Just like writers, designers get hit by dry spells, where our creativity has either been drained or is moving the speed of a sloth. Sure, there’s always something rolling around in our imaginations, but to really have an “Aha!” moment, sometimes it takes a little push in the right direction.
It doesn’t matter which type of design we’re working on, we can really be inspired by anything. Driving down the street, looking at billboards, picking up a brochure from a restaurant, anything at all can be an excellent source of inspiration. Sometimes we just need to see someone else’s work to really get those creative juices flowing.
Even though we can really get our inspiration from anywhere and at any time, sometimes we don’t have that extra time to go driving around, and we need something at our fingertips. There are deadlines to be met, which means everything needs to be done in a timely manner.
So, we need easy to access inspiration, with lots to look at. It may only take one or two artistic pieces to really spark the fire, and sometimes we need hundreds of things to look at. There are lots of places to visit on the world wide web that will take thoughts and imaginations to another level, another world, another dimension.
Before I go into the list of places for you to visit, I’d like to say that in no way am I encouraging the copying of anyone’s work. The art on these websites belong to other people, and should be respected. Take ideas from people’s work, and add a personal twist to it, making it your own. Artists do not steal other people’s ideas, they are inspired by others’ genius.
Now that all of that is out of the way, here are some inspirational galleries and websites:
10steps.sg – A great place for inspiration and tutorials on how to make some incredible imagery.
Abduzeedo - This site is based on inspiration. It’s updated every day and supplies you with an extensive selection of styles and media for your viewing pleasure.
deviantART – If there’s a need for art, this is the place to go for anything. Photography, illustration, fan art, mixed media, anything you can dream up. You can even become a member here and post your own stuff.
FieroAnimals - This photography can be kind of gory, but the work is so amazing you can’t help but keep looking. There are some really beautiful pieces on here for some surreal design inspiration.
flickr – Also an excellent resource for anything-art. People post things here all the time to share with the world. You can also join this one for free if you’re interested.
Jerry N. Uelsmann – Most, if not all of his photography has been done by hand in darkrooms, not with Photoshop. These aren’t so much graphic design images as they are masterpieces, perhaps giving you a clever idea on how to combine some images into a meaningful narrative.
Laura Smith – With an Art Deco style to her design work, Laura really brings some fresh new/old ideas back into design.
Made by Fudge – Not only is the website an inspiration, but the clean design displayed in the website might give you some pieces your missing in your own design.
Maggie Taylor – Maggie is actually wife to Jerry Uelsmann, and has a unique fusion of mixed media. Photography and Photoshop, scanned imagery, all combined to create clever compilations.
TutorialsPortal – A great place for high-quality tutorials, complete with a weekly newsletter with updates.
WeLoveWP – If you need some inspiration for your next website design, this is the place to go. This is a gallery of WordPress designs that are organized by type of design (Corporate, Education, Food, etc.).
These sites are all really the icing on the cake. Once you start browsing through, they’ll open up so many more doors for you. There are some amazing artists out there that will have your mind working in ways you hadn’t thought of before. That’s why it’s so important to see what’s going on in the world of design, there are some true geniuses out there, and who’s to say you’re not the next?
