How much reference should be used in a design work?
May 17, 2017 9:20 PM   Subscribe

Recently, I have hit a wall feeling my works look like an ad I saw in magazine or that big poster on the side of a building somewhere.... Something is wrong, isn't it? I do often work with reference because my employer/art director would give me images and want the design style to be look "like" it. I do successfully recreate the same style wanted at the same time doing my best to avoid making a "copied" art work. But still....

I know I use reference to save time, to meet deadlines and approvals but I feel like some sort of a copy cat and I just can't get out of it because I feel even more lost without any reference.
How much do you use reference when working? How should I limit my use on reference for creating unique works? Even if not magnificent, I wish my work is unique and not like seen somewhere, but....
posted by lanhan to Media & Arts (5 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Reference is a useful shorthand but you need to be aware of what you can take and what you need to bring to the work. Break it up as you percolate the design: did the client like the colours? Then emulate the colour scheme, but use different fonts. Did the client like the layout style? Analyze the layout and use it as a point of departure, but bring in a different colour mood, maybe revise the typography.

The trick here is to get the art director or client to do a little of the work for you, get them to analyze what it is they like about the reference art (as much as they can!) and use that as an anchor, rather than imitating the whole package.
posted by zadcat at 10:16 PM on May 17, 2017 [8 favorites]


Best answer: One of the heartbreaks of production "art" is that most clients do not want unique innovative art. They want what they have seen as successful. Don't break your brain to be original when it slows down the process. Slide in your own ideas when you can but don't sweat it if you are too constrained by client and art director's ideas.

Early in the process, I often present a selection of directions, one very close to the reference, one more divergent, and one my idea based on the reference. More often than not, my ideas get discarded at once. I had to learn that it is not worth my sense of creativity to feel anything about my input not being wanted. Just do the damn project the way they want it and be creative on your own time.

zadcat's advice is spot on.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:29 PM on May 17, 2017 [9 favorites]


> Even if not magnificent, I wish my work is unique and not like seen somewhere, but....

On a purely practical level, it REALLY depends on what end of the commercial art world you're working. If you're at a swanky agency, originality is important and expected. If you're working on low budget stuff, derivative is... par for the course, really.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:46 AM on May 18, 2017 [4 favorites]


Do you do any art or design work on your own time? Stuff you enjoy or want to try, with no client to please. I find it really helps with the tedium of most paid design jobs, reminds me why I got into this in the first place, and I sometimes pick up some new skills, tricks, or ideas.

Another trick is to make the "safe" design first, then do something else. Something entirely different. If you like it, you can say "I also tried this..." The worst that can happen is they'll go with the safe design.
posted by Cranialtorque at 12:03 PM on May 18, 2017


"Good artists borrow, great artists steal"
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:49 AM on May 19, 2017


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