As of late, I've been trying to look at things more and more from the vantage point of our students. Not that this hasn't always been the case, it's become more top-of-mind recently.
Obviously, after 20 years in the profession, some things come as second nature, but they always weren't that way. Although much has changed in that time (for instance, there was no such thing as the internet when I was in their shoes)... much has not. Looking back at the things that had concerned me when I was at their stage has provided a few insights into it all.
For instance, inspiration — and where to get it — has always proved vexing and seemed like a good place to start. No one expects an early practitioner to venture into a field without something under their belt and — if not experience — it should at least be some solid inspiration, right? (and eventually both)...
Taking into account, too, that many of our students didn't grow up speaking English as their native language, some things that I might take for granted — like that a type combination of Franklin Gothic and Clarendon having a vintage "academia" feel — is cast in a very different light.
But rather than try to chase it down myself, I opened the question up to the students. Below are their responses.
Above: Screenshot from a wonderful kinetic type piece based on the wisdom of Ira Glass.
- File things that you love. Create a space where you can store images, type, and other creative work that inspires you, whether that be in your journal, a Pinterest account or desktop folders. I have inspiration websites, admired portfolios, design blogs, typography resources, etc. all sorted into separate folders on my Bookmarks bar, which makes it easy when researching online.
- Get off your computer. I would say that the majority of my best ideas come when I am not sitting at my desk. Sometimes it’s difficult to want to take a break when you’re buried in so much work and can’t figure out a direction, but whenever I feel like I’m about to pull my hair out and take a step away from the screen, the ideas always seem to come.
- Spend an afternoon downstairs at William Stout Architectural Books, which has a huge design reference and inspiration library.
- Take pictures of type on the street or graphic shapes that catch your eye. You never know when they might come in handy. Several of my photos for one studio project, for instance, came from when I was driving through Marfa, Texas on a road trip two years earlier.
- Volunteer at (way too expensive) conferences. One of my most rewarding experiences last year was doing this at TYPO; I went for free, met amazing people and listened to inspiring designers talk about their process all day.
- Pursue your passions outside of design. How can we be effective communicators if we’re not constantly experiencing the world we live in? One of the reasons why I love design so much is that it encourages exploration in all aspects of my life. Take advantage of that.
- Use a bad critique to see your work in a new perspective, because it’ll make you better than any positive review. It took time for me to stomach negative commentary. But when I started to use it to fuel my drive and work twice as hard a few semesters in, it started to pay off.
- Instagram might to be a cliché, but I love searching the app on my phone because I’m constantly being exposed to new ways to frame a subject. For more technical guidance, I took a couple classes at Rayko (much cheaper than an AAU class), and it dramatically improved my understanding of my SLR and how to shoot manually.
- Some current design inspiration sites or blogs currently stored at the top of my list: Designspiration, GrainEdit, ISO50, We and the Color, FastCo, Good, Jessica Hische, Ilovetypography, the Dieline….there are countless more, those are just a few.
From Jason:
Since I lived in a relatively rural environment prior to coming here I relied quite a bit on the internet for inspiration. Consequently I have a large collection of sites I go to. Here are a few..
- http://designspiration.net/
- http://www.designworklife.com/
- http://theartistandhismodel.com/
- http://graphic-exchange.com/home.html
- http://www.thisiscollate.com/
- http://www.oatcreative.com/
- http://lovelystationery.com/
- http://www.underconsideration.com/fpo/
- http://www.logodesignlove.com/
From Aoife:
Well, I'm lucky to have a multiple-exposure to the things you have listed (cultural and typographic foundation), and can understand the frustrations of those who are new to this and are expected to pick up the slack ASAP and catch-up.
Honestly, I never thought I'd say it, but I am posting on Pinterest and have started following a bunch of people, who post things I like. I've everything from Typography, to Layout Design, Photography, and yes, even Geekery. I started pinning like a mad thing last night, as I suddenly realised it was the one place I could have all my inspiration and access it from all my devices.
Other than that, I tend to follow ffffound and Core77 which pulls design and art from multiple sources into one URL. Otherwise, it's walking to Stout Books, or visiting Galleries, though the latter tends to be a little more artsy (Depending on where you go) rather than the internet. I do spend a small fortune on design magazines and books too as apps aren't "visual" enough.
From Monica:
I like checking out design blogs like Brand New and The Dieline. When I'm doing visual research I like using searchable sites like Designspiration and especially Behance to moodboard. I wish I knew to compile tons of visual research far earlier during my tenure here, since you really can't design in a vacuum.
From Miao:
I check inspiring websites regularly like:
- http://www.behance.net/
- http://www.fromupnorth.com/ (I really love this site, because it covers different areas of design)
- http://www.youworkforthem.com/fonts/
- http://designobserver.com/
From Jenny:
As a international student, I don't really know much about the American culture of design, so I have relied on the internet for inspiration. Here are some websites that are inspiring to me.
- http://www.notpaper.net/
- http://www.nicolastarr.com/but%20dont%20you%20weep%20coll.html
- http://blog.howdesign.com/
- http://www.good.is/everyone
- http://www.annadorfman.com/
- http://www.oldbrandnewblog.com/search/label/art
For international students, communication is important although sometimes it's hard. I found that it is interesting to see design pieces which are designed in a foreign language that I don't understand, because I will just focus on the design instead of reading the words to understand the story.
From Zack:
Here are a few of my favorite sites:
For super clean graphics:
- designspiration.net
- aisleone.net
For type related ideas:
- fontsinuse.com
For textural or grungy graphics:
- graphic-exchange.net
Books — For period specific design, I turn to monographs. Favorites:
- Willi Kunz (both of them but Micro/Macro is the best)
- Wolfgang Wiengart (my way to typography)
- Sagmeisters books are good
- Victore's book: who died and made you boss
- Non Format: Love Song
I've lately got into Annuals and collections. Especially when exploring what something "should' look like. Trying to find a feel for a project. Favorites:
- HOW
- Comm Arts
- Also, the Grant Design Collaborative 1000+ series of books is great
For really temporal stuff, mostly web related:
- Dribbble.com
Motion related:
- Art of the Title
- motionographer.com
- http://vimeo.com/channels/nicetype
Thats all I have off the top of my head. The best ideas tend to come to me when I go run or ride my bike. I'm not sure you can "force inspiration" it's more a matter of allowing inspiration to come to you. And I don't think inspiration hangs out in front of a computer screen too often.
...
Thanks, guys. Keep them coming.
Comments