12 inspirations

As a task during the festive period, we created a list of 12 inspirations that could help to positively influence our work as designers. It was decided that these inspirations did not all have to be design related as sometimes using other interests and disciplines can broaden the way in which we would approach a brief.

The DO Lectures

These are inspirational talks from passionate and creative people, people that DO things and want to inspire everyone else to go and DO things too. 







Chicken Shed Chronicles 

Inspiration from the 'chicken shed' is the weekly newsletter for 'The DO Lectures', sharing creative and general articles of interest and inspiration. 














99u.com

This is a bēhance account that helps creative people push ideas forward, empowering the creative community. I have signed up to the weekly email which sends over creative career insights, helping me to develop my knowledge on what kind of career I could pursue in the future. 
I found this article to be interesting and useful, as travelling as I work is something that I would be interested in doing in the future. Travelling whilst working is seen to be positive because it is clear that we don't have to work a 9 to 5 office job to be our most productive, creatives do not necessarily thrive off of a routine. 
The interview also explains how side projects are the 'gateway to creative freedom' as they do not have the same constraints that a client lead brief has and they ensure that as designers we do not begin to view it as a chore.

Seth Godin

A blog on marketing, tribes and respect. 
The article on tribe management interested me because it was a new way of looking at the world that I had never heard of. 
It starts with permission and the ability to connect. The permission is used by a company so that they can begin to build a tribe of people who want to connect and receive updates from the company. Everything that the organisation does is to feed, grow and satisfy the tribe; seeking products for the target audience, not seeking customers for your product. 




Swiss Miss

It is a design blog run by Tina Roth Eisenberg who founded and runs Tattly, CreativeMornings, TeuxDeux and her Brooklyn based co-working space Friends. 
Each of her businesses stemmed from a personal rule that she has, “I have a rule: If I keep complaining about something, I either do something about it or let it go,” allowing her to develop businesses that positively impact the lives of others. 

Malcom Gladwell
As a writer for the New Yorker Magazine, Gladwell also delivers public talks and has published his own books. 'The  Tipping Point' is one based on when an idea/trend crosses a threshold and spreads 'like a wildfire'. The book explores the tipping point phenomenon and has began to change the way in which people think when selling products and developing ideas. 





Martin Scorsese's mum & dad
The short film set in the 70s of his parents and how they react to different situations and day to day life is interesting as it can be used to remind that there is inspiration al around us and that we can use things as simple as our surroundings to influence our design decisions and approaches.










Medium 
A website that connects you with voices and perspectives that matter. It is a platform that allows anyone to publish their ideas and perspectives. Medium then sorts through and shares the best ones for you and delivers them to your personal homepage. 






Wayne McGregor

McGregor is a CBE multi award winning British choreographer and director who is internationally known for innovations in performance that have radically redefined dane in the modern era. His ideas are driven by his curiosity about movement and the creative potential that can be found through the dialogue between the different artistic forms, scientific disciplines and technological interventions.

Leadership from a dancing guy

A leader must be easy to follow, that is key. The first follower has a crucial role of publicly showing people how to follow. The leader must then embrace him as an equal so that others then feel comfortable to join. 

Sagmeister & Walsh
Sagmeister & Walsh is a NYC based design firm that creates brand identities, commercials, websites, apps, films, books and objects for clients and audiences. 
http://sagmeisterwalsh.com/ has a live camera of the office, suggesting that they have nothing to hide as a company. I also find that by having this live footage on my screen I feel more motivated to carry on working as I know that others are also working hard on projects. 

The die line

http://www.thedieline.com/
This website/blog shares the best in packaging design worldwide and shares the value that lies in well-designed brand packaging. 
As I am unsure as to what area of Graphic Design I specifically want to specialise in, it is important to follow a variety of different blogs. I think finding a specialised one for packaging will be valuable for me to be able to see all of the elements that would be involved, allowing me to decide if its the area I would like to be involved in or not.