Pablo Picasso, the first living artist to be featured in the Louvre, influenced the artistic world in a uniquely original way. So why is he known for saying “Good artists copy, great artists steal”? It’s true. Or at least, since his death in 1973, everyone believes he said that. Why would someone as original as Picasso say something as ironic as that? And what did he mean? Google Picasso’s quote, and you’ll find plenty of opinions and interpretations as to what he really meant.

Copy, Don’t Create: I’m all for being as original as possible, but a beginning Web designer (or any designer, for that matter) should start out by copying other well-created designs. Gerry McGovern, Web copywriting guru, makes the same argument for writers: One of the simplest tricks that professional writers learn can greatly ease the process of getting ready to write: look for a model of the kind of article you need to do, then dissect it, analyze it—and copy it. . . . Novice writers often make two mistakes: they think they need to be entirely original, and they think they need to wait for “inspiration.” Take it from the pros: for most kinds of writing, originality and inspiration are overrated.

Replace the instances of “writers” and “writing” in Gerry’s quote with “designers” and “Web design” and the message is the same: copy, don’t create.

Surprisingly, there’s a positive side effect to copying: conventionality. Building on the same foundation as other sites — specifically, layout and information architecture — often leads to intuitiveness and familiarity for the end user. By no mistake do BarnesAndNoble.com and Amazon.com have similar navigation structures. Additionally, if your career is anything like mine, you hardly ever enjoy the luxury Michelangelo relished as he expended four long years completing the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Often, we have only four months — more likely, four weeks. So, in a commercial art environment such as Web design, copying is almost mandatory, given the time constraints and budget limitations we face.

Steal From Yourself: Simply put, one of the best sources from which you can steal is yourself. Think about it. You probably have a folder on your hard drive that contains dozens of designs that were never used or completed. You’ve created designs that have been a success with clients. And more importantly, your distinctive design style is probably a selling point for many of your clients. Why not tap into some of the great work you’ve created that was either unused or never fully completed? Or even better, reinvent some of your work that was highly successful in establishing your personal style?

Steal From Discrete Sources: Albert Einstein: “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” Perhaps the easiest way to ‘hide’ your sources is simply to use sources that are already hidden. “Picasso hardly meant that great artists steal popular designs whose original source is known to everyone,” says Wes George, writer for The Mac Observer and financial Mac nut. “What Picasso did mean was that great artists rummage through the great junk heap of lost, bypassed, and forgotten ideas to find the rare jewels, and then incorporate such languishing gems into their own personal artistic legacy… Picasso implied that great artists don’t get caught stealing because what they appropriate they transform so thoroughly into their own persona, that everyone ends up thinking the great idea was theirs in the first place.”

A Warning: This article wouldn’t be complete without a warning to be careful when copying well-known sources. If I were to summarize this warning in one sentence, this would be my golden verbiage: copy the inspiration, not the outcome.

For example, since the introduction of the iMac, Apple’s design has been inspired by a very liquid and visually tangible look and feel, coupled with a “less is more” attitude. God knows I know- my PR department loves to show it to me when we talk about design.. A beautifully rendered copy of the inspiration behind Apple’s design leads to something like MailFrontier.com. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a horribly blatant copy of the outcome of Apple’s design leads to something like uSight.com. In short, be careful what you copy, and how you copy. Take the time to make the design your own, or you’ll land a spot as the latest design thief on Pirated-Sites.com.

Filed under: Design, Web Development