Inspiration as a Practice
Inspiration as a Practice
Why do we pay more attention to inspiration only when facing challenges? We should turn it into a practice.
It is widely understood that inspiration makes creativity flow more easily than without it. Creativity is an extensive topic, and most people associate it only with those involved in art-related jobs. While it’s a tempting rabbit hole to explore, I’ll refrain from diving into it to focus on inspiration.
One of the questions I used to enjoy asking the most during designer interviews was about inspiration:
"Tell me how you find inspiration daily."
This question allowed the interviewing panel to understand better how the candidate pursued learning and growth. Still, I must admit that it was a question of curiosity.
Ever since I was in design school, I have noticed how those individuals who usually had the most fascinating ideas actively noticed and collected inspiration in any shape or form. A photo and its color palette, the shape of a building like the Space Needle, or the tactile button styles in Braun products designed by Dieter Rams. It doesn’t matter if it comes from nature or if a person made it; you experience it with your senses, and it evokes something inside that makes you pause, even when it’s hard to put into words. You just now.
To get back on track with the question, anyone building digital or physical products could benefit from the constant influx of inspiration. However, this topic will be valuable if you’re outside those industries or roles.
Aha moments don’t appear out of thin air.
If you have seen House MD, you might remember the peak of each case when House had an epiphany, or on rare occasions, someone else did. That’s what an aha moment looks like, and while it doesn’t have to be as dramatic as his, I’m sure you’ve experienced it plenty of times: You notice a pattern, an outlier, remember something, and you’re struck by an idea of how to solve the problem.
This doesn’t happen by chance. A combination of experiences and knowledge accumulated over the years prepared you to develop that idea. But is it possible to prepare yourself and increase your chances of coming up with such original ideas? In my opinion, yes, you can. I know I have.
You can tell when a designer lacks inspiration when you’re reviewing a design and probing them to share their ideas, but they’re quickly drying out of the most obvious solutions. I’m not trying to say that every idea you come up with has to be novel and unheard of; the same Dieter Rams once referred to great design as “as little design as possible.” What I’m trying to say is that when you need ideas the most, you’ll need references to compare, analyze, and develop a hypothesis.
"If you start looking for references from scratch, you’ll probably end up at best just mixing a few techniques, but the work will be more hollow and less innovative than it could be."
— Alexander Moskovsky, Product Designer at Readymag.
The art of noticing
When facing a challenging problem, you usually look for inspiring solutions. The issue is that you look for inspiration only when you’re in front of the challenge, and when you force it, you might run out of time to find “the perfect” reference and end up meeting the infamous creative block.
There’s a trend in TikTok called “the art of noticing,” and I find it captivating. You’re met with a soft tune and little snippets of everyday life. It meant the creator paused as they went through their hectic day, noticed something inspiring was unfolding, and intentionally captured it to assemble a collection that would be later shared for all the world to see. Chances are, if we explored that person’s phone, we might encounter tons and tons of pictures or videos, but only a few selected moments were used for the final output.
We can summarize this seemingly mundane example as noticing something inspiring, capturing it somehow, and using it when the right time comes.
Seems simple enough, right? That’ll depend on how intentionally you put this into practice.
Inspiration as a practice
The most common pitfall I have seen with those who quickly run out of ideas is that they’re not organically exposed to inspiration and lack the intention of capturing any inspiration that comes their way. As mentioned before, if you only wait until you’re in front of a problem to try and seek inspiration, your chances of finding it will be considerably smaller than having a vault of references from which to pull.
If we translate the 3-step process as a practice, it would look something like this:
Find reliable sources of high-quality inspiration that you can follow to increase your chances of encountering inspiration in your day-to-day. This can come in the shape of social media accounts, creating a routine of going to the museum or park once a month, or simply talking with people you admire regularly to expose yourself to their ideas. The key word here is intentional exposure. It was technically two, but we’re not here to argue semantics.
Capture any inspiration that comes your way. It can be a photo, a screenshot, a quote, or whatever form of inspiration you’re most drawn to. Depending on the form, I suggest finding a suitable medium for storing and organizing as little or as much as you want.
When dealing with a problem, go back to your inspiration vault and pick from related themes or sources as a reference. I’m a fan of mymind; it has been amazing to become my mind palace and capture and organize content lightly without investing too much time. However, I know that next time I want to explore interaction design ideas, I’m just a keyword away from revisiting fantastic examples I captured in the past.
Each individual's sources and mediums for capturing inspiration will be unique based on their preferences and needs, but the framework should generally be applied to various creative circumstances. You might have been doing this unconsciously, but now realize how it happened. My recommendation? Make it even more intentional, both within your design field and outside of it, like vintage technology or subway signage.
"When forcing myself to find inspiration*,* my path is very linear and narrow. The chances of getting struck by inspiration pretty are low. You might wait forever before it crosses your path.”
Parting thoughts
I’m aware that the topic of inspiration is not groundbreaking. Still, it’s a kind reminder that we need to be more intentional about it to have a constant flux of inspiration and make our creative work easier and more fun. And while you’re at it, if you find inspiration from something, share it with others; you never know which piece of content you re-posted or quoted might be precisely what someone else needed to spark inspiration in their day.
Creativity is like a plant. It can be capable of blossoming, but if you don’t water it regularly, it can end up so sad that flowers would be the last of your worries. Create the appropriate environment for the blossoming when the right time comes, and don’t strive barely to keep it alive.
Learning shortcuts
Designers on where to find inspiration on Readymag
Thoughts on inspiration, shared by other designers.
The inspiration lie by Tobias van Schneider
If you want inspiration to happen, don't force it.Mind Palace by mymind
A magazine dedicated to sharing various types of inspiration found online.Today in Design by Cole Derochie
The latest design news summarized in a 5-minute read every weekday, for free.Invisible Details of Interaction Design by Rauno Freiberg
An inspiring collection of the things you learn when you pay attention to interaction.Various inspiration sources by Ridd
Ridd is always pursuing inspiration and sharing it with the community.
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It's always more fun to learn with others than doing it alone, so don't hesitate to reach out on Threads @laurieesc if you want to continue the conversation. If this article has been helpful, share it with a friend!
Over and out,
Laura ✌️