Finding inspiration is one of the most difficult aspects of the Design process. It’s always a prerequisite, and always elusive. You never know when or how you’ll get it, or how much of it you’ll get on any particular project.
Design without inspiration and your probably going through the motions—something we’ve all done. But too much of it is a recipe for a lackluster effort and an unsatisfied client. So it’s imperative that at some point during the course of a project—preferably near the beginning—you get some sort of inspiration.
But there are deadlines to meet, and budgets to keep. The client is expecting something by a certain date—most probably earlier than you’d like it to be. This isn’t college anymore, and your not helping your friend out with his kick ass web site. What can you do to gently remind the gods of inspiration that they could use some of your help, and quickly please?
Here are Three things I’ve learned to rely on to get the inspiration machine up and humming. These are by no means the only things, and there is so much written about this subject. I’ll recommend a useful book at the end of this post.
Research
Visit as many competitive products as possible and take not eof what they’re doing. Does it work or no? Why? I’m not talking plagiarism here. Just understanding what works and what doesn’t. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. Plus, you can learn a lot about your clients business this way, which can only help.
Read
This one’s a no brainer, but it’s important. The more well read you are, the bigger the reseviour of information that you can bank on to be inspired. The only catch is that you really never know when a book, magazine, newspaper or website will inspire you, so reading for the sole purpose of being inspired rarely works. You just have to commit to making it a habit.
Open Your Eyes
Open your eyes on the way to and from work. No matter where you live, I’ll bet there’s no shortage of inspiring objects, places, people, posters, etc. on your commute. Don’t sleep on your way to work or home. Gather it all in and see where it leads you. And if it’s not bitter cold—like it is half the year where I work—follow your senses and go exploring. You’ll soon find what you were looking for.
There’s much more literature on this. I’d recommend The Design Process by Karl Aspelund, which, among other things, contains a good primer on what you can do to find inspiration.
