DESIGN IN WEB MEDIA AND COPY
DESIGN IN WEB MEDIA AND COPY
We are going to discuss with the issues related to copy and design as individual entities as well as a strong medium together. I would like to receive comments on the same from readers of my webblog.
Pablo Picasso, the first living artist to be featured in the Louvre, influenced the artistic world in a uniquely original way. So why is he known for saying “Good artists copy, great artists steal”?It’s true. Picasso really said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Or at least, since his death in 1973, everyone believes he said that.
But why? Why would someone as original as Picasso say something as ironic as that? And what did he mean? Google Picasso’s quote, and you’ll find plenty of opinions and interpretations as to what he really meant.
My intent here, then, is to uncover one possible interpretation. This interpretation involves three levels of design, each of which:
To help you understand my reasoning, I’ve segmented this interpretation into three levels. Are these the only three levels of design? Of course not. They’re only a guide to help improve your design maturity as related to copying and stealing.
I’ve included short case studies to effectively demonstrate the primary concept at each level -- at least, that’s the intent. You be the judge as to whether or not they’re effective examples.
Level 1: Copy, Don’t Create
I'm all for being as original as possible, but a beginning Web designer (or any designer, for that matter) should start out by copying other well-created designs.
Gerry McGovern, Web copywriting guru, makes the same argument for writers:
One of the simplest tricks that professional writers learn can greatly ease the process of getting ready to write: look for a model of the kind of article you need to do, then dissect it, analyze it—and copy it. . . . Novice writers often make two mistakes: they think they need to be entirely original, and they think they need to wait for “inspiration.” Take it from the pros: for most kinds of writing, originality and inspiration are overrated.
Replace the instances of “writers” and “writing” in Gerry’s quote with “designers” and “Web design” and the message is the same: copy, don’t create.
Surprisingly, there’s a positive side effect to copying: conventionality. Building on the same foundation as other sites -- specifically, layout and information architecture -- often leads to intuitiveness and familiarity for the end user. By no mistake do BarnesAndNoble.com and Amazon.com have similar navigation structures.
Additionally, if your career is anything like mine, you hardly ever enjoy the luxury Michelangelo relished as he expended four long years completing the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Often, we have only four months -- more likely, four weeks. So, in a commercial art environment such as Web design, copying is almost mandatory, given the time constraints and budget limitations we face.
We are going to discuss with the issues related to copy and design as individual entities as well as a strong medium together. I would like to receive comments on the same from readers of my webblog.
Pablo Picasso, the first living artist to be featured in the Louvre, influenced the artistic world in a uniquely original way. So why is he known for saying “Good artists copy, great artists steal”?It’s true. Picasso really said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Or at least, since his death in 1973, everyone believes he said that.
But why? Why would someone as original as Picasso say something as ironic as that? And what did he mean? Google Picasso’s quote, and you’ll find plenty of opinions and interpretations as to what he really meant.
My intent here, then, is to uncover one possible interpretation. This interpretation involves three levels of design, each of which:
- involves some aspect of copying or stealing,
- shows increasing design maturity, and
- adapts Picasso’s quote to modern graphic design.
To help you understand my reasoning, I’ve segmented this interpretation into three levels. Are these the only three levels of design? Of course not. They’re only a guide to help improve your design maturity as related to copying and stealing.
I’ve included short case studies to effectively demonstrate the primary concept at each level -- at least, that’s the intent. You be the judge as to whether or not they’re effective examples.
Level 1: Copy, Don’t Create
I'm all for being as original as possible, but a beginning Web designer (or any designer, for that matter) should start out by copying other well-created designs.
Gerry McGovern, Web copywriting guru, makes the same argument for writers:
One of the simplest tricks that professional writers learn can greatly ease the process of getting ready to write: look for a model of the kind of article you need to do, then dissect it, analyze it—and copy it. . . . Novice writers often make two mistakes: they think they need to be entirely original, and they think they need to wait for “inspiration.” Take it from the pros: for most kinds of writing, originality and inspiration are overrated.
Replace the instances of “writers” and “writing” in Gerry’s quote with “designers” and “Web design” and the message is the same: copy, don’t create.
Surprisingly, there’s a positive side effect to copying: conventionality. Building on the same foundation as other sites -- specifically, layout and information architecture -- often leads to intuitiveness and familiarity for the end user. By no mistake do BarnesAndNoble.com and Amazon.com have similar navigation structures.
Additionally, if your career is anything like mine, you hardly ever enjoy the luxury Michelangelo relished as he expended four long years completing the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Often, we have only four months -- more likely, four weeks. So, in a commercial art environment such as Web design, copying is almost mandatory, given the time constraints and budget limitations we face.
posted by Magicframe | 8:04 AM
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