The reason so many apps look like Twitter is because that is the optimal layout and un opinionated style that accommodates a wide variety of content. Whoever designed Twitter really knew their stuff.
Discussion
To try to look and feel different from Twitter if the goal is a similar experience is to willfully settle for something less optimal. Few designers would do that for the sake of looking different.
A super large user base and the power of habit, unless the product is fundamentally different, can create a new user experience. Like Tiktok, now every short video app looks like TikTok. It also has a huge user base that allows it to optimize the experience. Add to that the power of habit.
Tiktok is Twitter with sidebar on the left because their core audience is consuming rather than creating so they put focus on the content while shifting away all other elements.
The core or the underlying needs of the product are different. If you have used Chinese social products, the menu bar is on the right. That's based on the habits of its 1.3 billion users, because TikTok was born in China. Now the experience is optimized enough to go global.
Haven’t used the Chinese version but I imagine different cultures do things a bit differently. I know for example in Japan, information density is favored over white space.
Agreed. Japanese architecture and style are the same. But it doesn't seem like there's much difference between the UI on TikTok in Japan and the US.
Twitter is so much bigger than Twitter. It is revolutionary. And it inspires so many other apps to come afterwards. ( a thought in my morning sit today!) ✊🏻
There’s some inspiration for sure, but the bulk of the design choices is technical, to accommodate idea UX, tweet consumption and engagement.
Every single element is where it is because of some specific reasons that the general public is totally unaware of.
It wasn't by accident & it wasn't that way from the start.
The interface iterated.
