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Update: My design teacher called my inspo from public transit maps 'uninspired' but I disagree.
I think transit maps are great for learning how to organize info with clean lines and bright colors. Most of my class says they're boring and only good for wayfinding, not real design work. Do you see value in looking at everyday stuff like maps for fresh ideas, or is it just copying?
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viola_craig721mo ago
Jackson.tyler nailed it with good design hiding in plain sight. I once spent ages on a poster layout and found the fix by staring at my kid's Lego instructions. Those step-by-step diagrams are all about clear order and color coding, which totally saved my project. It's the same with transit maps, turning a mess into something anyone can get. Everyone calls that stuff boring until they need a simple answer to a complex problem. I used that approach for a community flyer last year and it was a hit, so yeah, everyday things are full of ideas if you just pay attention lol.
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jackson.tyler1mo ago
Look, your teacher is dead wrong on this one. As a guy who puts up fences all day, I see clean design in the simple lines of a good cedar panel. Transit maps are brilliant for that exact reason. They take a huge messy system and make it easy to get. Borrowing that idea isn't copying, it's smart. Hell, I straight up use metro map layouts sometimes to plan out fence lines for big properties. Good design hides in plain sight, and people miss it because they think it has to be fancy.
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