“You didn’t make that up. I heard that / saw that / wore that 20 years ago….”
One of the art directors I used to work with when I was in the advertising industry commented on retro styling. His observation was that new designers would explore new and different concepts for a goodly part of their careers and then stretch for something fresh. They would go back to what was current at the start of their careers and put a different shade of polish or spin on it. (Must work, I’ve just bought a retro set of golf shoes….)
But are there any perils to be considered in an age where copying, slightly changing and republishing / repurposing existing content and ideas is the norm? One could argue there are pro’s and con’s – and where does a blatant copy (sampling) end and a subtle copy begin.
And music certainly isn’t the only industry for this to occur within – the parallels for business in terms of revisiting existing concepts certainly hold true. New concepts ebb and flow, but often come back to a similar essence, painting a different spin on existing approaches. Here is how we create value – fresh buzz words plus 3 interconnecting circles and a graph with Value on it with a diagonal line heading upwards to the right.
Got a view? What do you like / hate about our greater than ever capacity to use other people’s ideas? I would love to get your comments…
