Whether designing for a client or simply just for artistic purposes, it is always important to maintain originality in your design. Why? Because originality means that you as an artist stand out as an individual. This means you are offering a distinct service that others are not providing, therefore putting you a step ahead of the competition in the eyes of potential clients. If you as a designer merely reproduce or imitate work that is already out there, then you are not proving that you are any better than the artists that created them and are therefore bringing nothing outstanding or spectacular to the client. More importantly, by implementing a sense of originality throughout your designs you are creating pieces that express your individuality and inspire others, which are essentially the primary functions of art. So now that we have established why is it important to create originality in design, we need to determine how it can be created, in order to make you as the designer stand out from the crowd and get noticed. Over three blog posts I will share with you my tips for how to achieve exactly that.
Tip One – Avoid Design Clichés!
It goes without saying that the most important thing to do to achieve originality is to avoid imitating clichés and design trends in your work. However, this is easier said than done when the internet is crammed full of design tutorials and inspiration posts that suggest we should base our work on pieces already created. Although these types of posts are essential for our growth and development as a designer, and of course inspiration is essential for any artist, it is important to ensure that whilst we are being inspired by other pieces, we are interpreting and developing them into our own style, rather than merely imitating them. To do this, we must steer clear of particular design trends that have been reproduced continuously across the net, and attempt to create new trends ourselves. After all, even the most reproduced and worn out design trends had to start out as original designs at some point. For example, take the Avatar franchise that started out as original designs and have now been imitated and reproduced by thousands of today’s designers. So what are the most common design clichés and how can we avoid them? Well if we see it on the net, then it’s been done, and admittedly I am guilty of some of the following clichés, but it is important to distinguish whether your work is for experimental uses or for the purpose of creating an original design. Here is a list of just a few of the most overused design trends seen today:
Floral and Swirly Brushes
All too often do I see pieces of art lazily finished off and vamped up with free brushes found across the net. The most common being the dreaded floral and swirly brushes! Admittedly these can achieve nice effects, and can instantly add that extra something to your artwork, but it is ridiculously overdone! These brushes are free to download and available for anyone to use, and should only really be used when experimenting, in order to save time – but not when creating original pieces of design!
Eye Photo Manipulations
In ‘photo manipulation’ or ‘photo montage’ designs, several themes and symbols are frequently repeated across the net. One of which is the eye manipulation, again the effect achieved can be beautiful, but whether it’s a hand crawling out of the eye lid or flames, moons or water for pupils – it’s all been done!
Mystical and Futuristic Female Characters
Another overused design in photo manipulation is the use of mystical female (and sometimes male) characters. They are often placed in the design with no purpose other than being aesthetically pleasing, and serve no contribution to the overall message of the design. Obviously sometimes it is important to have human characters in your art to express certain emotions or create a connectivity with the viewer, but please ensure they serve a purpose rather than just being there for the sake of a focal point of the design!
Splashing/Fragmented Skin Manipulations
The third photo manipulation cliché seemed very popular throughout 2009 and I am constantly still seeing it across tutorials and pieces of design. This is the distortion of the skin with a splash/fragment effect where the skin looks like it is breaking apart. Visually stunning when it was first achieved, but again, constantly overdone.
Grunge Textures
The use of grunge textures is something that has been used for years now, and sometimes it can be used in innovative ways to achieve great effects. However, all too often I see it being used as a heavy, dark overlay to cover up the unprofessionalism of the work underneath it.
Background Gradients
Similar to overused brushes and textures, gradients are often overused as backgrounds for designs when the artist cannot think of anything else to put there. Photoshop gradients have many functional uses, beyond the aesthetic use, and should generally be avoided to cover space in designs.
In Web Design:
Similar to the clichés found across illustrations and photo manipulations, there are many overused trends that can be seen everywhere across the net in the form of web design.
Drop Shadows
Drop shadows are used in all sorts of areas of design to create a three-dimensional effect and make pieces ‘pop’. However, there are far more innovative ways to achieve this effect, as drop shadows often look amateur and lazy.
Rounded Corners
Rounded corners on boxes in websites are often used to create a ‘soft’, ‘friendly’ feel, but again it is way overdone and can sometimes look amateur.
Glossy Buttons
Glossy Buttons are famously connected with the apple merchandise, and instantly give an elegant, professional feel to a website. However, they have been imitated so much by websites that they now offer nothing creative and original, and even make the website seem cliché and boring.
This list is just a few of the hundreds of overused trends that can be seen across designer’s work. Sometimes they can be recycled to create new, innovative designs, but the general rule of thumb is to stay well clear of these clichés if you want to stand out from the crowd in the design industry. Watch out for my next blog post for tip two, but for now, check out the following design cliché parody by the guys over at makemylogobiggercream.com!
