“Creativity is merely creative modification.”
In other words, plagiarism is a compliment. We can never think in a vacuum, we always need food for our brains. Imagination is the same way. We can never invent something truly and completely new. Try it. Imagine a monster that is completely and utterly new, that doesn’t depend on any thing you already know.
Is he hairy? Oops where did you get the idea of hair?
Is he scaley? You mean like a lizard?
Has he big teeth? Like a shark?
You get the picture. Everything we imagine is merely a re-assembling of parts that we are familiar with in other contexts.
This is true for websites as well. There is no such thing as a completely NEW design. If there were no one would understand it because it would be utterly alien. When we design we simply modify things we have seen before. Great design starts with observing lots of great designs.
So to help you in your quest for imagination food here is a list of resources:
Blogged with Flock
I still can’t stop thinking about this topic. I think we need to clarify some definitions before we can really understand what the issue is.
When someone says “ugly” design works, and may even be better than “pretty” design I don’t think they actually mean “ugly” in the common sense. Truly ugly design can’t possibly work because, in the world of web design, there are more than visuals to be considered.
If your website is pug-ugly in the graphics department but your content is intelligently organized, your code is expertly written, and your site is user friendly then it’s not actually ugly. It’s like a good woman, what counts is its “personality.”
Intelligent design can be uninspiring visually but beautifully executed. And that is what works on the web. Visual beauty can enhance an intelligent design, making it even more effective, but it can also be overdone. The real problem is when a website is all beauty and no brains. It’s fun for a fling or two, but ultimately unfulfilling.
Let’s be practical. Take a look at the following two sites. Ostensibly they both create “professional websites.” Forget for a moment that one is an actual business with a budget and the other is some guy in his basement. Be objective, does truly “ugly” design work? Who would you trust?
http://www.wsmconsulting.com/ (By all means enjoy the intro, but please taste the chewy insides too)
http://www.headscape.co.uk/
I’m not going to critique these sites, suffice it to say that the one’s ugliness and the other’s beauty go much deeper than visuals. Take a little time with each site and it will be obvious what I mean.
Read it and be enlightend.
The issue is this: do I make it look pretty or do I make it usable? It seems to be the eternal clash of the titans on the web. Either you are an usability geek or you’re a photoshop addicted designer.
Look people, the essence of the web is information, if you forget that then you can probably get a great job in Hollywood, but you can’t work on the web. Nevertheless, you don’t have to be a text-only fanatic, you just have to be reasonable.
Make it look good, that’s great, but don’t make it look so good it’s useless. Form follows function. Never forget that little paduan.
Oh and by the way… there is a “real” design for this site in the works.