i think it is important in a way. Nothing is really 100% original.
I dont like doing ideas that have already been done so I will usually do a quick search on threadless and google.
I hate it when someone does a design on here that has been done and then someone else does the same idea later and gets a lot of "this has been done before but yours looks better"
i know some ideas aren't intentionally copied and it's usually coincidence but i think it sux for the newer lesser known designers to see their designs done by someone else and get a better response. At the end of the day they may have executed the idea better but it's still not original - and who knows where they got the idea from?

Artists have been copying artists for hundreds of years, however, using original ideas will always ensure your integrity isn't damaged!

As cazking said if someone submits an original idea but doesn't quite get the execution right and then a better skilled designer takes the idea and puts their own mark on it...well how would you feel if it were your original idea??

It would be nice to think a better qualified or printed designer could make constructive comments to that artist advising how the original idea could be re-submitted ........

unfortunately I don't think that's ever gonna happen!!!!!

For me, originality is something I want most out of a piece or art or a Threadless shirt, there's really no distinction for me. I want designs to teach me something new about the world either visually, conceptually, or in best case scenarios, both.

Original concepts amaze me when done with so much skill and craft because there's so little "built in" instant appreciation of the idea, which a pop culture reference instantly has some likability going for it if you understand the reference. Original ideas have to earn their appreciation from scratch from the audience.

With a pop culture reference, yes if you wanna argue technically your idea will never bee 100 percent original. But taking a pop culture reference to such an expected place, to use the bare bones personality traits and knowledge that goes along with a recognizable character and bring it somewhere or put it in a situation that is nearly unrecognizable, I think that is nearly or sometimes just as good as a purely original concept.

Anyone who says "everything's been done" is a cynical lazy fucker. There will ALWAYS be something new to add to the story of human art, since we continually evolve as a species and everyone sees this world we all live on differently.

Does it really matter if its orriginal? As long as your execution is better and it has your mark on it (rather than say a rip off) then I dont think people should be worrying about it too much.

The reason I don't like the designs you are talking about there is the same reason why most mainstream music annoys me: it's usually the watered-down cookie-cutter version of music, art and a message I've already heard and gotten bored of 1,000 times ago. When someone hits something original though, it gives me something new and wonderful to chew on...and then it makes me crave more, lol.

For me, creating something someone has mostly done before sounds like a complete waste of time, since why invest your energy picking through the remnants of a mostly used-up oil well....you grab your shovels and sink your energy into trying to strike another idea gusher. Unless like you said, you approach the topic/reference from a completely different angle...i guess that would be side-drilling in this stupid analogy, lol.

But taking a pop culture reference to such an unexpected place

As cazking said if someone submits an original idea but doesn't quite get the execution right and then a better skilled designer takes the idea and puts their own mark on it...well how would you feel if it were your original idea??

I like how this is one of the central arguments/conundrums of The Social Network.

Tough one.

To use my last sub as an example, if I'd seen a design featuring a Pacman ghost within a seance, I wouldn't have even bothered starting mine - it's such a specific idea that no matter how differently I executed it, it would still have been done before and I wouldn't have felt it was original.

Thanks FA and Bramish.......love hearing from highly principled artists!! Oh, if only there were more like you here!!
But then such is life.....oops that's been said before haha! : )

On the other hand, again using one of mine as an example, a skull on a t-shirt isn't original in the slightest. It's been done to death, but in this case it's something that can be executed in an almost infinite number of ways - I'd never seen a design using the tee itself as an actual skull, and so went ahead and subbed it as what I thought to be an original take on something that had been done over and over.

It matter to me. I always try and have a search around online once ive had an idea to see if its been done before.

Personally, originality is something Ill take into account when scoring a design. And to the point about pop culture designs, I think they need to work even harder to present themselves in an original and artistic way otherwise for me its a big turnoff to just see Pacman or Mario presented in a veyr generic way.

I think it's a very lame argument when someone justifies it by saying 'but it's done so much better'. Being able to come up with a solid concept is just as valuable (or even more) than the ability to make a pretty picture. Of course it can happen that something has been done before in some way or another (especialy with the internet where the whole world is brought together as if it were your neighbour), and yes it kinda sucks when it does. But still... when someone uses that argument multiple times in the same field, it's hard to still consider that person as a valuable and respected designer.

^^^^hahaha....like it!

i have to agree with everything in this blog.
It's great that all of you that have commented have said how important originality is.
FA - I have to say I really respect your opinion on here and you give credit where credit is due, you tell it like it is and thats rare on here. When I get a comment from you I know it's an honest one and you don't hand out $5 willynilly and thats really cool.
Bramish - I think you are another honest designer on here - trying to create original work. I hear what your saying about the skull think - its an old concept but I love seeing the skull done in new ways and I reckon if you can come up with a cool way of depicting the skull then thats cool.

All good points by Bramish, especially about how an iconic image like a skull can be done in a nearly infinite amount of new and creative ways...and that great poster which I wanna print out and post on my wall for inspiration, haha.

I think they need to work even harder to present themselves in an original and artistic way otherwise for me its a big turnoff to just see Pacman or Mario presented in a veyr generic way.

Fully agree AfghanJ! That's why a really slickly done pop culture reference can be nearly as good as an original idea because it's hard to find new ways to present an image that already has so much backstory and expectations with it. It's both a good thing and a bad thing in that way.

especialy with the internet where the whole world is brought together as if it were your neighbour

haha, i love this statement Jaackie, it's so true. A thorough internet check will save a lot of people some heartbreak after putting a lot of work into an idea that's already been done. Sometimes no matter how hard you search though, you don't find it until someone else points it out to you.

Thanks for the comments CazKing, I appreciate it!

Also, Stubby, I'd love to hear other people's thoughts about this topic, maybe change the title to something that is more in line with the discussion and less like another "asking if an idea has been done before or not" blog.