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:
1. involves some aspect of copying or stealing,
2. shows increasing design maturity, and
3. adapts Picasso’s quote to modern graphic design.
Three Levels of 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.
Level 2: Steal From Yourself
Simply put, one of the best sources from which you can steal is yourself.
Think about it. You probably have a folder on your hard drive that contains dozens of designs that were never used or completed. You’ve created designs that have been a success with clients. And more importantly, your distinctive design style is probably a selling point for many of your clients.
Why not tap into some of the great work you’ve created that was either unused or never fully completed? Or even better, reinvent some of your work that was highly successful in establishing your personal style?
Level 3: Steal From Discrete Sources
A good design friend of mine, Jesse Bennett, adorns his signature on message board posts with a quote by Albert Einstein: “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”
Perhaps the easiest way to ‘hide’ your sources is simply to use sources that are already hidden.
“Picasso hardly meant that great artists steal popular designs whose original source is known to everyone,” says Wes George, writer for The Mac Observer and financial Mac nut.
“What Picasso did mean was that great artists rummage through the great junk heap of lost, bypassed, and forgotten ideas to find the rare jewels, and then incorporate such languishing gems into their own personal artistic legacy… Picasso implied that great artists don’t get caught stealing because what they appropriate they transform so thoroughly into their own persona, that everyone ends up thinking the great idea was theirs in the first place.”
Level 3 entails the difficult process of searching through magazines, books, Websites, historical artifacts, cultural compositions and other rich design sources to locate those unused and forgotten ideas Wes speaks of.
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