are: Disco, Checkout and Versions.

     
     
    #75
    Tommy
    October 22nd, 2009 at 16:42

    I found one more:
    http://www.nprinting.com

     
     
    #76
    MacFan
    November 7th, 2009 at 06:58

    nprinting.com is truly a mac website rip off!

     
     
    #77
    web tasarım
    November 11th, 2009 at 12:43

    I am not truly an apple fan as too people swear they are god-like,

     
     
    #78
    eρHedro
    November 16th, 2009 at 17:40

    What about Ubuntu’s website?

     
     
    #80
    Emir
    November 26th, 2009 at 14:32

    Add http://www.bhtelecom.ba/ – complete apple.com ripoff!

     
     
    #81
    eCover Actions
    December 16th, 2009 at 07:19

    These are great designs :)

     
     
    #82
    Danno
    January 20th, 2010 at 16:50

    Love these styles and I think they will stand the test of time. Iconic.

     
     
    #83
    sc
    January 21st, 2010 at 16:48

    half of these are not really inspired by apple.com at all, some are blatent rip offs, pointless article

     
     
    #84
    Webby Design Guru
    January 29th, 2010 at 12:56

    This article is really great. Well-designed collection of websites.

     
     
    #85
    SnarphBlat
    March 1st, 2010 at 16:35

    Great list, even though some don’t really match, I can see why you added them. So, It works! I have aslways loved the ‘Versions’ website even prior to this post. It’s beautiful. Thanks!

     
     
    #86
    Vijay
    March 2nd, 2010 at 07:51

    Nice Collection. Truly Apple is a trendsetter!

     
     
    #87
    Logo Design Gear
    April 8th, 2010 at 21:01

    Very interesting collection :)

     
     
    #88
    Logan
    May 8th, 2010 at 07:08

    This website has an almost exact design with the same font.

    http://rgre1.com/

     
     
    #89
    Rgre1
    August 5th, 2010 at 07:55

    Thats not your website… Thats mine!

     
     
    #90
    Jamie
    June 16th, 2010 at 20:54

    I love these clean designs! I wonder though… how long the “less is more” trend is going to last?

     
     
    #91
    Jocuri online
    June 23rd, 2010 at 15:56

    This article is very great man, i love the Apple style.

     
    Name (required)

    E-mail (required - never shown publicly)

    Web-site

    Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)

Home| Advertising| About| Contact

© 2010 All Rights Reserved