What We Enjoyed Reading This Week

Imitation, the highest form of flattery?

• Inspiration, the aspiration we all have, only few can achieve -
  We’ve all been inspired by something or another at some point in our lives, and it has influenced us in ways that are often subtle, but painfully obvious other times. That is when our well meaning inspiration ends up as an example of copying. Copying is only acceptable when we’re just starting out as practicing designers because at the time it’s all about acquiring those sweet technical skills through rigorous practice, and what better way to overwhelm yourself in the name of practice, than by trying to recreate what inspires you so deeply, and subsequently struggle with getting it all ‘just right’?
• Inspiration to Imitation, the journey of a few clicks -
  “Let’s look at a reference before we start this project” is a great game to play until a designer accidentally (or on purpose) ends up just copying the reference. This is a serious problem because in such cases we’re essentially mooching off of some great designer’s time, effort, and thought process, and passing it off as our own. #LIES!
• Success is when the imitation is nowhere close to the inspiration -
  To avoid falling into the imitation trap, we need to do 2 things —
  1. Explore the finer aspects of why we are inspired by the things that we’re inspired by and
  2. Try to put our own spin on our findings.
  For instance, if you find that a design inspires you because of it’s analog palette, try to create your own analog palette for your project rather than just lifting hex codes from your inspiration. So you end up creating great designs, and not just perfect copies.

Design is not always what it looks like, or is it?

• “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” a double edged sword -
  So you’ve got this wonderful design which you’re super proud of and are sure everyone is going to love it, but for some reason garnered mixed reviews? Oh the unbelievable tyranny. Because God forbid we as individuals have different tastes from each other. #boohoo
  Now this in no way means that there’s something necessarily wrong with the design, it only means that no matter how great a design is there’s going to be a bunch of people who it will not appeal to simply because they have different tastes. But it is this exact distinction, that leads to variety in designs, creates newer challenges to take on, and more layouts to experiment with.
• Summum bonum of design -
  A great design never interferes with the function that it serves. It wins hearts by being immensely easy to get around, and understand. As designers we need to let form follow function if we want our designs to make any sort of a mark on the minds of our viewers. The best designs are often invisible, in the sense that they help get more done, without getting in the way of getting it done.
• So what is design at the end of it all?
  The common perception is that design is the way something looks, and it’s not entirely incorrect, just incomplete. The work of a design goes beyond just looking good, and being easy to navigate through. The responsibility of crafting an overall enjoyable user experience is what designs strive to achieve. So in the grand scheme of things, all the decorative elements and flourishes, finally make sense.