This article argues that literal copying plus a deliberate 3% modification—coined by Virgil Abloh—accelerates learning and sparks fresh ideas. The author and his coworker rebuilt a rival marketing site pixel-by-pixel, then tweaked small details until it reflected their own brand, showing how “stealing” can guide efficient design and ideation.

• Copying a rival's site pixel-by-pixel (Kibu recreating Mintlify's 2025 site) forces you to understand why every design detail works, accelerating learning
• Virgil Abloh's "3% rule" is a starting discipline, not a hard limit—Buff and Justin's tweaks snowballed from 3% into a 50% overhaul as their own brand identity emerged
• Originality is really about efficiently solving problems using prior work as a foundation, not inventing from nothing
• Buff's practical method: before starting any project, find who's already done it (blogs, podcasts, AI prompts) and use that as the base to add your own spin