Draft 1 - Can new Design be original?

My essay draft 1. 

The question remains as shown below.

Can new Design be original?

Firstly, I chose this subject area and question based on the fact that I am deeply interested in design in all areas across the board mainly focusing on Graphic design, and that I have questioned and debated originality for many years, which is partly why I got into design in the first place. Concluding this question or growing an understanding of it by researching into theories from all ages and movements, will increase my knowledge and hopefully make me an even more creative and open minded designer.

I am going to research contextual and relevant information to try and answer this question, or at least grasp a stronger understanding. Looking into the meaning of the verbs in the question itself will be my starting point, focussing only or mostly on ‘Originality’. To continue answering the question and focus on the main part of it, I am going to look into the roots of originality in design; when people starting looking for it, why it is more important than repetition (if it is/the arguments over the case) and compare it to the way it fits in with other professions and everyday life. I am going to write it in such a way that I can share my views and opinions whist analysing the arguments at hand.

            What is originality? Can it be defined so simply? There are many arguments as to whether you can define something original or not. There are also different types of originality within different subject areas and in different context. The meaning to a general audience about whether an idea is original or not could be hugely different from how a professional or someone in the specialist area would view it. Referring to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘original’ literally means: existing from the beginning; first or earliest; the earliest form of something, from which copies can be made. 2. Created personally by a particular artist or writer, etc.; not a copy. 3. Inventive or novel. Etc. Noun – originality. ‘What is newly original in an artists work is never noticed by the public. It is frequently unnoticed by himself’. This sentence was taken from an article written by David Hare, ‘The myth of originality in contemporary art’. He uses the word ‘original’ as the meaning – creation, invention or different as opposed to the first or earliest of something at this point. This differs from many other ways in which the word is used. Hare writes as if neither the artist him/herself nor the public recognise originality straight away. ‘When originality is noticed and approved, it is on its way to becoming unoriginal’ Hare continues. It would have to be analysed and researched into before clarification he seems to mean, then something becomes unoriginal. When did it become original? The artist him/herself may assume an idea was their own, but it is hard to assign such a huge status to yourself without knowing the world and thoughts of others.

            How far back can originality go? Is there a start of something truly new and original ever, or does everything relate to something else in some way or another? I could ask these questions all day long, and pin pointing something like that would be impossible, or is it? These are questions that made me read into just the meaning of originality even more than needed. I was so interested in what people were saying about it in general.

           

            ‘A work remains permanently original if the artist refrains from dragging it through the mud of too much repetition’. David Hare, The Myth of Originality in Contemporary Art, jstor.org. This quote could be seen and interpreted in many different ways. It seems as if he uses the word ‘original’ in the meaning of the first of something or the earliest of something, of which copies can be made. It is also written as if something can be permanently original but whether the artist could help it or not, someone will repeat it, or repeat the idea and even then, producing one of something is still likely to be repeating something from history.

            Moving away from the topic of the meaning of originality, whilst researching and reading into related subjects, I became very interested in Protest Art and Propaganda. I was looking for something to write about and focus on to narrow the question down to something specific to then broaden back out towards the conclusion. This will hopefully help me understand specific areas better, which will then help me argue other points. I have and will continue to research this topic but to truly understand and appreciate the originality within design, I must look all the way back to the development of propaganda, the ideas used in the art, and where it all began.

Understanding and appreciating professional designers views will change the angle of research here and may be more interesting as we may be able to relate to a more informal comment/statement. Paul Rand, being one of the most respected Graphic Designers of our time, shares his thoughts in an interview from a short documentary. Paul Rand, Mead Generations, 1994. He expresses his feeling on originality as if it doesn’t matter within design anymore or even that it never did. ‘Do not try to be original, just try to be good’ quotes Rand.

The research I have made in all the ranges of sources and methods has very much helped me develop a strong opinion whilst understanding arguments against this. Although I could have written more and researched more, which is actually never ending, I feel that design can be still be fully original but this may not necessarily make something eye-catching or suitable for the purpose. I believe it has to be controlled, if it is even uncontrollable. Everyone can be original as I believe, but it doesn’t just happen for some people.

I strongly believe and follow Rand’s statement/beliefs because not only is it logical but when analysing works of others, we do not look for originality or at least not straight away.  We look at something and decide whether it looks good, why it looks good or what it means.

When I think of some of my favourite design, I remember it because it is good, not if it is original. If I sat there and criticised a piece of work, I would be able to most likely pick it apart and state why this wasn’t original nor that. In some ways of analysing my opinion, we could say that the research I have taken has lead me to disregard the original question completely now, which does not disappoint me at all. However, I do still feel that originality in design can be important and does need to remain for the future. If we were indeed without originality from now until forever, we would end up recycling old design and making it the new. I have struggled to find any evidence or information on this particular subject. I am sure someone has written about the cycle of graphic design styles but it is very difficult to find as I have found. This will have to be a continued research project that I will take forward on my own separately.

            This question has proven great importance to me and will to many others. It has separated vague areas of which I have learned in the past and has introduced me to whole new ways of thinking about originality. A successful designer should know and understand the history of originality, why it is important if at all and modern and professional views too. This is why I believe this question is a very interesting and useful subject to understand yet can be so open to opinion and interpretation.

            When narrowing the question of originality down to specific subject areas, it also helped gain a greater understanding because it allows us to target and study the question in different context. The history of that specific area may change ones whole perspective and redirect toward the opposite end of the spectrum as it is such a hard question to answer with a yes or no. Design can be original, is that the importance anymore?