photo on the right via Anthropologie, all other photos by me
When I’m working on graphic design projects I listen to podcasts about creativity, design, and interviews with all sorts of makers. One of my favorites is Todd Henry’s Accidental Creative. The Creative Inversion episode really spoke to me.
Recently I wrote a journal entry that mentioned how important it is for creative professionals to make time to be inspired. Later that day I spent the afternoon looking through stacks of magazines, giving myself “permission” to just absorb the inspiration between the pages. Todd took it a step further and said that we not only have to make time to be inspired and go outside of our typical spaces to find it, we also have to sit with that inspiration and see what it means. I saw myself on Pinterest when Todd mentioned bouncing from thing to thing, collecting all sorts of inspiration but not taking time to stay with and study the concept to see what insights come of it.
I’m not suggesting that we analyze every single pin we collect, but what if we spent some time once a week looking at one of our Pinterest boards that we use for creative inspiration and really LOOK at the last few things we’ve added to it and ask questions. What is it about those particular images? Is it the design? Styling? Lighting? Color palette? Shapes? What initially drew us to the image and how could the elements we’re responding to be used in our own work?
Todd talked about how important it is for us to write down our thoughts, insights, and deeper intuitions and I completely agree.
There’s something about the process of writing itself that leads to even more connections being made and creative ideas becoming more fully developed.
Today I challenge you to make time to study the things that inspire you. Don’t just pin them on a board or rip a page from a magazine. Take five or ten minutes and make notes then tuck them away. Who knows what kind of creative solutions or projects will rise from these ideas later.