As a designer, you might feel awful if someone from another part of the world is copying your original designs. You put a lot of hard work and dedication as a designer to come up with something unique and then you see someone coming up with your design and presenting it as his own. This will not only demotivate you but will also break your heart.
On the other side some companies copy designs and use them on their T-shirts and merchandises. But now things are different because a person who is copying someone else’s design might face a lawsuit. And if you are a designer who is copying someone else’s work then you can get in trouble as well. One of the biggest hurdles a designer might face is how to stay inspired or where to get the right inspiration in order to come up with something unique.
How can a designer stay inspired without copying?
First of all it is very important to acknowledge that a person can face an issue due to copyright and trademark laws but this does not mean that you cannot ever copy something. Copying or getting inspired from someone else’s work is not illegal or new on internet. Now let’s talk about the difference between what type of designs you are allowed to copy and what should be avoided.
What is allowed to copy?
We become graphic designers after getting inspired from someone’s work. In the initial stages of our work as a graphic designer every person copy designs. This is how we learn and this is what helps us to improve our skills as a designer. We mostly try to copy the designs of some of the top designers and get inspiration from them. Not just in the field of graphic designing but this rule is applied in other jobs such as content writing, music or programming.
The formula is very simple that if you want to improve your skills as a painter then try to recreate someone of the iconic paintings such as Mona Lisa. You can do it whenever you can but do not publish it. If you copy someone else’s work then do not publish it or sell it to someone and also avoid publishing the copied design on social media websites. Sharing something you recreate with your friends on the Facebook can also be considered as publishing. This is not your work and you do not have the publishing rights. Always know that you can copy but you can copy the work only to improve your skills. Only to practice and to get experience but do not publish to sell it because it’s not your work and certainly not your original design.
How to be inspired as a designer without copying?
First of all you will have to develop your good skills and your own style before publishing your work on the internet. Work on your skills, develop and recreate designs and work on coming up with your own style. You can take a design as an inspiration and then mix your own flavor to it in order to make it your own. Here are 3 important steps you need to follow to create authentic designs:
Diversify your thought process and inspiration
If you like someone’s work as an inspiration then do not just follow that designer only but try to look around. Go through numerous examples to get more ideas to diversify your source of inspiration.
Focus on something as an inspiration and sleep on it
If you have seen a wonderful design and you want to create something like that then try to absorb its details, keep it in mind and sleep on it. This will help you to process the details of that design and you will be able to create something like that in a very different and unique way (your own style).
Create something by going down the memory lane
When you will diversify your source of inspiration then every design you will recreate (to practice) will stay in your memory. As an experienced designer, it will get easier for you to create something new from memory because of getting inspiration from different designers.
Final Thoughts!
To stay create it is important to try new things, new tools, new styles and always look for better ideas. Designing is a field that requires continuous research and innovation. You can also become a good designer by focusing on your strength and style.
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