Seen there done that

dé⋅jà vu

When it comes to creativity or creative ideas I always try find something new, something inspiring, something no one has ever seen before. Maybe it's a new look, a new colour combo, a new take on an obvious solution. As a designer, I am often told, "Think outside the box!" (if I hear that phrase again, I swear I will give someone a scissor kick to the lips!!!!!).

Lately I've been noticing something. I have various blogs and websites that I visit on a regular (if not daily) basis. From one, you can click to another and then to another...and another and click - another. With each click there is some new type of eye candy - a painting, a picture, a mood, a feeling. Everyone is putting their original ideas and concepts out there. It's a fantastic blend of idea and inspiration ans it's all readily available. I realized something as I was clicking away, there are bits and pieces all over the place that I swear I've seen before. "That's their new logo? I know I've seen it somewhere. It just came out? Really?"

It happens all the time, in fact, it's happened to me. About a year and a half ago, I was hired to create a new identity for a local business that was just starting out. They gave me a guideline of what they were looking for, and I forged ahead. In the end, they were happy and best of all, I was happy to put my name to it. As I had it on screen one day, a friend (and fellow designer) popped in and with a look of concern said, "Who's that logo for? Where did they get it?" I explained - including an in-depth rationale for what I had created, and then all he said was, "Have you seen the logo for Such-and-such company? It's exactly the same." My heart sank...it couldn't be, could it? I went to Such-and-such company's website, and there it was. Glaringly obvious. Well, it wasn't EXACTLY the same - the orange was a shade more yellow and the elements were not completely centred (in copyright terms, that is EXACTLY the same). I stared at it...it stared back. It was a showdown, and epic battle between what I thought was my "original" idea and what already existed for someone else. I ended up changing it...I had to tell my client as neither of us wanted to end up in the Copyright Courts of Justice. The thing is, to this day, I have no idea how that could even happen. Like seriously....SERIOUSLY....how did the client's vague guidelines go from my brain, through dozens, if not hundreds, of thumbnail sketches get transferred in to my computer and end up WHAM! - something someone had already done?

This exact scenario doesn't just happen to me. It happens all the time. I used to work for a large Ad Agency and when I started there, they were in the midst of an actual court battle to prove whether or not a logo they did for their client existed publicly BEFORE a very similar logo for a non-profit company in the U.S. did. It was very real and scary when the designer and Creative Director had to pull out pages and pages of sketches and hard copy proofs to prove that their creative process landed them in a very similar spot as those creatives in the U.S. Turns out, our agency launched almost a full year prior to that of the other. Score!

Regardless, sometimes I wonder if this happens because of the "Creative Brain". Do certain words or ideas conjure up the same image for all of us? Is everything we see or have seen etched in to our subconsious only to burst out when prompted by trigger words/feelings/experiences? Or, could it be that we all share one great pool of ideas -kind of like a collective soul - that we all reach in to without knowing when we create? Or maybe, these same ideas are ingrained in our mitochondrial DNA as a Creative and we regress? OKAY! That's just too much.

All I know, is that it happens. But, it is not always a bad thing. Creativity inspires creativity. Ideas lead to more ideas. If someone or something inspires you, create! Put your mark on it. It was still a product of your thinking, your inspiration and your hard work. Anyone Creative can be a "human photocopier"...the challenge is to throw a twist in. And, if somehow, by some great mysterious power beyond our comprehension, it comes out with a likeness to something else, it must have just been a great idea!

Create it up yo!