New Season, New Findings

As everyone knows, spring is the time of new beginnings. Once the warmer weather arrives, most people find themselves cleaning their closets and garages as well as planting flowers outside. It’s the best time to freshen up, redecorate and add a little something to everyday living. In addition to spring cleaning, it is also a great time to switch up daily routines and create new habits. This season, take the time and do something different: find inspiration. As a designer, I am naturally a visual learner, and my job requires creativity on a daily basis. Although I have a knack for art and design, after a while it can be easy to lose the spark, and I think almost any designer would agree. There’s only so much creative juice one contains. In order to avoid running completely on empty, it’s important to refresh the brain and take the time to browse around for anything inspiring. The first place I go when I need a little inspiration is (of course) the Internet, where the options are endless. Here are just a few of the websites I frequently visit, which also seem to be popular among other creative-minded people: 1. Pinterest I promise you that there is more to this site than baking and hair and makeup ideas. There are hundreds of pins and pin boards dedicated to graphic design alone. Being that graphic design is essentially an umbrella, multiple categories fall under it. For example, typography, photography, color theory, layout, etc. You can get very specific with searching, and on Pinterest, once you click on a particular ‘pin’ you will be shown related pins, and so on. The layout of the site is extremely engaging as it is completely image and graphic-based. 2. Behance This website is where many designers host their personal portfolio. Like Pinterest, you can search by different categories of art and all things creative. This website also gives you the option to interact with other designers by liking projects and gives you the ability to follow them, like on any other social media site. It is a great way to explore what other talented individuals are working on and to appreciate what they’ve done. 3. Dribble Just like Behance, this is a site where designers can display projects for others to like and comment. 4. Designspiration This site has a very similar layout to Pinterest with endless scrolling. You can also narrow your search by a particular color, which will then filter all projects that use a certain color in some way, which is pretty cool. 5. Awwwards On this website, people are recognized for talented web design. You can submit a website, vote and even win awards. I highly recommend this site to keep up with the latest and the best in all things web. 6. Siteinspire Another site to gather web inspiration. On this, the different categories such as styles of websites, types, subjects, and platforms allow you to really narrow your search to get specific results. 7. Typeinspire Specifically for typography. There are many unique styles of type other than a simple font on paper, and this site will open your eyes to them! I could go on forever with different websites that will provide inspiration. These are just a few, of course, but if you are a novice, they are a great place to start looking at what creative projects exist. I am always looking at graphic design in some way or another, even when I am not going out of my way to do so. Design is not limited to the web. Look at your local newspaper, a menu at a restaurant or even signage while you are out and about. It really is everywhere, even if it doesn’t necessarily appeal to you. No matter who you are or what your job may be, exposing yourself to design is something that will beneficial in some way, whether it be your brand or even simply finding new areas of interest. It is important to be up to date with the latest design trends and keep up with what is modern and relevant. It’s a way to break away from normal routine, relax and get in touch with a creative side of you that you might not know you had.