Being Original
I read an interesting article over on Steven Furtick‘s blog the other day. Furtick is the Lead Pastor of Elevation Church, and the article is entitled Originality is Overrated. He talks about how we, especially creatives, put so much / too much emphasis on originality to the point of doing more harm than good.
True creativity is fresh, but not always original. – Steven Furtick
Sometimes there is a fine or hard to discern line between copying someone’s work and being influenced by it. I used to be reluctant to look at other people’s designs and creation, thinking I had to come up with something all on my own. I usually wasn’t very good at that and ended up researching ideas anyway. One day in my typography class I watched a video by German typographer and designer Erik Spiekermann on his work and creative process. He encouraged looking at others work for inspiration. I felt better.
But the bottom line is there really is a lot of truth in Furtick’s comments. We don’t actually create anything totally original, even the wisdom of Solomon knew that:
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.” – Ecclesiates 1:9
Related articles
- Originality is Overrated (pixelatedimage.com)
- {Originality vs. Creativity part II} (tanagoesbananas.wordpress.com)
from my notebook 