Digging for Design Inspiration
Lately I've been thinking about where I find inspiration. Cameron Moll posted today on his blog in response to a question someone sent him about looking for inspiration. Moll notes that what people often look for is influence not inspiration. He implies that these concepts are often mistaken for each other, as true inspiration is hard to come by.
The importance of this line is to make sure that I, the designer, know when I am being creative and when I am falling into the rut of trendiness. I should notice when I'm sticking another gradient or rounded corner so I can check myself to make sure that this is the right, not just the easy, choice.
So where to look?
My solution is to keep something of a scrapbook. For the most part it's an iPhoto collection of screen-shots and images I like. It contains the expected highlights of good web design but this is just the surface. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to look beyond your medium.
Just as a writer of history can learn writing from a poet or novelist, a good web designer can learn from his predecessors in print or her contemporaries in advertising. I snap pictures of billboards that jump out at me. Most often the treatment of a single letter or combination of colors is all that catches my eye. This is enough to warrant attention.
I read blogs about illustration not in the hope of becoming an illustrator but because I want to expose myself to these modes of visual expression. Textile design is also a handy source of information. There are tons of great blogs that cover clothing and furniture design.
In addition to these online resources, I've recently taken to clipping ads or illustrations from magazines and newspapers. This is a little harder to keep track of since the clippings occupy physical space. One solution is to invest in a scanner. Mine is to buy a binder with plastic sleeves.
Here are a few web sites I always look for inspiration:
- adNerd
- design*sponge
- Brand New
- ping mag
- Today's Inspiration
- No Ideas But In Things
- Drawn!
- bibliodyssey
I hope you find these useful. Do you have anything to recommend to me?
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