Authenticity Is Invaluable; Originality Is Non-Existent

Original design is a concept that is hard to describe.  We have all heard it, everything has been done before.  So as a designer when you are faced with creating something new it is always a challenge.  As an artist you hold on tightly to your moral beliefs.  You do not approve of plagiarism or stealing.  Yet as a designer you are faced with a need to provide the right answers for your client, and sometimes those answers have been used before.  

Design is kind of like a mathematical problem in that way.  2 + 2 = 4 is not an original answer, but it is the right one.  2 + 2 = 20 may be original, but it is also most definitely wrong.

So how do you design something that is original and right?

It is so hard to create something new, when in fact everything has been done before. This quote defines this concept perfectly to me, I hope it will do the same for you as well. 

“Nothing is original.  Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.  Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows.  Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul.  If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.  Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent.  And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it.  In any case, always remember when Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.’ ” - Jim Jarmusch

The concept that you should take elements for your designs from everywhere you find inspiration, and then proudly piece them together in your own way is one that I wholeheartedly believe in and agree with. 

Everything has been done.  Nothing can be original.  So don't try to be original.  Try to be authentic.  Try to take in whatever it is you see before you, as you see it.  Once you have put your work together the world should be able to look upon it, and see it through your eyes rather than their own. 

Keep it simple, Nicole