What Inspires You by Kyle Steed
Posted: February 5, 2009 at 10.25 amPosted by in Featured, creativity
Guest Post by Kyle Steed
Follow Kyle on Twitter - @kylesteed
Inspired
Where did the greats like Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Rembrandt draw their inspiration from? It’s hard for me to imagine being that we live in the age of computers, where there are no limits to what we can find. Especially inside the design community where there is a huge playing field of resources available for all our inspirational needs.
But how much is too much?
Personally, I think we’ve already crossed that line and are now left to wade through all the muck. All of these inspirational blogs are only hindering us from creating something truly original.
Just take a look at Shephard Fairey for example. He started out by making “Andre the Giant Has A Posse” flyers and stickers. Then from there he took the stencil art world by storm. And now with his recent Obama campaign posters he has gained national (even global) attention. But how many rip-offs have we seen of his Obama poster? I’m not saying that it is wrong to be inspired by another artist. But I am saying that we shouldn’t set the bar so low as to copy someone else’s work and be proud of it.
Dare to imagine
So is it so hard to imagine that maybe the classic artists, the greats, were able to paint, design and craft magnificent pieces of artwork without having to look at hundreds of others work? Maybe there’s something to be learned from a life without computers. Where people actually interacted with one another and had discussions face-to-face instead of on facebook. That’s why I love going to things like Refresh and finding local meetup groups that share my interest. Or even taking my dogs to the park for that matter. Just getting outside and communicating with other people is so refreshing.
We need to be more creative in the ways we get inspired. I don’t want to compare myself to others whose work is amazing and feel like giving up. I’m sure the people behind those great pieces of art/design didn’t make it just to make the rest of us jealous. But instead did it from a place of passion and wanting to push the envelope. And I bet if you talked with any of those designers that inspire you they would tell you to do work that is original and that you can be proud of.
I think true inspiration is a gift that’s given to us. Some have called it a Muse, others have called it drugs, but I think it’s the One who created us that imparts it to us.
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7 Comments
February 5, 2009 at 11.03 am
I’m not a designer, but maybe it’s because the tools are more accessible and more easy to use than they used to. Heck, even I can open up Photoshop and brush something, but I don’t see myself creating an amazing oil-painting or sculpt my neighbour out of solid rock.
So maybe all those great designers are still out there, but there are too much who think they are designers when in fact they’re just copycats who know how to use the tools.
February 5, 2009 at 12.12 pm
I think we have to not fall into thinking that in the past everything worked differently. Even classic art has undergone “fashions”. Otherwise we couldn’t talk about renaissance, impressionists, manierism,…
When a new style emerged (often from only later discovered artist) the “big ones” interpreted it and made it famous.
On the other hand I believe as well, that getting inspiration from outside your “comfort zone” is the best way to create unique design.
February 5, 2009 at 2.56 pm
Man, I totally agree, I’ve got half a blog post about this subject in my drafts too. There’s really only so much inspiration you could get from looking at other people’s work. The best inspiration is really just incidental, subconsciously created from all the knowledge and images you accumulate.
February 5, 2009 at 4.47 pm
@Tom - I whole heartedly agree with you. There are plenty of people who “know” how to use the tools of a designer but don’t have the gift to create something original.
@Derfrankie - I believe that there is nothing that hasn’t been done before. And I’m aware of all the different art movements throughout history. My focus while writing this was to say that sometimes we need to look elsewhere for new inspiration, instead of online. Not settling on what everyone else is doing.
@Jeremyoled - Yeah it is hard to simply block our minds from all the imagery we have around us every day of our lives. And I guess you’re right, that stuff makes its way in to our subconscious. But I want to even look beyond those things though.
February 16, 2009 at 8.31 pm
I am not a great designer and i don’t always use the computer as a tool. But i do agree with you that we need to go beyond our limits. I do paint and create my own avatars but my main form of self expression is through my events.
I have turned a government building into a club before even if clubbing was not yet in style. used videos instead of posters.. created a virtual band with live interaction. This is not to brag but to tell your readers that if we strive to be original and to be creative in our own medium, it can be done! whether we feel that it will be a big hit or not, so as long as it brings out the best in us and engages others to our form of self expression. Very cool post.. made me really evaluate my perspective on inspiration.
February 16, 2009 at 10.20 pm
@misty - I’m glad you enjoyed the post. And thanks for the cool examples of how you used your creativity to turn something bland in to something grand.
December 4, 2009 at 5.27 pm
[...] Originally posted on WeAreJustCreative.com on February, 05 2009 [...]