Inspiration or Impersonation?

I can still hear my college professor, Michael J. O’Keefe, asking that question during our design classes at Oklahoma Christian. He would show us examples of work and ask whether it came from inspiration or impersonation. The distinction stuck with me. I can still picture some of the pieces he used to make his point.

I think about those words often in my job today. Inspiration is good. Impersonation is not always a great idea. And why does it matter? Because if you are trying to build a personality, a character, and an attitude for your community, how can that come from copying someone else? How can a place be unique if its identity is borrowed?

At the same time, why would you not learn from the successes of other communities? You would be foolish not to. That is how we grow. It is how we learn to speak, how we pick up mannerisms, and how siblings end up sounding alike on the phone. Inspiration is natural. It is part of being human. But treating your community like it does not deserve its own twist or its own voice is where the trouble begins.

Here is an example. And I hesitate to use it because many communities jumped on this trend. The public art craze sparked by Cows on Parade began in 1998 in Zurich and showed up in Chicago the next year. Inspiration or impersonation? Hard to say. What I do know is that I still see echoes of that idea scattered across Texas towns. A while back I visited a community that had chosen pianos instead of cows. It was a fun idea and they loved music. But when I asked about them, someone said, “We really need to do something about those.” The pianos were sun faded, broken, dusty, and forgotten. The concept that once felt exciting had become clutter, an idea that did not age well because it did not truly belong.

That is the danger of impersonation. When a community simply copies an idea, it rarely takes root. Eventually people stand around asking, “Why did we do these again?” Inspiration, on the other hand, asks a different question. “How do we take what others have done and make it ours?”

That is my suggestion. Be inspired, but build something uniquely connected to your place. What would make sense here? What would your people love? What reflects your history, your quirks, your pride? Borrowing the format of an idea is fine. Borrowing the soul of someone else’s community is not. If your people are not excited, it will not last.

I will admit that I am wrestling with that balance myself. I am working on new marketing materials for Athens, and the illustrated map style I am using was inspired by artwork I saw at Texas Downtown. I loved the look. It made me think of that question again, inspiration or impersonation? I hope what we have created feels like Athens, its own voice and its own spirit, not a copy but a cousin. Something born from inspiration and shaped into something new.

So what do you think? When you look at the artwork, do you see inspiration or impersonation? I believe communities thrive when we learn from others, stay open to good ideas, and still honor what makes our own place distinct. Being inspired is essential. Making it your own is what makes it matter.