So this is the text book that I am reading for my graphic design class. I have only read the first chapter, but so far I find the book engaging, simple to read, and informative in terms of how to think creatively relative to what has already been done. I appreciate how casual and straight forward Kleon presents his ideas and philosophies because it makes it sounds like advice you would get from a friend with experience.
The title of the book already makes the book seem a bit controversial, because one of the golden rules to life is to not intentionally steal ideas and works from other people and pass it off as your own. But the question I have is where does the line fall between being inspired by a particular piece of work or artist and just flat out stealing? To me, I feel like if you are not willing to acknowledge where you get ideas from when they are not genuinely original, then that's stealing. This is the only thing I could come up with at the moment, so if anyone has a different opinion, I would love to hear it.
Coming up with an original idea is very difficult, that's why not everyone is an entrepreneur. Everyone is constantly being influenced by things that already exist and therefore ideas, in art or anything else, are just building off of what has already been done. I think when an original idea does emerge (and it's a good one), it tends to be praised by society and rightfully so. Usually the idea is a very simple one, but for some reason it hasn't been done before and the majority population can relate or utilize it.
The book says that a great way to generate ideas is to collect things that you love, because you are only going to be as good as the things you surround yourself with. I have heard this from another graphic designer before, and ever since then, I've had an inspiration box which I put anything related to graphic design in that I appreciate. I have everything from business cards from local restaurants, to posters from museums. It's a great way to get inspiration from something that you know has been paid to be printed and distributed rather than just posted online for free. However, there are some great resources online as well, and the variety is far greater than what I can find in the local area. For me personally, I have a bookmark folder on my browser specifically for when I come across interesting design related sites. Currently I have about 25 pages bookmarked, so it's a pretty good process for me.
Another way to get inspiration is to have a "mentor" who's work you can follow. I currently don't have a specific designer that I consciously look up to. My interests tend to be spread among specific pieces of work rather than the artist/designer themselves, so perhaps I should do more research into who I can aspire to be like. Having a mentor can be very useful because then you can see their process and what they did in order to reach where they are now and use their phiolosophies and experiences for your own self discovery.
Overall, I think I am going to enjoy reading this book over the next few weeks. It is a really short one that I can probably finish in a day or two, but perhaps letting the lessons in each chapter marinate in my brain a while can be a good thing. There are also many quotes in the book, which I find are quite inspiring. Here are two from the first chapter that I feel like I can apply to my life:
The David Bowie quote was enlightening to me because you really should only study things that you genuinely like and therefore would want to apply some principles of it to your own work. If you don't have the desire to steal some idea or principle from something, then obviously it is not stimulating enough.
The RZA quote is not anything new to me, but rather reinforces the idea of always learning something new and expanding your knowledge, even when you don't have to. Studying is really a form of discipline that is a necessity to be successful in life because not only do you need to be disciplined for when you work for someone, but also when you are in charge of other people. Without it, then there is no motivation and without motivation, there is no reliability.
Another way to get inspiration is to have a "mentor" who's work you can follow. I currently don't have a specific designer that I consciously look up to. My interests tend to be spread among specific pieces of work rather than the artist/designer themselves, so perhaps I should do more research into who I can aspire to be like. Having a mentor can be very useful because then you can see their process and what they did in order to reach where they are now and use their phiolosophies and experiences for your own self discovery.
Overall, I think I am going to enjoy reading this book over the next few weeks. It is a really short one that I can probably finish in a day or two, but perhaps letting the lessons in each chapter marinate in my brain a while can be a good thing. There are also many quotes in the book, which I find are quite inspiring. Here are two from the first chapter that I feel like I can apply to my life:
"The only art I'll ever study is stuff that I can steal from." –David Bowie
"Whether I went to school or not, I would always study." –RZA
The RZA quote is not anything new to me, but rather reinforces the idea of always learning something new and expanding your knowledge, even when you don't have to. Studying is really a form of discipline that is a necessity to be successful in life because not only do you need to be disciplined for when you work for someone, but also when you are in charge of other people. Without it, then there is no motivation and without motivation, there is no reliability.
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