Milton Glaser on ideas and clichés

“Some ideas come quickly, even before you begin. Some take time. The basis of my evaluation has nothing to do with anyone else’s perception. People tell you a job is terrific, you know it’s lousy. Or they think it’s lousy, and you don’t…you can’t use external judgement for determining your own quality. I’m fairly tough-minded…I have no illusions…I can’t get nervous anymore about jobs…”

“In the applied arts so much is derivative. It is often difficult to establish where a single idea came from. If all work were truly innovative, it would be incomprehensible. It’s the nature of this business to communicate…information depends on the cliché to develop familiarity, coherence.”

— Milton Glaser (excerpts via U&lc, 1976)