Living and working in a creative field, the creation and ownership of an original “idea” is a coveted and protected ideal. Everyone wants to have, create, provide or sell an original idea but not everyone has the resources or the talents to do so. As a result, the idea of originality is worth protecting, right? Who wants to commit hours of blood, sweat and tears only to have someone else rip it off? No one! But how do you promote your creative abilities without sharing your work? You can’t. Designers are judged by their portfolios and creative work experience. We share our work with the world as much out of pride but most of all to promote our creative abilities.
No one ever bought a CD or downloaded an album from a musician simply on a “Trust me” with a wink and a smile. Chances are we heard them on the radio at a party or in concert first.
A former boss and great business mind told me years ago (after we witnessed someone blatantly sizing up and photographing a product of ours on the trade show floor), “I’m not worried about them stealing our old designs. I’m more interested in creating the next great design that inspires our customers.” This always stuck with me that it is easy to get caught up in protecting what has been done, rather than focusing on creating the next original idea.