My Dad was a lifelong student of philosophy and when I was quite young, he suggested to me that people are motivated by only one of two things: Inspiration or desperation. Inspiration takes courage, energy and doesn’t let you rest on your laurels. Desperation can be a great teacher, but comes with all kinds of baggage. Through the years, I have watched to see if his observations are true and from what I’ve seen, he’s right.
When it comes to great design,
it seems to flow from the heart and soul.
But where can we go to feed our senses and our curiosity so that we constantly bring fresh ideas to our clients and our work? Here are 5 ideas I use that might help you choose inspiration for your path:
1. Take a vacation somewhere new. Experience new sights, smells, foods or culture, and keep yourself open to looking at everything through fresh eyes.
2. Go to a conference that has nothing to do with design, but is focused on something that interests you outside of work. Think about how you can apply some of the tools and ideas you’ll hear about to your design work.
3. This is probably one that you already do, but if you don’t, start now to build a list of your favourite websites. It doesn’t matter if they are about interior design, fashion, film, art, boats, plants, photography, typography, illustration or anything else that you find interesting — regularly look at these sites and give yourself time to soak up the beauty and ideas you see.
4. Connect with nature. Get outside and feel the elements — look at the incredible beauty of the landscape, the plants, trees, flowers, wildlife, mountains, water — just allow yourself to breathe deeply and immerse.
5. Meditate. It’s one of the proven ways to calm your mind and stop the wheels from turning for a short period of time each day. Did you know some of the world’s most creative minds meditate, and refuse to miss a day? There’s a reason they are so successful. A quiet mind can lead to great sleep, more energy and deeper levels of creativity.
Clearly, this post doesn’t address
the alternative to inspiration which is desperation.
Why not? I’m choosing to flow from a place of inspiration today. If you are looking for a little hit of inspiration, visit us on Instagram @FunctionFoxes where we look for things to share that we find inspiring.