On Inspiration

A large part of my instagram posts are designs based on my day-to-day life, particularly the weird/absurd things and thoughts that pass my way. I like to think of it as observational design, a riff on observational sketches or art, literally sketching and illustrating the world around you. I came across a list of illustrators ideas on observational sketching that is well worth reading through to find new types of inspiration.

The secret to finding inspiration in any kind of creative field is to look at stuff that’s not your own craft.

Is your thing composing music? Read literature from other countries, make sketches from indie fashion shows, study mid-century product design.

Are you a mixed media artist? Take photos of interesting architecture, follow avant garde food blogs on Instagram, learn about the history of textiles in non-colonized countries.

Do you want to be a UX designer? Tear pages out of magazines, fingerpaint wayfinding signage in different parts of the world, read poetry.

You see where I’m going with this?

Way too often I find myself going down a rabbit hole of things I already love which leads to just recycling literal concepts that already exist. If you want to find inspiration, start making it a habit to pay attention to all creativity and craftmanship in the world. You’ll be pleasantly surprised what you may find.