type ii #6

I read Michael Beirut's Designing Under the Influence and Authenticity: A User's Guide
I could see how he expected a design student to know a famous designer and to know that that their work resembled that famous designer. But to the extent that he was angry or confused I don't agree with. When you are going through your education in design it is very good to know other designers and the "famous" ones that have had great influence on graphic design, but with all the new young designers showing up and creating new things it is sometimes hard to look back. Even when you look at design history how do you define who was a "great," there is so much out there and in history. With views changing so much a certain designer that was once thought to be great could be overlooked because another great in favor now.
In the second article he almost contradicts what he was talking about in the other. How designers love imitation and simulating things is natural in the profession. That is odd when in the previous article he was so taken back that some girl had something that resembled someone else's work.