Where Does Inspiration Come From?

7 Responses to “Where Does Inspiration Come From?”

1. 

   ceegee
   June 17th, 2008 at 1:00 am

   Good article. I think too much designers tend to forget the visual history, so it’s a good thing to talk about. To find inspiration when I come to run out, I use to look around and to analyse the systems of perception people have for everything (for things like concepts, items, society, nature…). I discovered that we can find a large number of paradoxes, which are very inspirating.

2. 

   Andrew
   June 17th, 2008 at 9:29 am

   I usually find myself turning to books and magazines when I’m tapped out on a design.

   I think simply getting away from the screen and even into another room helps to kick start your brain. I’ll flip through a magazine quickly to get an overall feel for what others have done to break up the space on a page. The faster the better, not to get caught up on a single layout (think Matrix ;). Loaded with all that mental imagery, I’ll get back to work and usually get pretty good results.

   Andrew’s latest post: Tutorial: Strong Glares using Camera Shaders

3. 

   LaurenMarie - Creative Curio
   June 17th, 2008 at 11:38 am

   You are so right in your observations on the “inspiration websites,” Zinni! It seems these days that a million copies of whatever sites like Smashing Magazine say are awesome “designs” crop up right after the article is published.

   I need to be a more vigilant collector. I have a very small trove of good design, especially things that have an interesting print aspect to them: diecuts, varnishes, foils, vellum, etc. I like hanging on to those as a reminder of how versatile print really is.

   I also turn to the less popular form of *gasp* design magazines for inspiration and examples of good design, especially the Communication Arts annuals. Instead of taking in a design as a whole, I pick it apart: how did they use typography? How did they use the grid? What about the elements of design? That is what really helps me implement good design practices into my own work.

   LaurenMarie - Creative Curio’s latest post: Photoshop Action Freebie: Light Writing Effect

4. 

   Zinni
   June 17th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

   @ LaurenMarie

   I agree that annuals are a great place to find design inspiration and I do exactly the same thing you do. I do think that you see the same thing happen with them as well though. After an annual goes out, if some groundbreaking style is in it you tend to see that style repeated all over as well. Maybe this is a problem of time constrain or maybe so designers don’t know how to find inspiration without copying? I am not really sure, however I do know that as a rule of thumb I will not use more than 2 elements from any one piece I find particularly compelling. This forces me not to copy as it is easy to subconsciously have a design revert back to the inspirational piece after going through numerous rounds of adjustment.

5. 

   Rafie
   June 23rd, 2008 at 12:20 am

   Personally, creativity is a source of inspiration. And I remember that one Art Director told me that once you’ve set yourself a limit, you will become more creative. This is because your are trying to find the other possible ways to look around at one problem in the quest to search for brilliant solution.

   Well, perhaps this will answer your conversation between Jacob Cass on Do You Design Against Your Will.

   Rafie’s latest post: 10 logos - As you open my door