Originality and creativity in this new evolution of "cut & paste" culture
The nature of creativity is complex and largely subject to context, time and perception and it often seems we’re living in a time where nothing is new and everything is simply a regurgitation of previous ideas and concepts.
This is especially true in the corporate world where logos, site & literature design and brand ID design are invariably constrained by a need for familiarity and association, the absence of which can prove a barrier to acceptance and ambassadorship.
But truthfully it’s also evident in traditional and ancient forms of art, and (depending on one’s definition of “creativity” and context) occasionally influence and inspiration become blurred and indistinguishable. Traditional art forms have long since accepted that “nothing is new”; sampling in music is widely adopted as a means to create new sound combinations (just take a look at WhoSampled!), poets work to established constraints of stanzas and metre, and some artists (such as our wonderfully gifted brother Patrick Bremer) have built entire careers on literally cutting and pasting traditional printed material to form exciting and dynamic new pieces.
But it’s the modern corporate application of graphic & site design that I’m citing here – the conventions that dictate that a designer must work within acceptable boundaries of graphic sensibilities – that means that so much of what we see amounts to little more that “cut and paste” jobs.
This is not really a bad thing as such; aside from the fact that there are only so many colour, font and image combinations in the world, it really isn’t a good idea – especially in commerce – to baffle or bewilder customers and user with clever for clever’s sake. There was a time when sites would strive to deliver “unique” user experiences but the industry has long since grown out of hiding menu items or confusing user journeys with unnecessary animations and graphics. The success of a site is now properly measured in conversions and appropriate KPIs, and brand graphics by familiarity and acceptance metrics. This is as it should be.
I personally welcome any opportunity to deliver sites that conform – at least in terms of layout and asset positioning – to hard-won template conventions that in turn allow quality content to really hold its own and drive successful goal conversions unhindered by daft design flourishes and gimmicks.
