Defined by the Cambridge Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2017), authenticity is the ‘quality of being real or true’. It is therefore fair to say that, to be truly authentic as a practising designer, your work must be original and genuine. However, this then begs the question ‘can you be truly authentic?’

As practitioners in the field of the graphic arts, we are constantly looking at other peoples work with a critical viewpoint in order to aid us in our own design process. We use others artwork as inspiration for our own creative development, by taking their ideas and experimenting further with them, without copying the exact composition of pre existing pieces. We learn from the mistakes of other designers and then use this knowledge along with some creative flare to create our own works of art.

In modern society, with the development of advertisement and new technology, we are surrounded by great design. Is it not normal therefore that we should take inspiration from such art to influence our own creations? The idea is not to copy others work, only to be affected by it. The same concept has also been happening in design for centuries, as Theo van Doesberg (Croation Review, 1931) stated, ‘The new artist does not imitate, he creates. He does not describe, he designs’ and these principles of modernism are still strongly used in contemporary practise today.

Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press, 2017. www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/authenticity

Theo van Doesberg- Quote referenced from RCS Lecture notes.