Method: distributed copy paste

Method: distributed copy paste. Web Designer Knowledge Base

Printed 2028-09-20

This is the first "magic pill" that I promised. Surprisingly, many do not use this, in general, the obvious way! So, you need to draw website design , and you have a creative stupor. What to do? ...

That's right. Spy on others. Not if the site really requires extraordinary fiction, unusual ideas - some kind of youth project or something like that - then you need to get together and brainstorm with the customer and wait for the insight. But usually you can do it easier.

I call this method the “distributed copy-paste method”. Its essence is simple: you need to collect the most suitable ideas for a specific industry and a specific task, which are most likely already implemented by someone and sometime. For example, if you are doing an online store in a specific niche, then you should decide whether to display products on the main page and how much, in what format to make a preview - more graphics if the project is visual, or more information if it is more technical.

And so on - it is from such simple but important points that “creative” consists of in the case of an average project. So, the scheme is this:

1. Take and analyze sites, corporate identity, any visual projects that relate to or are close to the topic. Roughly speaking, if you are doing an online clothing store, then look at several competitors, see the corporate identity of a boutique, websites of clothing brands, and so on.

2. In each example, mark something that will be appropriate for your specific project. For example, strict color scheme or large photos, previews of goods or calligraphy in the logo.

3. Take from each idea you like, its principle, or some detail, or some feature.

4. Apply in your project. And it's not necessary in the same place as on the donor project - get creative :)

It is important to understand that there is no theft or plagiarism: you do not make a whole copy of the site, but select the appropriate details (or general principles). In fact, there are very few such solutions that are truly unique. Most likely, whatever you come up with, it already was. So if it was, then it makes more sense to look for this solution among similar projects. After all, it is designed to solve some problems, and if it works for others, it will work for you too!

It happens that the customer makes an online toy store, but at the same time he (or the director of the company, for example) like the site of, say, the ministry of defense. This is an example of how you should not do it: for a toy store, almost no solutions from this site will work.

The copy-paste method should be applied wisely, choosing a wide variety of details, ideas and principles, be it responsive website design or illustrations. It turns out that the solution is, firstly, unique - you did not take anything entirely. Secondly, it is adequate, because it is based on working examples. Thirdly, it ... Yes, creative. Because you didn't select anyhow what, but some interesting solutions.