Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features. This design philosophy has gained a lot in popularity over the last couple of years. Doing it right is actually harder than most people think. You can’t leave out too much and the design (webdesign, graphic design…) still has to attract attention. Choosing between what’s redundant and what’s not isn’t easy. That’s why it takes a lot of courage and skill to successfully use a minimalistic design style.
Sometimes one pays for the things one gets for nothing.
A few weeks ago, I published an article about the make-or-buy dilemma for designers. In this article I discuss the various options a designer has to collect resources: he/she can buy them, make them or download them (freebies). You don’t always have to pay to get good design resources. There are plenty of websites that offer high quality icons, brushes, textures, vectors… Thanks to the power of Google you’ll find them in no time.
The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
Let’s face it: designers copying other designers happens all the time, whether it’s intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes there’s a thin line between the designers own creativity and the theft of other designer’s work.
What if you really like the work of a certain designer, and you want to create something similar… how much does your work has to resemble the original in order to be classified as plagiarism? It’s hard to decide where the line between inspiration and plagiarism lies. I found a really interesting article on Milienzo that discusses design plagiarism.
It’s best not to copy other designer’s work. Try to be creative and find your own style. And if you do decide to mimic some design elements from another artist, try to give it your own twist.
Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds.
This is probably my favourite Einstein quote. There’s so much truth in this little sentence. I believe this quote can be applied to the design community too. Some designers are afraid to try new things because they don’t want to be criticised by other designers. That’s why to stick to a certain success formula that has been done over and over again.
Don’t forget that it’s important to experiment. Don’t be afraid to try different techniques and working methods. This will not only result in new and interesting designs but you’ll also learn so much more. In the end, it will make you a better artist and it will hopefully keep you motivated and interested in the awesome world of design.
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
This quote is a great follow-up of the previous one. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; it’s only human! Trying new things or doing something differently doesn’t always go as smooth as you want. Sure, there will be times when you can’t achieve the desired result, but just keep trying. Your persistence will pay off in the end.
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Good article. I would like to say a few words:
When Einstein said “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources’ – he did not mean.. “Copy others work” what I think he actually meant is “Make it better and visible”
Copying, for educational purposes(and not commercial) is ‘Inspiration’ … or maybe to make it a little more euphemistic, ‘heavily inspired’.
Actually, it depends a lot on how one interprets it. I believe “copying” is certainly legit, provided you don’t take all the credits and claim the work as your own….
However, from my perspective, what Einstein tried to tell is that, ‘a great person isn’t someone who has no sources or who derives everything himself but he’s one who makes the sources unimportant’. It was definitely true in the case of Einstein and his works… he performed no experiments nor invented new kinds of math. But he didn’t need to credit the others because he took those existing ideas and used them in a way nobody had before.
But that’s not creativity, is it? That’s just being.. you know,… great!
“Creativity is the ability to generate innovative ideas and manifest them from thought into reality. The process involves original thinking and then producing” – wikipedia
However, copying is vital in becoming a successful artist, of course when used in the right context.
Imho, There is nothing in this world that is original. Everything has been inspired by something and that’s the beauty in it
Just my 2 cents
Great read, btw!