Steal like an Artist

If you have not already read this book, I highly recommend picking it up:

http://austinkleon.com/steal/

Austin Kleon begins with the best description that I could have possibly come up with for this blog post, so I am going to take his advice here and steal it. Since I began this creative journey years ago in college, I have always believed that the term “editor” was more accurate a description than “graphic designer”. I still cringe a little every time I hear the phrase “graphic designer” because it is so inaccurate to what we do in this industry, and at this point could very well mean you answer the phones.

I will speak today from personal experience as someone who has been in the industry for several years. I will not assume that everyone has the same approach, nor will I expect anyone to agree with the views I express here today.

All artists steal.

At least when it comes to ideas. We can not help it. Our brains are sponges – they absorb more information than we really even know about. Throughout the day, the advertisements we pass, the color of the sunset, the jerk who tried running you off the road, a beautiful stranger that passes by – all of this random seemingly disjointed information is what helps to form our opinions, our likes, our dislikes. We are, in every way, influenced by the world around us. This barrage of information keeps growing even, to an amount that I have no idea how to quantify. So how does this effect the creative process, and how does this effect creative results in general?

Here is my take on it.

This unconscious accumulation of information makes it impossible to create a completely original idea. I am not saying that you will blatantly rip off other artists, nor am I saying that your work will not be different in some way from other work out there. What I am saying is that your ideas are always influenced by your personal experiences, and that you are more likely to mimmic those things that you like. So, in a way we are all stealing. For example: You walk down the street and pass a barber shop. You notice the beautifully hand-drawn lettering in the front window and stop to take a picture. Later in the month, you mimmic this lettering in a poster that you design for a client. Is this not stealing? From painters to sculptors, to architects and developers. We are inspired by the beautiful things we see, and we steal them.

Now let’s talk about ownership of these ideas.

I understand copyright laws (mostly) and that these laws were put into place with good intentions of protecting fair use and compensation for ideas. What I have trouble understanding is since art is a combination or collection of various ideas and influences, how can one person or entity end up owning the rights to an image? Shouldn’t art of every discipline be available to view, share, and yes sometimes even steal?

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

I would love to hear your opinion on this topic, as it is something that I have been thinking about lately. In the meantime, happy stealing, my friends! May the world around you inspire you enough that you want to take it home and use it for yourself! And if it does not, maybe it is time you created something that you feel is worthy of stealing.