On Inspiration
Inspiration is such an obscure and rather fleeting construct.
Some days, I find myself lusting for inspiration. I think it requires an innate hunger to not only seek inspiration but to truly find it. It’s amazing when you do get inspired by something. Usually it strikes out of nowhere, while other times its a result of a longing hunt.
Either way, my daily grind requires at least one inspiration session if I have time. I rarely schedule inspiration sessions unless I’m working in a group or with others on a larger-scale project. However for my personal work I tend to catch inspiration fever on a whim.
What does it truly mean to be inspired by something? Over the years, I’ve learned that it can mean a great deal of things. For me, it means finding a missing link or unlock to something. It can also present itself and inspire something that I’d never thought of before – this type of inspiration is usually not prompted and instead just enters when it wants to.
One thing I really love doing is talking to others about their paths to finding inspiration. Working in a creative field with other creatives everyday, we often have the same inspirational journeys. However, every now and again, I’m pleasantly surprised to learn of a new inspiration source from someone.
I thought it fitting to do a round up of some of the best sources of inspiration I’ve found and heard from others as well. Who doesn’t need a bit of striking inspo every now and again?
I’ll let the inspo speak for itself…
Editorial Publications & Magazines
This is probably my personal favorite category of inspiration. Ever since I was young, I’d collect issues of Vogue and stack them high in my bedroom. I loved the idea of collecting sources of endless visual splendor that I could come back to anytime. I hated cutting them up because I always wanted to preserve their beautiful physical form, so I’d earmark pages that were particularly inspiring. This ritual has carried into my professional and personal creative life in such a big way. I keep a catalogued assortment of my favorite design magazines on my desk at work and on our coffee table at home. There is always a magazine or two on my nightstand as well. These usually include AD, House Beautiful, Veranda, Domino, Elle Decor, Porter, Vogue, and Milieu to name a few.
Every month or so I’ll take a trip to my local news shop to pick up some of the latest and greatest. It can be a bit of a $$$ habit, however I have inspiration as part of my monthly budget. It’s so so so important to look at print, as it’s a physical form of design that is quite literally designed to interact with and leaf through. I also love looking at industry online publications such as Loloi – their imagery and typography treatment is just divine.
Social Media
As much as I like to turn off social media when I’m really trying to get something done, it also provides ample amount of inspiration for me on a daily basis. I recently refined who I follow, stripping the scope of content I ingest down to people I know and love for inspiration. I love the breadth of people on Instagram, and the people who I source the most inspiration from are often not in the same field – which is so cool! Here are a few people I look at everyday:
Athena Calderone | food52 | Carin olsson | Busy phillips | Mimi thorisson | Marissa cox | Jessie Bush
Brands
There are SO many amazing brands out there that I look to for photo, content and design inspiration. I love goop – their wellness section gives me life! Gubi is another recent discovery and I LOVE their visuals. Susanne Kaufmann has a beautiful site design and I also happen to love and use her products everyday. Porter is also another great source of imagery inspo. Ingredients LTD is such a thoughtful corner of the internet. I love their content, its so beautiful, honest and real. June Home Supply has suuuuch cute home products and I love their styling in all of their imagery.
In Real Life
Yes! I mean IRL! Although a bit cliché – inspiration is really around every corner. I love stumbling upon it at as I’m strolling around our neighborhood with Millie. On my way to work I tend to zone out during my commute listening to music watching the world go about its daily hustle and bustle. People watching is a hobby of mine – I cherish the moments I get to sit in a café and stare out the window at folks as they pass by. If I’m really on the hunt for a bit of visual stimulation I’ll head to the flower shop, my favorite café down the street, or to our neighborhood book store.
Sometimes simply going out can provide so much inspiration for me as well – the way light falls on trees or how the sun shines through a window are all endless sources of beautiful inspiration for me. Restaurants can also be hidden gems in this area – I love a beautifully designed and branded restaurant. One of my favorites here in SF is Octavia – their branding, interior, and overall experience is SO inspiring, I leave each time feeling so full and happy.
One of our Sunday evening traditions is going to the movies. I love catching a foreign film at one of the smaller theaters here in SF. Foreign films generally have beautiful art direction and tend to last a bit longer, which I love. I always leave feeling refreshed and visually revitalized.
