There are many ways you can
stumble upon inspiration for a project or piece of art. The first way happens when you’re going
about your usual internet perusals, and you happen to stumble upon something
truly magical and amazing. You have to save it in your favorites, your mind,
or- lets be real- Pinterest. That’s the
best way that inspiration comes to
you. Sometimes
there is a project in the back of your mind, and you’re not looking for
anything to kick-start the design process yet, but then you come across that
amazing piece of inspiration, and you’re able to start the project.
The second way that inspiration happens can be
a much more difficult process that begins with a project that was given to you
by a client or a teacher. Some of these projects are self-explanatory and you don’t need
inspiration in order to complete it. Many projects that are open ended, or
where the client isn’t particular about many things, require some sort of
inspiration to get you feeling excited and creative.
It can be difficult to find good inspiration, especially if
you’re just beginning to explore the design world. It’s so important to find
great websites, blogs, design communities, and resources to feed your knowledge
of design. We
live in an age where learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom, but through
everyday experiences that happen because of the internet. I can honestly say
that at least half of what I know about good design and design trends are
because of all the research I do in
my spare time. You really have to dedicate a lot of time to finding inspiration
and knowledge about design. It’s like a full-time job!
Below are four awesome sources of
design inspiration:
I will admit that most of my searches for
inspiration begin on Pinterest (pinterest.com). I highly recommend that if you
enjoy spending time browsing the internet and discovering new blogs, design
communities, and having a place to store all of the things that inspire you,
then you need to get on Pinterest. Besides providing pretty much a never ending
source of visual inspiration for design projects, it’s a great tool for finding
recipes, décor, craft and even outfit ideas. And there are funny things for
when you need that pick-me-up that isn’t being delivered by your morning
coffee!
I have a special “Pin Board” for “Art &Inspiration”, as
well as a “Graphically Pleasing” board
and a “Font Snob City” board
(it houses my font obsession and is a great place to look for that one special
font) and I’m always going back through to see if anything creates a spark for
creativity. They’re also resources for when I do have a specific project and I
need a color scheme, font, or imagery ideas.
Dribbble
Dribbble is something I’ve
recently discovered, thanks to one of my favorite design bloggers, BreannaRose. It’s
an exclusive community of designers, and you have to be invited to have an
account to post your work. The
greatest thing for a student to do when
we look at communities like these is to look at the quality, style, detail and
creativity that top-notch designers are producing. This work was created by real
people that you can reach out to, and not by an anonymous design team within a
huge corporation or design firm. These are up-and-coming, innovative people
that just want to share their work with you (and probably to get a job,
obviously). Get inspired by these people and their work. Take the time to search
for your favorite medium, style, color scheme, or area of design. Look at what
they’re doing, and don’t copy their work, obviously, but take inspiration from
it and let your imagination run wild. Don’t forget to give credit where credit
is due! Designers love when they hear that someone was inspired by their work.
Blogs
There are probably millions of blogs on the
internet right now. Some great, most… not so great. Press “Next Blog” on Blogger, and
you’ll see the not great ones. But if you dig hard, you’ll find the good
ones. I find some great blogs by clicking through Pinterest images, and they
carry me to the artist’s blog. Then you start reading more about the person,
read a few posts, and then it becomes as if you’ve been best friends forever.
Then you look in their sidebar and click on some of their affiliates and say to
yourself, WOW these people are great! I love new friends!
Comment on posts that get you thinking, or
posts that have their artwork in it. Make sure to include a link to your blog
or portfolio website if you have one, so they can check you out, too!
Some of the design and photography blogs
I recommend are:
There are unlimited inspirational blogs out there, and I haven’t even begun to
explore them all, but these are the ones I read almost
every day. There’s always amazing advice and inspiration
floating around. And the best part is, if you email them they may email you back! It’s awesome to form a connection
with someone that could be thousands of miles away.
It can be a longer process to find inspiration
on Etsy, but if you know what you’re looking for, you can
find a lot of great images, quotes, color schemes, and project ideas. You can
also see which shops are successful and get some ideas for your own business.
You should take note of what sells and is popular, as well as what isn’t. As
with Dribbble,
don’t take anyone’s ideas and claim them as your own! It’s like window
shopping- just look at the things you like and think about how you can
incorporate them into your work!
You can also get inspiration from design shops
that aren’t on Etsy. These can be harder to find, but a lot of design bloggers
also have ecommerce sites where you can purchase their work. It’s a good idea
to look at the things they sell, and take note of what you like or don’t like
about their work. This helps you discover your design style, too!
The internet is massive, and there are
millions of sources of inspiration out there for you to find. And besides the
internet, there are actual places to go that may inspire you! It’s all about
taking the time to develop a keen sense of what will be useful to you now and
in the future. Sometimes I lay in bed and can’t stop thinking about something I
saw that was amazing, but that’s a great thing to keep you up at night.
I’m in love with creativity and all of the
people that I share that love with. Finding sources of inspiration isn’t hard
when you love finding beautiful things that make you want to be a better
designer- and a better person.
There are so many more places to look for inspiration, and this post doesn't even cover the places that you find in real life (as opposed to the internet). Where do you prefer to get inspiration from? The internet or in 'real life'?
There are so many more places to look for inspiration, and this post doesn't even cover the places that you find in real life (as opposed to the internet). Where do you prefer to get inspiration from? The internet or in 'real life'?
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