How to do Great Design Work was all about putting your best out there for the world to see. There were a number of great points made in this particular story. Doing work for free not only gives you more time to practice and get better, but it could also lead to your big break. When your working for free, there is no pressure of a deadline or following guidelines. Your working for fun which allows you to try new things and experiment. He also mentioned to make your paying work as good as it can be. Some people just put enough effort so they can get paid. You’re just letting yourself and your potential client down. Also, do a lot of work. Design stuff for your friends and family could lead to some inspiration for paying work.
The other essay I read was I am a Plagiarist. We’ve all been told not to copy things word for word or take someone else’s work and claim it as our own. But what if someone’s work inspired you to do something similar. If you look at everything that has been invented over the last 300 years, most inventions were created to better a previous one. For example, the iPhone and Android phones does the same thing. The style and design might be different but they are both touch screen, they let you talk, text, watch movies listen to music, download. They just happen to use different operating systems. You can even compare them to the Blackberry. Most people describe iPhone users a people that like entertainment where as the Blackberry is more of a professional/business phone. Either way they are all smartphones that can do the same thing. At the end of the day, a couple of little pieces from different art work can lead to one new creation. As long as you explain the reason behind your work and how you were inspired and give credit to those before you, then there is nothing wrong with trying to make something better or taking something and putting it in a different light.