Re: Rip off or creative inspiration- Nicole

Ah... the age old question of rip off or creative inspiration! I will agree with Kate and Derrick on this topic as well. It is quite hard to come up with something totally new. Many things have been done before, sometimes numerous times. I think when I start a new project I try not to look at the exact thing I am designing, for example- The cover of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, because I knew that had been done a thousand times and for me to come up with a completely new idea was unlikely. I made notes about what things in the book were iconic or important to me and then googled those words to find images that inspired me.

I think its nice sometimes to practice different styles that you find interesting. If this is just for yourself I think copying a work is fine because you are learning some techniques along the way. I wouldn't copy that design and pass it off as your own but its good practice if you want to learn a style. You might be able to take a little something and make it your own for the future.

I, like Kate, like to collect pieces of design that I find interesting. I have a book that I can tape these into and look through later. Sometimes its just a postcard, sometimes I rip things our of magazines and sometimes I just take pictures on my phone and print them out later.