I must also teach my students the difference between inspiration and plagiarism. They can look at Dana Tanamachi’s work and be inspired to try chalk lettering, but they’ll put their own twist on it, working on a different surface, in a different style, or scale. I like to look at the process that a designer uses to imagine concepts and use that process to look at my own design problems from a fresh angle.
Plagiarism is not a new problem, and it certainly will continue to be an issue, especially with the easy access we have to so many examples of design. Sometimes it seems impossible to come up with a new idea, it seems EVERYTHING has been done before. Then it is best to step away from Pinterest and go take a walk… listen to music… look at a building, a painting, a sunset… talk to your friends… be inspired by things that are not design at all. Above all, we must remember that a designer’s primary role is to communicate. With that clear purpose, plagiarism just can’t occur.
And what to do when we are plagiarized? That’s tricky. If it the offense is clear and will cause you or your client hardship, then I think you should contact a lawyer. Often a cease and desist will do the trick. I have been told that plagiarism is actually a form of flattery, and that I should feel honored. Maybe this is true, but that is a bit like saying, “I love your bracelet, you look beautiful in it, so I am going to take it and it will be mine so I can look beautiful in it too… aren’t you flattered that I like your bracelet?” I think it feels like I have been burglarized whether it is my bracelet that is stolen or my design. If I don’t feel like the offense is worth contacting a lawyer, I might call out the thief myself and hope that they didn’t really know that they were doing something wrong. Maybe I can educate them… maybe not. A thief is a thief and I suppose their career can’t be in a very good place, and can’t possibly be moving in a positive direction if they can’t come up with original ideas. In the end, we can always pity the plagiarist and move our own work towards loftier goals.