On Copying and Stealing Designs

The notion on the great artist, Pablo Picasso's quote, "Bad artists copy. Good artists steal" is lost on many. And revolving around the graphic designer circles is the quote "Good artists copy, great artists steal" known as Picasso's quote, still. Anyway, it might just be safe to assume that Picasso have not quoted this words exactly but he did have an "expert's assessment and statement" regarding copying and stealing art styles and techniques.

The artistic world was widely influenced by Picasso, being the first living artist to be featured in the Louvre. Many have their own opinion and interpretation as to what he really meant on the quote. With the onset of digital technology and digital art, it is understandable that the modern Web graphic design also has an interpretation for it.

In an article by Cameron Moll, the Creative Director for IDI at http://www.sitepoint.com/article/copy-great-designers-steal he had endeavored to uncover a possible explanation in three levels of design. These three levels involves some aspect of copying or stealing, shows increasing design maturity, adapts Picasso's quote to modern graphic design. The interpretation by Moll was segmented in such a way that do not imply that they are the only levels of design. it is but a guide to assist the improvement of designers' design and lead to their maturity with regards to copying and stealing designs.

The first level explains a well-imparted principle of starting out by copying other well-created designs. Web designing could relate this principle from the advice of Web copywriting guru, Gerry McGovern for writers: having a model for the kind of article that they need to do, dissect and analyze them and copy.

Copying, not creating have surprising positive effect, too, that of maintaining conventionality. There's a familiar and intuitive effect for the users when most sites have essentially the same layout and information architecture by most sites. A Web designing career involve time constraints and budget limitations so much so that copying is almost mandatory.

The second level explains that the best resources where designers can steal are from themselves. They can tap into loads of their past designs that were never used or completed, or from their designs that have already been successful in order to reinvent a new design. This kind of stealing is quite helpful in molding their own distinctive design style to use as a selling point for clients.

The third level involves stealing from discreet sources. Albert Einstein is noted for quoting, "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." For designers the easiest way to do this is to use sources already hidden. Even great artists can't be accused of stealing if their rare jewels of inspiration are from lost, bypassed, forgotten ideas which they have successfully incorporated with their own distinctive style. To graphic designers, they have to really research and rummage for the necessary unused and forgotten ideas applicable for their design.

One must be careful in copying from well-known sources, though. It is best to copy the inspiration and not the exact output. To fully summarize, all graphid designers out there, there's no problem in copying, even Picasso, in one of his quotes told about the necessity of copying. However, it is best to be careful in what you copy and how you copy it.

Lala C. Ballatan is a 26 year-old Communication Arts graduate, with a major in Journalism. Right after graduating last 1999, she worked for one year as a clerk then became a Research, Publication and Documentation Program Director at a non-government organization, which focuses on the rights, interests and welfare of workers for about four years.

Book reading has always been her greatest passion -- mysteries, horrors, psycho-thrillers, historical documentaries and classics. She got hooked into it way back when she was but a shy kid.

Her writing prowess began as early as she was 10 years old in girlish diaries. With writing, she felt freedom ? to express her viewpoints and assert it, to bring out all concerns -- imagined and observed, to bear witness.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.ucreative.com

---

Writing Benefit-Driven Web Copy ? 4 Steps to More Sales

You've identified the benefits you offer your customers, but how... Read More

Beyond Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tales arent the Only Thing Needing Catchy Openings

Once a upon a recent time in a galaxy not... Read More

Its Time To Start That Swipe File

Just as great fiction is an art, so is great... Read More

A Copywriting Lesson from Dr. Seuss

Looking for inspiration for your next marketing communication? Try the... Read More

Copywriting Secrets Of Indias Mystics

Hi everyone,Been ruminating on this one for a little while... Read More

Freelance Writers: Double Your Income

Freelance writers are a strange group of people when it... Read More

Its Time To Start That Swipe File

Just as great fiction is an art, so is great... Read More

So Youve Decided to Hire a Freelance Copywriter - A Guide to the Collaboration Process

Whether you're an executive or a small business owner, chances... Read More

Dont Be Satisfied With Your First Draft

Sometimes it's a struggle to figure out what's the best... Read More

Web Copy ? How Much is Enough?

These days, there's widespread acceptance that a website is an... Read More

Three Steps To Pump Up The Drama In Your Copy

All the world's a story. Video games have storylines; newspapers... Read More

Pulling Sales with Your Ad Copy

One of the best marketing tools available to your internet... Read More

Writing for People and Search Engines

Writing for the search engines is much different than writing... Read More

Knowing Copywriting Basics - How To Get Ahead In Your Copy Writing Business

In order to get ahead in your copy writing business,... Read More

3 Reasons why Content is Still King

Back in the late nineties, the phrase 'Content is King'... Read More

Promote Your Business and Get Paid for Doing It!

How can you gain credibility and exposure for you and... Read More

How to Develop a Killer News Hook

When you are going to write a press release probably... Read More

How To Write An Effective Ad

A letter or postcard allows you to "talk" one-on-one to... Read More

Long Copy vs. Short Copy? If You?re Still Debating This, You?re Missing The Point!

I've seen this ongoing debate debate jump up again recently... Read More

Getting Paid for Your Articles

If you've been writing web articles to help promote your... Read More

How to Write a Sizzling Sales Letter, Part 1

When you sit down to write a sales letter to... Read More

Freelance Copywriters on the Internet: How to Tell the Difference Between Heaven-sent and Hack

If you're hunting for a good freelance copywriter and have... Read More

Copywriting and Your Five Senses

In its most basic form, copywriting is, among other things,... Read More

The Second Most Important Element of Your Ad... after the Headline

Hi {FIRSTNAME Friend},Next time you're flicking through your local newspaper,... Read More

3 Copywriting Tips - How To Edit For Mass Appeal!

Web copy that's intended to sell or generate leads needs... Read More

No-Holds-Barred Conversation with Dan Lok - Part 1

Question: If you were starting out and had no references... Read More

Why You Should Write To Inform And Not To Sell

Advertising is key! Unfortunately most people waste their money on... Read More

How To Be Creative

Network marketing is an art as much as it is... Read More

A Quick Free n Easy Content Writing Course

I do not pretend that a one-stop shop solution to... Read More

Writing Suitable Copy for the Press

Summer is finally here and school is out, but learning... Read More

Yale University Researchers Reveal The 12 Most Powerful Words In The Human Language...

In this article, I am going to reveal a dozen... Read More

Copywriting Makeover: Search Engine-Friendly Can Also Mean Visitor-Friendly

When it comes to search engine optimization, copywriting plays a... Read More

5 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Copy

1. Isolation technique It doesn't matter how good your... Read More