Are There No New Ideas in Design?

It has been said that there are no new ideas in design, that anything new has either been copied or stolen from previous designs. In the science of design, the principles are always the same, i.e., line, shape, color, spatial relationships, etc., it’s fair to say there are no new ideas. The basic rules always apply. On the other hand, the art of design is subjective, interpreted differently by both the designer and the audience.

While every designer may follow the basic rules, how they interpret those creates unique design. The ideas that design only copies or steals from previous designs, and that there are no new ideas, is debatable. But again, how the designer interprets those principles and ideas are unique unto them. Additionally, each designer is influenced by the world around them, whether that be nature, music, art, or life in general…regardless if it is conscious or subconscious. As an observer of design, our individual interpretation is subjective; we are influenced by our life experiences and the world around us.

Take, for example, techno/house music. For the most part, the basic ideas are always the same: a four-four beat of heavy drum and electronic rhythm. The average mix usually is repeating loops lasting between 6 and 10 minutes. The DJ creating a remix of a pop song typically strips away everything but the vocals; those are then placed over the repeating loop, essentially creating a new version of the song. In the music industry, a pop song getting remixed is usually handed to several different DJs.

While the basic principles of “design” in techno/house music are the same, no two DJs are going to create the same remix of the same song — and in most cases the remixes are drastically different than the original track. It’s unique to the DJ that creates it and how they put their own “spin” on it.

In web design, there are basic principles that have been established since the inception of the web. Generally, every web page has the same basic structure: a header, navigation bar, content area, sidebar, and footer. Based on those principles, the designer creates a look and feel that is influenced by brand, audience, client tastes, etc. In addition, a designer may be affected by the music on their iPod or the view outside the window. Often designers will refer to books of previous designs by other designers. Nevertheless, how they interpret the designs — and the elements of the designs which they choose to emulate — are unique to each designer.

Fortunately, as human beings we each have our own life experiences and no two of us are exactly alike. We all have different tastes in art, music and design. Each DJ presents a different concept when remixing a song and each web designer has a different style and approach to creating the look of a web page. Ultimately, as the audience, each of us perceives that sound — or look of design — and takes away a meaning that is uniquely our own.

Categories: Design