Is Originality in Graphic Design Real or is Everything Just Stolen?

Summary

The Angry Designer Podcast

Episode Title: Is Originality in Graphic Design Real or is Everything Just Stolen?
Date: September 9, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this candid and no-nonsense episode, hosts Massimo and Sean tackle one of graphic design’s most persistent myths: the pursuit of originality. They ask—does true originality even exist in design, or is every piece just a remix of something that came before? Drawing on Massimo’s personal journey with creating art for a heart health event, the hosts explore the role of influence, creative ego, design history, imposter syndrome, and the real value clients seek from designers. The conversation is peppered with relatable stories, deep industry insights, and memorable quotes that will reassure and inspire any creative who’s ever struggled with feeling “unoriginal.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Spark: Massimo’s Personal Story of Creative Influence

• [00:20-06:14] Massimo shares the story of creating art for a heart health event, inspired by his own medical history.

• His wife notes the piece “reminds her of” his friend, designer James Victore’s style.

• This triggers an introspective spiral: Did I just copy James’s work? He grapples with imposter syndrome and the fear of being unoriginal.

  "Did I just rip his shit off? ... I mean, I love his style. I was heavily influenced by him, but it was my own font, my story, my idea." – Massimo [02:34–06:20]

2. Can Anything Truly Be Original?

• [06:15-10:00] The hosts agree most creative work is influenced by something or someone.

• Exposure to other designers, art, and media from an early age shapes every creative's approach.

  "We've been exposed to so much stuff that I don't know if true originality exists anymore in the sense of how we think." – Massimo [05:53]

• Massimo finds the realization liberating rather than discouraging, helping him accept and celebrate influences.

3. Originality Versus Ego

• [07:11-08:23] The pursuit of originality is dissected as more about serving the designer's ego than the project's needs.

• The reality: Most clients don’t care about pure originality—they care about what works for their brand.

  "If your goal is originality, then I don't think you're doing it for the customer's sake. You're doing it for your own." – Massimo [07:49]

4. All Design is a Remix

• [10:13-13:32] They reference design legends—Paul Rand, Massimo Vignelli—and the endless chain of inspiration.

• Paul Rand’s direct influence from Jan Tschichold (“The New Typography”) is highlighted.

• Even current “trends” like minimalism are shown to owe roots to Bauhaus and Swiss Modernism.

  "Design is like remix is a remix, not invention." – Massimo [12:21]

5. Cultural and Generational Remixing

• [14:24-19:01] Styles cycle back—minimalism, brutalism, punk zine aesthetics—all recur with fresh context.

• The discussion expands to entertainment and media: Mr. Beast as a YouTube “original,” remixing Oprah, Fear Factor, Japanese game shows.

  "He's taking what was before and now giving it new purpose with a new medium to a new audience... the idea is very much a remix." – Massimo [18:44–19:03]

6. The “Everything is a Remix” Philosophy

• [19:08-21:47] The documentary “Everything is a Remix” by Kirby Ferguson is cited.

• Quentin Tarantino’s films, music sampling (“Under Pressure” vs. “Ice Ice Baby”), and tech are all examples of remix culture.

• Even AI is described as remixing existing work with new layers of automation.

  "Creativity is about influence, remix, and your own personal taste combined together. That's what true creativity is. I don't think originality exists anymore." – Massimo [22:56–23:02]

7. The Trap of Chasing Originality

• [24:25-27:56] Design students and junior designers are especially vulnerable to imposter syndrome if they shun influence, fearing they’ll become “copycats.”

  "By trying to be original, they are literally killing their creativity. Because their whole fear of not being original basically stops them. It stops them from trying something new." – Massimo [27:43–27:59]

8. Influence is Not Theft, It’s Fuel

• [28:18-30:08] Referencing Paul Rand, the hosts urge designers to focus on being good, not original.

  "Don't try to be original. Try to be good... Originality fades. But good design lasts forever." – Massimo quoting Paul Rand [28:18–28:33]

• The question is: Did you add something new? Is it unmistakably yours?

9. Making Work Yours: The Real Goal

• [30:11-34:34] Freshness and appropriateness are more important than strict originality. The task is to remix and apply your flavor/style.

• They relate this back to Massimo’s heart artwork—he made it his own with personal story, unique font, and treatment.

  "It's about stop being obsessed about being new, and just be obsessed about being good." – Massimo [29:28]

10. There Are Only 12 Notes: The Infinite Remix

• [34:37-35:55] Music, with only 12 notes, still yields millions of unique songs as an analogy to the infinite combinations possible in design.
• Even AI, they note, will not truly invent, only remix existing influences.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We chase originality like it’s some sort of badge of honor… but it’s probably more ego driven than actually being creative or being original.”
  – Massimo [07:00]

• “Looking for influence is not theft. It’s fuel. Big difference.”
  – Massimo [28:03]

• “Don’t try to be original. Try to be good.”
  – Paul Rand (quoted by Massimo) [28:18]

• “Did I make it mine?”
  – Massimo [31:50]

• “Chasing original ideas literally kills your creativity. It’s a fucking trap.”
  – Massimo [32:42]

• “Creativity is about influence, remix, and your own personal filters and style put into that.”
  – Massimo [33:49]

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:20-06:14 – Massimo’s art story and the origin of the episode’s theme
• 10:13-13:32 – The historical cycle of design influences (Paul Rand, Vignelli, Bauhaus)
• 14:24-19:01 – Modern trends, brutalism, punk zines, and generational remixing (Mr. Beast)
• 19:08-21:47 – The “Everything is a Remix” concept and applying it beyond design
• 24:25-27:56 – Imposter syndrome and the paralysis of seeking “originality”
• 28:18-30:08 – “Don’t try to be original. Try to be good.” (Paul Rand)
• 30:11-34:34 – How to know if you’ve truly made something your own, remix philosophies

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Conclusion & Takeaways

• Originality is overrated—focus on craft, voice, and making work authentically yours.
• All creative work is a remix of what came before, shaped by personal experience and intent.
• Designers should seek relevance and meaning, not unattainable total originality. Appropriation and influence are essential fuel.
• Chasing originality for its own sake can kill creativity—find your style, add new context, make your impact.

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Final Words

The episode closes with validation and encouragement: sharing your influences and making work that’s “unmistakably yours” is far more valuable than chasing the myth of pure originality. Stay angry, stay creative—and remember, remixing is the creative process.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

You're listening to the Angry Designer podcast, where we help frustrated graphic designers crush the industry chaos, ditch the social BS and build badass, rewarding careers that actually pay now. Powered by WIX Studio. So let me tell you a story.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So long story short, you know, I always say, you know, like, I kind of. I would love to kind of go down that art road and do a little bit of my own art. And about a month and a half ago, I was approached by an organization here who's doing this heart event.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And this heart event, you know, something new for the city. Right. Which was cool. And. And. And it was going to be an event to raise awareness and heart health and raise some money for the hospitals because we got a really kick ass heart clinic here.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

And. And so what? One of the things that they were used, they were going to go reach out to local artists every year and have them create the artwork that would be used as, like, the. The anchor for the whole campaign. Oh, and because of my fun you incident where I was rushed on my 43rd birthday to the hospital.

[A]

WT. WPW.

[B]

What was it? Wolf? Parkinson's? White was what I had.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[B]

And. And so literally, I was rushed to the hospital on my 43rd birthday during my 43rd birthday party. So what a way to kind of really crank that one up, only to, you know, basically, you know, almost die.

[A]

Yeah, right.

[B]

But I didn't on a good note. And so needless to say, because of my experience with heart, they were like, hey, would you be interested? I was like, hell, yeah.

[A]

Yeah, okay. For sure.

[B]

You know, again, art, we can kind of go down that road about trying to do something personal. So after long deliberation.

[A]

Yeah, okay.

[B]

I came up with something that I loved, you know, that I thought it resonated with me. Okay. It was my whole story, my whole journey, living my whole life with this thing. And, you know, and then how I put it in paper and how it came to fruition and then how it got solved. And, you know, and I liked it, right, because it was all these words surrounding this, you know, gritty heart. Heart that was leaking and I had.

[A]

A little heart bandage on it, right.

[B]

And I made my own font, you know, and I put it all the way around it, and it was just like, this is what I was living with and this is how it got solved. So needless to say, you know, I like how it turned out and I put a lot into it.

[A]

Looked great.

[B]

And, you know, I showed my kids, they were like, yeah, this. I showed It. And I showed my wife, and she's like, yeah, this is fantastic. It reminds me of your friend's work, James.

[A]

Victoria.

[B]

And I was like, fuck. And it was. And I was just like. I mean, it was, you know, I was like, did I just copy this? Because, I mean, okay, James, I consider him actually a good friend. I would do anything for that dude. And. And it's like, did I just rip his shit off? Especially because she said that. She didn't. She didn't say, oh, you're just ripped him off. She said, it reminds me.

[A]

Reminds me.

[B]

And. And so I had a battle with this because I was like, well, did I just steal his shit here? I thought I was creating something that was original and this and that. And. And it really did kind of mess with me for a little while, because then I didn't want to show anybody. And I'm like, what if somebody calls me out and I went through all these typical, you know, designer, you know, imposter syndrome type situations? And, you know, and then I think I came to the conclusion because you saw it.

[A]

Yes, yes.

[B]

And I mean, I get it. It did it. You know, James heavily influenced my. I mean, I love his style.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Okay.

[B]

I love what this guy does. I. You know, I. And. And I mean. Yeah. I mean, I remember him showing us his work. So I did the same thing. I did my own font. Scribbled it on paper.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I was half drunk when I did it, so it was authentic.

[A]

So it was real.

[B]

And. And then I transferred that into the computer because, again, unfortunately, I'm still a digital artist, you know, on my way there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, and then. And then. So that's. I got. It was kind of like a kick in the nuts.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I struggled with that. I really did.

[A]

It's funny, because now you're into the territory where the processes are very different. Right. With the design, you were shielded by your process. You can't. Everything is kind of bulletproof there with art, it's completely different.

[B]

Was completely different.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But it was this whole battle of, you know, was it original, was it not? And. And I think that's. That's where I kind of wanted to talk about today. Because all said and done, I thought this through and I don't hate the piece. I still love the piece. And I look at it and it's still.

[A]

You're still going to submit it?

[B]

100. I did submit it, and it still resonates with me.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I like it.

[A]

It's.

[B]

I look at it and I'm like, yeah, that's how I felt.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I was very heavily influenced by James's style because James's style resonates with me.

[A]

Right, right.

[B]

I'm a designer first. I have been a designer my entire life. And, you know, and so it. That's why his style resonates. I didn't. It wasn't a complete ripoff.

[A]

No, no, no. I don't think some. You weren't doing it intentionally, for sure.

[B]

Right. And it wasn't like I. I took his. Like, one of his, you know, artworks and, you know, traced it.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

But, I mean, it was influence. And then that's what kind of made me kind of come full circle with this whole idea that I don't know if you ever can be truly original. Okay. So. So we're creatives, you know, we're designers. Being a part of a designer, being a creative, you know, often, or at least as a graphic designer. And we are exposed to influences everywhere. Everywhere from. From probably the, you know, early age when we started learning how to draw.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Looking at other kids stuff, doing it their ways.

[A]

Cool.

[B]

You know, seeing commercials.

[A]

Cool.

[B]

This, that. And, I mean, we've been exposed to so much stuff that I don't know if true originality exists anymore in the sense of how we think.

[A]

Think it is. Right.

[B]

Like, I. I don't think that. I don't think that anything is truly original, which I don't think is a bad thing. I think it's kind of a. It's. It's liberating. Because again, once I came to that conclusion, I was like, well, you know what? Yeah. I guess I did get influence on my piece from James's work.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that's okay.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I still made it mine.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

My font, my story.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

My idea, my core picture. My whole meaning was there.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Right. I didn't just literally rip off his work, change a word and call it my own.

[A]

Or he had a story where he went to the hospital on his 43rd birthday. You know what? I'm just gonna use that too. Right.

[B]

Different city.

[A]

It's legit, I think. I think you legitimize it for sure right there by making your own font, because nobody else can do that. Right. That's you. That's your. That's your inner workings coming through the pencil right onto paper.

[B]

And then talking to him, seeing how he did stuff, I was like, cool, I'd like to try that.

[A]

Right? Yes.

[B]

So again, I was heavily influenced by him, but, you know, it's like, we chase originality like it's some sort of badge of honor like that. We think that, you know, we're not truly creative unless we're original.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And we're never going to win an award unless it's original. And we put all this fucking pressure on ourselves to be original. But I think, you know, in this vein, I think it's probably more ego driven than actually being creative or being original.

[A]

Yeah, I would say that's, that's correct. Yeah. Because you, you, you can't be in this kind of. If you're being creative and you can't be, you can't be ego driven with this.

[B]

I mean, not, not if you want to. Not in that sense. If you want to kind of push to, to be original. And if that's your own goal.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because again, if your goal is originality, then I, I don't think you're doing it for the customer's sake.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I think you're doing it for your own. Because I, I do think that there's this, this, you know, underlying myth out there that if, if it's already been done, it's, it's invalid.

[A]

Yeah. What you do, I can't do.

[B]

You can't own that.

[A]

Yeah. Yes.

[B]

You're just ripping that off. Y. I think that's the. Because the reality is the customer doesn't care if something's completely original and never been done.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Okay. The customer wants something that works for them.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And that's, and that's. And again, that's, that's what a designer does, Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's what the customer is looking for there. And I think maybe that they're a little bit more pragmatic in their expectations because they're approaching it from a business way where we as designers, as artists, as creatives, we think creativity and originality are so out there that it almost like ruins us. But, you know, the thing is, if we think that, you know, a logo is similar to something else that has been created out there, then ours is clearly a rip off or no good or useless or we've failed.

[A]

Right, right.

[B]

And I think that is the word because it's not that you fail. This is just, it's just different. If you, as long as you make it your own and you're pulling that influence.

[A]

Right.

[B]

It can be different, but it doesn't make it use.

[A]

No, for sure, definitely. And you're going to put your own stamp on it no matter what. Like this is, that's the difference. Back to your art. You and James are two totally different People. So you're going to approach things in a totally different way. That's with everybody. Yeah, right.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Like it doesn't matter. Even if you're using a computer, your brain is different from James's brain.

[B]

Fair enough, fair enough. The one thing we have in common is were both sex. Okay, that was his line. That's his line. But I mean, again, it, this comes down to the bigger conversation that I think everything really has been done. I don't think anything is original anymore. Everything pulls from influence from another place. Whether it's subconscious, whether it's a, a blatant, you know, like ripoff and then kind of tease, you know, or whether it's intentional or non intentional. Regardless, I think it all pulls from another influence somewhere, someplace.

[A]

For sure. For sure. Yeah. And there's no, there's, I don't think there's any shame in say, marrying up to a Rand and a Vignelli. Oh, well, do you know what I mean? And, and see what kind of baby you can get out of that.

[B]

Well, seriously. And the thing is, I mean they both, both of those guys have had influences totally. And you know, both of their work was built on design principles that were already in place. They had their own influences that exist. They had, you know, their own styles that, that they were already following. Like, I don't even think that, you know, even doing that would be original because I know for a fact that Paul Rand, okay, I guarantee that Paul Rand, Massimo Vignelli, you know, polisher Saul Bass, you know, Beirut, they all had influence just because they were designers. Well, maybe not Beirut and Schur, but just because Vignelli and Paul rand designed like 50, right. They still had their influences. Paul Rand, his influence was hugely like European modernist movement was where he took a lot of his inspiration. And I think his, his, his inspiration directly was Jan Ch Holder. It's, it's really.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

His inspiration and, and even more so Jan, she hold or just. Tsch. It's confusing. But anyway, he created a book called the New Typography and that was like Paul Rand's bible. He carried that everywhere. Kind of like how we all have copies of the logo Modernism, you know, on our shelves. Yeah, he had a copy of that and would reference that. So that was his direct influence. Okay, and again, so how far back do you want to go on?

[A]

Yes, right.

[B]

I bet you, you go back to the turn of the century. People were looking back to even people going, oh God, I don't even know how far this can go. I can't really speak in, you know, how far back we can go.

[A]

This is true. Yes.

[B]

But I think this just kind of goes to that point that, you know, we're all remixing, you know, previous things from the past. Right. Like vignette and Rand. Right. I like that remix. That's really good.

[A]

Yeah, that's great. Yeah, it's true. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Design is like remix is a remix, not invention.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

It really is an invention.

[A]

And that's the beauty of it, is that familiarity of the original, but with some other kind of twist on it that makes it just a little bit different.

[B]

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[A]

Yes.

[B]

But it keeps going on about minimalism. Minimalism. Well, minimalism, you take that back even further, right? We're talking Bauhaus. Okay. Was very much in that, you know, and from there, everything that we know now you know was moved on that the Swiss modern movement, okay? Very clean lines, very minimal.

[A]

Right? Very.

[B]

Just to the point.

[A]

Right?

[B]

And we're seeing that everywhere. So just because you think, no, that's hot now, well, guess what? That was inspired from what was hot 50 years ago. 80 years ago.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You know, brutalism.

[A]

Brutalism. There you go.

[B]

Like old punk zines. Okay. Like, seriously, like concert posters.

[A]

Right?

[B]

This is all about edgy websites that when we started.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Looked like punk concerts.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And now you see 25 years later, they're in exist, they're coming back again.

[A]

Oh, are they?

[B]

Yeah. No, I mean, again, because people. I think people are. There's a whole new fun brutalist movement online where people are trying to intentionally build ugly old websites to be refreshed because everybody's tired of everything looking so perfect. Oh, my God. Right? So. And again, guess what? It's been done, okay? So there's nothing wrong with it, but it's been done.

[A]

Right? Yeah.

[B]

So I think. I think, you know, the reality that designers have to come to terms with, okay. Is that in our world, everything recycle.

[A]

Recycles. Yes.

[B]

Completely.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And this is kind of goes back to why design is like a remix, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, you know, logos, grids, you know, are all based on geometry. We're all using books like Logo Modernism as our inspiration.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You know, we, we. We pull from movements like the Swiss modernist movement, one of my favorite movements.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But I mean, again, people pull from other movements. Layouts, Okay. A lot of the layouts for web. Okay. Go back to like, 60s, 70s, 80s style magazine layouts. Okay. As beautiful as they are, maybe 80s and 90s too, when you started getting into some really cool typography stuff.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But again, layout design recycles itself. It remixes itself from a flat layout to, like, web design layouts.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Whether you, you know, whether people want to admit or not, like, most of the. The cool structured fonts that we have, I mean, you keep going back, they're going to date back to Ariel, they're going to date back to Helvetica.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The serif ones, one way or another, are going to spin off of, like, the Garamonds, the Times, New Romans.

[A]

Right?

[B]

That goes back forever, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Even things like YouTube videos, shorts. Okay? All that shit in theory. Recycled, remixed. Just respond in another way.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Think. Okay, so Mr. Beast, okay, one of unquote, you can't even question. He's one of the biggest YouTubers in the world.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. More followers than almost anybody else. If he's not number one, he's number two. It's ridiculous what this guy does. And everybody uses him as the poster boy for originality. Oh. Nobody's done what Mr. Beast has done, but what he's done is completely remixed from all this other. Okay, so if you think about it, game shows and reality shows, right? Fear Factor, those. The crazy Japanese, you know, shows where they're running. Right. Like Mr. Beast does that kind of crazy. He gives away cars. Right. In his whole philanthropy for entertainment. Well, you know, Oprah done that and did a lot of that.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

He just did it better. He made it a little bit more entertaining.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But. And again, like the stunts that he does and the crazy spectacles. Well, fucking as early as David Blaine recently has done stuff where he's hanging for, you know, 48 hours in the middle of Times Square or maybe 72 or whatever. Something weird like that.

[A]

Or like you said, fear factors. That's got a. That's got a kind of element to it.

[B]

Mr. Beast, okay. Everybody would be like, no, that dude's original. Nobody's doing the shit that he's doing, but he's just remixing what's already been done. Okay. All of YouTube basically remixes what's already been done.

[A]

True.

[B]

So again, it's like there's this huge power, you know, in recycling, in remixing, in this whole mashup concept. And I think this, this is proof.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, that. That what, what we're doing is not necessarily wrong.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's not even ethically wrong. No.

[A]

No. And it's. I wonder if it's a generational thing too. Does that have something to play to do with it? Like say Oprah giving away cars, but then Mr. Beast doing his giving away cars in a totally different.

[B]

In a very, totally different way, which.

[A]

Could reflect his generation.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Which would pertain to how we interpret.

[B]

But that's exactly it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because he's taking what was before and now giving it new purpose with a new medium to a new audience.

[A]

To a new audience. Okay.

[B]

But the idea is very much a remix of what's already existed.

[A]

Right. Right.

[B]

There's this documentary on, I think on YouTube actually.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

By this dude called Kirby Ferguson.

[A]

Kirby Ferguson.

[B]

And his. The documentary is called Everything is a Remix. Okay. And I was only watching little bits about it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But it's really fascinating and it kind of set it. I mean, watching little bits of that. Not only watch little bits here and there, but it kind of makes me really realize that everything that we know that is really cool and, and, and awesome and that we think, oh, that' total remix. And think about it. Okay. Movie wise.

[A]

Right, Right.

[B]

Who is like Quentin Tarantino.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

You look at his and you're like, where the hell does he come up with this? This is awesome. This is crazy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, his inspiration is like, you know, 70s, you know, what is it like the 70s exploitation film.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, 70s music, right. He takes these styles, he puts them in a 90s movie with a lot more deeper monologue or dialogue. Right? Yeah, you know, bigger, grittier storylines. But you look at his shit, it has that 70s, 80s vibe.

[A]

Right.

[B]

This is legit. So he, he takes his, that, he puts it to this generation, like you said, with this medium, but then he adds his own slayer to it. Right, okay. So he's pulling old, making it new, and he adds flair to it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Puts music.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Music sampled. How much music has been sampled over the years? All music has been. It's like you, how many times you want to hear under pressure. You know, you don't know if it's a clean label or what it is. Right. Or when Vanilla Ice. Right. Or all these generations who keep hearing these old songs remix into new ones, they don't even know which is the original and which is the rip off.

[A]

Right, Right.

[B]

Tech, okay. Tech does the same thing. Even tech. If you think, okay, very rarely is tech completely original. Granted, it's really cool when it solves an old problem, but like, even when you see AI right now, it's just layering and offering a new level of technology advancement, convenience over top of existing problems. Okay, Think about it. AI is just a much better version of Google oftentimes.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay. You know, when it comes to image editing, AI is just a much more automated version of Photoshop. It's doing what, what humans do in Photoshop. Automating.

[A]

Right, Right.

[B]

So this whole idea even exists in technology. So it's, it's, I, I, sadly, it makes you almost wonder, like, is this just the pace of the world? You know, But I think that, you know, when it comes to originality, it's, it is like a remix or a mashup.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But just like you said, under a new lens. Under a new lens, new time, new era, new audience.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But really it's a, it's a matter of taking something that's old.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And just making it yours.

[A]

Right. Like, interesting. That's very cool.

[B]

I think so. You know, I, I was kind of playing around with this whole thing that, that I, I always used to think that I'm gonna say, and I don't know if this is legit or not, but the biggest misconception about creativity.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And again, this is my own version or my own take, but I think for the longest time, designers or creatives, okay. Felt that in order to be Considered creative or to feel creative.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

You had to create something original. Okay. And if you weren't original. Yeah, well, you weren't creative. You're just ripping off other people's shit.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This is something that I used to believe. I know this is something that a lot of designers, you know, currently struggle with on a regular basis.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I kind of, after going through all this and watching, you know, all these documentaries and such, I'm in the belief that creativity is about influence.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

About remix. Okay. And your own personal taste combined together.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That's what true creativity is. Because I don't think originality exists anymore.

[A]

Right, okay.

[B]

So creativity is about influence. Remix and your own personal taste. Your own personal influence. Going by the Quentin Tarantino style.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely true. And only one of those things are legit, like your stamp. That's as the original, as original as.

[B]

You could possibly get because you're making yours.

[A]

Yeah, it's yours. There's something about what it is that you do that gives it.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That thing I created. Okay. Yes. I, I, I took influence from James's cool written up artwork.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Drawings, his script.

[A]

Right, right.

[B]

I created my own font. I did a completely different layout. I had different meanings. So ultimately, in the end, the only influence. Creating something from type, from font.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But it was my idea, my, my thought, my idea, my story. It wasn't James's story.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So that's why in the end it doesn't necessarily make it unoriginal.

[A]

No, no, no, no. It's right. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

It's just this is my take and it was definitely an original piece.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay. I didn't go download a template off of, you know, template monster and, you know, replace the images and the fonts with mine. I didn't do that.

[A]

Yeah, yes. In that sense. Yeah. It's not original, but yeah. Yeah.

[B]

I, I, I think there is a, I think the, the problem where designers struggle with this is it kind of goes back to the whole imposter syndrome. Do you want a bit more? Yeah, yeah, it is nice.

[A]

I, I, I am starting to like it now. Yeah.

[B]

You know, imposter syndrome creams in, you know, and this is something, this is a very touchy subject for designers and, you know, we deal with enough imposter syndrome.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But when you talk about influence copycatting.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That plays a huge. Because that starts playing with you. Your. I'm no good. I can't create anything original if I'm not creating original stuff. I'm just a copycat Right. And so that's. That's where it's like you almost feel like a fraud.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. The fraud whisperer in the back of your. You know, you're designing something, you're like, this isn't mine. This isn't mine. This isn't this. This is influence. I can't do that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I've hired designers in the past and I would encourage them to go look at other stuff, look at other designers, go pick up the design books. The Rift refused, refused, refused to. They just didn't want it because they felt they were copying other people's work. And it was like, this isn't copying. This is influencing. This is finding something that works for your customer. Remixing it.

[A]

Remixing it.

[B]

Right. And I never said that, but I mean, the reality is. And that's what it was. And I would encourage them if it's another industry, another idea. I'm not saying rip off a layout.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But find inspiration.

[A]

Inspiration.

[B]

Stuff that already exists. That's why we have all these freaking design.

[A]

This is. Right. This. To me, that, that is a shock to hear somebody, that somebody would actually.

[B]

Say no on more than one occasion. Yeah. They felt it was bad. Right. And you know, you can't.

[A]

First thing I do.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I'm not an original guy. Not even close.

[B]

But in this sense, I, I think what was holding him back is they were trying to compare themselves to these grades and they're like, oh, you're always going to come up short when you compare it to somebody like, you know, Paul Rand or of course, because they' a lifetime of this, a lifetime of published work and stuff. And it's out there. Right. You can't compare yourself to that.

[A]

I, you know, I would love to see what Paul Rand's very first logo looked like. Now I'm going to guess it was probably pretty awesome. But I'm also going to guess that he would look at it and go, yeesh.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. It was terrible. You know what I mean?

[B]

Exactly. Exactly.

[A]

This is the beauty of what it is that we do. It's like I could open up a Paul Rand book and look and try and do what I would think he would do. But because of my limitations and my station, where I'm at, he's up here on the timeline. I'm here. I'm going to not do it as good as him because I'm not there.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I'm saying? Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

[B]

But again, it's just. You don't have to even compare yourself. No, no, no.

[A]

No, and that's unfair. And that's where you're right. You get into the imposter sims like, oh, I can't. I can't ever be as good as him, so I'm not even going to try.

[B]

Right, absolutely. So then what happens is, is they can't find it work to get inspired from. So then they create the same old, same old.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The same safe.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The same boring, the same, you know, drawn out stuff over and over.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they don't take any risks and they don't grow as a designer. So they're doing themselves disservice by. By avoiding outside influence.

[A]

Yes. Right, yes.

[B]

And then again, that's. That's what happened. And that by trying to be original, they are literally killing their creativity. Right. Because again, their whole fear of, you know, not being original basically stops them. It. It stops them from trying.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Something new. Right. Because they have no idea where to start.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So again, it's a dis. They're doing themselves a disservice.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Again, looking for influence is not theft.

[A]

No.

[B]

Okay. It's fuel.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Big difference. Huge difference that designers need to come to terms with.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[B]

You know, I remember Paul Rand actually had a really cool quote and that was, don't try to be original. Try to be good.

[A]

Try to be good.

[B]

Right. And that's it. Just try to be good. That was his thing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And again, his whole idea was that originality fades. Okay. But. But good design lasts forever, as does his stuff. You can look through all the Paul Rand books.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

They're amazing. He wasn't trying to shoot for originality. Look. Like the IBM look.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, right.

[B]

Again, there was nothing exciting about the IBM stripes, okay. About putting stripes through a wordmark. But by his treatment of the IBM logo like that turned it timeless. It was perfect. It was perfect. It never had to be changed. It was amazing. It wasn't original, but his treatment, his spin, his balance, making it as legible as it was, but still putting just those simple lines in there. But how there's so many levels of this company.

[A]

Boom.

[B]

It was perfect. Right. And again. So, I mean, again, it's. It's about stop being, you know, he was more about, you know, stop being obsessed about being new.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And just be obsessed about being good.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay. And there's a big difference about that. So if Paul Rand can do this.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

Okay. Right. Then again, I think it should be anyway.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So again, I think the real value.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

In this whole remixing. Okay. Recycling. Okay. Mashup, of course, is, you know, you can't be scared to do this.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

You don't have to necessarily, you know, approach everything of, is this mine? Okay. Is this my logo? Am I worried about being original? Okay. You need to phrase that. You change the phrases a little bit.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like when you. You take something that's influenced.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Think of it as, did I add something new to this? Okay.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Paul ran, had a font, had lines. Okay. Those two things lived separately. He made them together. He worked. He may have seen that in another logo somewhere. He may have seen that in another treatment somewhere. But he was the one ultimately to take his spin.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Put them together and create that beautiful IBM logo that's literally timeless.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

Again, original, Right. Especially by nowadays standards. And I guarantee you that that's been done.

[A]

Oh, yeah, Big time.

[B]

Damn. Was it good? If I'm not mistaken, around the same time, Kodak had their logo and there had their low. They had lines through their mark.

[A]

Right.

[B]

They approached it differently.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

They didn't do equal lines top to bottom. Theirs were more like staggered.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Same time period, same, you know, brilliant logo, brilliant designer. But again, they made it. So I think people need to figure out, you know, it's more important to have a fresh take on something than an original take. Yes, on something.

[A]

Okay. Yeah.

[B]

And then again, when you take that, right. You figure out, did I make it work for here, for now? Just like you talked about Mr. Beast.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

Oprah did this. You know, these Japanese game shows did it. Fear Factor.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But that was at a different time. Wasn't on the Internet. It was long, drawn out network television. Mr. Beast made these into like 10, 15, 20 minute shows. Rose added it, Added his flavor to it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, guess what? He just turned it into something new that was appropriate.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

For the time.

[A]

For that time. Yeah, exactly.

[B]

And then again, ultimately, with that being said, you got to be able to look at it and be like, did I make it mine?

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And just like Mr. Beast added his flavor, Paul Rand added his flavor. I did to my thing, and I made it my own.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. I made it my own flavor. And it was cool. It worked.

[A]

I was.

[B]

I was happy with it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So I. I wasn't really thinking anymore that I ripped off James.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I took influence from his style, how he went about it. He talked to us in detail about it. In no way. I think if anybody's looking at mine as being like, you ripped him off.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

But I think, you know, you can be like Wow. I could see the inspiration, the spirit.

[A]

Is there, the influence.

[B]

Right. And again, I took his style, his look, remixed it, made it my own completely different message.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So, you know, and in all fairness.

[A]

Too, with the black, red and white, I mean, come on, you own that. You own that stuff, man.

[B]

Black, red and white is kind of my thing, isn't it? Not very exciting.

[A]

So as soon as I saw that, I was just like, yep, okay, there you go. Yeah.

[B]

Unfortunately, honestly, I think what, you know, designers need to take away is that originality is not the goal in this situation. Right. Chasing original ideas literally kills your creativity. It's a fucking trap.

[A]

Analysis by paralysis. It is 100%. Yeah.

[B]

Okay. And you will constantly spin yourself sick over this. Okay? So again, if instead of trying to be original, you take ownership and create something that's good, that's yours.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And own that, you'll probably get further, business wise. Clients will be happier. You'll find your own self fulfillment through that.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Because honestly, originality by no means is the goal.

[A]

Goal. No.

[B]

And it really shouldn't be the goal unless it's a personal thing. And honestly, then it's an ego driven.

[A]

Thing in this case. Right, right, you're right.

[B]

Honestly, the whole point is, is to make work that's good and to make it unmistakably yours.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

And I think that's where your personal style, your influence, your taste comes in.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

Like I said. And again, my quote.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Creativity is about influence, remix, and your own personal filters style put into that.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That's creativity. And I think that's where it comes from. Not originality.

[A]

Not original.

[B]

Yeah, not at all. No.

[A]

I mean, I could see the allure of originality. It would be awesome to create something that no one has ever seen before, but it won't happen unless you're a caveman.

[B]

You know what I mean?

[A]

Like drawing on the walls then. Hey, that's pretty.

[B]

Those guys had an idea before then, right?

[A]

Well, yeah, exactly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, yeah, I think everything has been done, but there is still a way to spin it.

[B]

A way to spin it and make it yours to remix it. If you remix it.

[A]

I love that analogy.

[B]

I don't think it has any change.

[A]

No, I don't think so either. Yeah, we've seen a lot. Like, I mean, and to go back to your music thing, There are only 12 notes. How many songs are there? Seriously? Yeah. How many songs are there? We've managed to make millions and millions of songs with these 12 notes. Like crazy, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. So I There's unlimited, you know, potential for stuff.

[B]

Please. I never even thought about.

[A]

But there is no originality in music anymore either.

[B]

Yeah, good point. Right. It'd be interesting to see, you know, what AI does with this in the future. And the influence. We've already. Already seen its influence. And it directly, there's that whole argument about ripoff versus influence. And again, you could almost say that AI, everything that it's taken is just influenced, you know, when it's. It's spitting back to you with network. So.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm curious to see what the future of that looks like. But needless to say, you know, as long as we're not expecting anything original.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

From AI.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just like we're not expecting to create anything original.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

And clients will not expect. Not ask for anything original.

[A]

They. Yeah, we're. We're.

[B]

We're fine.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Again, it's all about finding influence. Find making it appropriate for your customer, making it appropriate for the medium, and then making it yours.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's the goal here. And that's what designers should strive for.

[A]

Right on. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. All right.

[B]

Well, I'm glad we talked about this.

[A]

That was really good.

[B]

I feel validated now.

[A]

Yeah, Good. You should. Good, good. I thought you were. Your thing was awesome. It looks really, really good.

[B]

I'm happy about it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know. I don't know where I fall shared or not, because it's still very personal, but maybe we'll see.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

Maybe everybody get into his DMs. Tell him to share it. No. Stop it.

[B]

All right, I hope you guys enjoyed this. This was a little crazy topic, but I'm glad we talked about it because.

[A]

I think it's important.

[B]

Let us know your thoughts. Drop us lines on Instagram. Hit us up on the comments in YouTube. You know, hit us up on your website. And don't be scared to. To. For our newsletter. Anger management for designers.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

It's a lot of this with some fun stuff thrown in there. Comics and AI thing every week. And we're not selling you anything. Nope. Yet anyway.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

But maybe we'll just inform you of things that are coming in.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Who wants. Who wants cool swag?

[B]

Yeah. Right. All right, everybody. My name is Massimo.

[A]

My name is Sean. Stay creative and stay angry. Jam it, Sa. Sam.