Whether we’d like to admit it or not, we’ve all done it. Inadvertently or perhaps blatantly. The ultimate design sin — we’ve created something that’s altogether unoriginal. If you want to kid yourself, fine, but while it’s an ugly part of design, it happens all the time.

In creative fields, this is probably one of the more obvious pitfalls, given that being creative or a ‘creator’ by definition is to be an originator of something. But being ‘original’ in the year 2008 is tough work. Hell, it was tough in 2007 too. Why? Because ideas don’t just come out of thin air anymore.

The clone wars

You know how they say there are only really a dozen or so different types of story — and how every single movie or book of fairytale follows one of these archetypes? This is kind of true in the design world as well.

“…it’s kind of like you’re kissing your sister. And unless your name’s Jake Gyllenhaal, that’s a bad thing.”

People have amazing ideas and concepts all the time, sure, but if you look hard enough you can probably find that idea’s parents, and, no doubt grandparents. So if you can source the work that inspired the ‘new idea’, is it still original? Well, this is a tricky question, but it has a bit to do with how far the apple has fallen from the tree.

I read an interesting article last week by Kyle Meyer. Kyle argues that there are no trends in design, just the illusion of trends. The reason? Because there’s a large group of people who Kyle calls “stylists”, who “simply find something that’s ‘cool’ at the time and reproduce a spin-off of it”. I have to agree. You only need to look through site design galleries to see pages and pages of sites that are more or less copying one another. But I would argue that it’s not entirely due to a lack of understanding of the design process as Kyle suggests.

For the most part, these “stylists” have got the right idea. They’re technically proficient and they probably have an ok understanding of the medium. They’re simply looking in the wrong places for ideas.

Inbreeding

As a general rule, when you draw only from the same field or medium you’re working in for inspiration, the result probably won’t be all that original. It’s not likely to have your peers asking ‘where in the world did you get that idea from!?’ That’s because sadly, you were too busy looking in your own backyard to see the amazing world beyond.

By all means, be influenced by those in your field. Learn from others’ work — their successes and mistakes — to better understand the medium. But don’t be so desperate to fit right in. Sure, it’s safe. And it might have clients really impressed, but what they’ll eventually come to realise is that their site/logo/poster sadly looks just like a bunch of others.

Yeh.

Yeh.

Dipping your hand into the pool of design to inspire your designs can only ever result in more of the same. Except it’s probably weaker, more watered down. The same holds true for genetics. Spread the genes and they’ll be strong. By only looking to your own field for inspiration, it’s kind of like you’re kissing your sister. And unless your name’s Jake Gyllenhaal, that’s a bad thing.

Don’t forget to soak it all up

All people, to a certain extent, absorb the world around them. Perhaps we could say people who are considered ‘creative’ are a little more absorbent than most. They filter what they absorb and choose what type of ‘sponge’ they’ll be. Most importantly, they have the ability to then draw on the things they’ve absorbed and use them in new and exciting ways. Sounds great doesn’t it?

Good designers try to be good sponges and absorb a vast array of stimuli. Unfortunately, a profession that involves hours of staring at a computer screen is not ideal for this absorption. But if that’s what you do for a living, all the more reason to get out there and see the world when you’ve got a spare minute.

So here’s the secret to being original: if you want to set the design world on fire, throw some things in from left field. And now you’re asking “where is this ‘left field’ you speak of, what’s its “URL?”. Go to the theatre, read a book on deep-sea diving, go deep-sea diving, fly a kite. These are the seeds of great ideas. And when you have these experiences, keep your current work projects in the back of your mind — look for connections your brain might make, as illogical as it may seem.

You’re already pretty original — one of a kind. Congratulations. Your brain is already uniquely wired to make original associations and connections with different things. Even if what you’re doing is really hard to relate to your work, your brain can’t help but be creative if you try to make that link. Soak up these experiences and let them rinse out in your work. You’ll be amazed at what may spill out.

—Published 07 November, 2008

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