Fake it until you make it, this is a quote most people have heard before and it is one that is mentioned in chapter two of the book I have been reading, “Steal like an Artist”. I have always heard this phrase and have always had a negative response to it in the past, but now that I think about it more I realize I have done it a lot in the past. You never want to start a new job and let people think you know nothing about it. I usually go with the flow and hope I’m doing it right while observing others as they work trying to emulate them. I learn from the mistakes I make but keep faking it until I make it to where I actually know what I am doing.

This chapter talks about this but for designers.  They say no designer knew what they were doing when they first started, nor did they know what kind of designer or person they were. But by following and studding a designer and copying and coping that designer and got to know how that designer ticks to the point you know the mind of them, this prevents you from stealing the style but to steal the thinking behind that style which is how you start to find how you work. But a big take away from this chapter is that you shouldn't just study one designer, you need to study multiple. This is to start making your own style using what you like from each designer.

This chapter also talks about the differences between imitating and emulating. They describe imitation being copying whereas emulating is one step further which is breaking through into your own thing. Which goes back to my last paragraph that after copying so much you learn the thinking behind the design so you can use that to make your design.

There is a chart on page 39 of the book that gives a good understanding between being a good thief vs. a bad one.  This mainly shows that a good one honors and studies the work giving them credit as you transform it whereas a bad theft would degrade and skim from one work and plagiarize as they imitate. 

The following is a piece of work from Armin Hofmann that I am going to try to emulate.