Finding inspiration for a project is the key to creativity.  Where do you find that inspiration? Well, that’s different for each person.  But how do you find it? Follow my foolproof guidelines along your creative journey and discover inspiration at every step.

Walls can speak volumes. A major trend in Corporate America is to create inspiring places for your employees — a cool place to work. The idea is that when you create a stimulating environment, you stimulate creativity in your employees. So, when you need to feel inspired, your first step to getting there is surrounding yourself with the environment that speaks to your inner-creativity.  The best part? You don’t always have to leave your house to find it.  By simply organizing your space, you can organize your mind. De-clutter your workspace, light some candles, wrap up in those comfy clothes and put some coffee on. This prep time also helps clear your mind and allows for some delightful ‘thought showers’ to develop before you even get started on your project.

Your sixth sense. When you sit down to start a project, you can’t always dream up that wow factor on your first try.  This is where your sixth sense steps in.  Ouija boards and spirits aside — in the creative realm this refers to your journal.  If you don’t already, start carrying a travel-size journal everywhere you go because you never know when a good idea will come along that needs capturing (I recommend the brand Ecosystem).  Now when you sit down to start a project you have pages filled with notes and doodles to reference during the thought shower process.

Surfs up. It’s okay to turn to outside sources for inspiration. Surfing through publications and websites or watching documentaries can help trigger waves of creative ideas. Some of my favorites include Communication Arts Magazine, ffffound.com, pinterest.com, graphic-exchange.com, colourlovers.com and the Art & Copy documentary. Just remember, this is inspiration, not the final answer for your design.  Find something that sparks your interest, whether it’s a color, a treatment, a typeface, etc. and then make it your own. Now it’s time to move to your blank canvas … and keep in mind these last few tips as you begin your exploration.

Think Small. These are the brilliant words of the worldwide advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) in their 1959 Volkswagen Ad. Rated No. 1 in Ad Age’s Top 100 Ad Campaigns, this is the perfect example of the effectiveness of white space and simplicity.  ‘Less is more’, while cliché, couldn’t be more exact when it comes to design. Pull back on the design reins and eliminate unnecessary components. Negative space is positively essential to a visually interesting composition.

Lay the gridwork. When you have to lay components across a blank canvas, it’s easy to fall into a standard composition. Pull out the grids from your design toolbox and discover a surprising and fresh layout.  Start with your blank canvas and draw in random lines, from edge to edge.  Now you can start to compose your elements using the lines as a guide (of course, you don’t have to follow them exactly).

Not your type. Check out our Graphicsionado’s blog titled Not Your Type.  She explores different typefaces and the power of using typography as a design element.

And last but not least, we’ll talk about you. Computers are great tools, but too often people work only in the digital outlet.  Some of my favorite projects are composed of parts that I have assembled by hand, photographed and scanned in. Construction paper, a painting, chopped magazine pieces, etc., create an interesting depth to your digital design.  I created a poster (shown below) for the MMCA Studio Crawl using a two-step process of first designing a bottle label, then assembling it and photographing it alongside other props. How fun! Never let the computer handicap your creativity.

Now you know how to find your inspiration, but where you find your inspiration from along the way is what makes the creative journey unique and exciting every time.

READY

SET

CREATE.

Although I have a special place in my designerly heart for photography and illustration, I am a firm believer that most messages can be communicated largely with typography and with very little, if any, imagery. I often begin designs with thoughts of typography alone – I find that imagery often plays a secondary role in my design process.

As with most facets of the design world, while ultimately subjective, there are standards – things you just know are either acceptable or unacceptable. As a professional creative, it is important that you are able to identify a font that is just plain taboo.

If there’s anything you should know about me, I love type. I have an outrageous collection, 90% of which I have yet to put to significant use. With hundreds of thousands of typographic art in the world, it’s a lovely, yet anxiety-inducing, experience to try to choose the perfect set of fonts for any given project.

After looking through my personal font collection, I put together a list of my favorite and least favorite commercial fonts and why they should or should not be considered for a place in your type arsenal.

Helvetica

Seeing as it is possibly one of the most overused fonts in the design world, it almost seems as though Helvetica should have made its spot on the “absolutely never” list by now. It’s just entirely too perfect. Applicable in almost every situation, it can be dressed up or down. The documentary, aptly-named Helvetica, led me to realize that Helvetica just works. That’s its nature.  It has worked for many years and I feel it will work for many years more.

Geometric Slabserif

When I’m just not able to solve a serif vs. sans-serif debacle, Geo Slab jumps in and changes the game. With a variety of weights and styles, it can be used with the distinction of a serif font, yet possesses everything I love about a sans-serif. At its heaviest weight, it has similarities to Rockwell. At its lightest, it’s an adorable, no-frills serif that I often find myself using when I want to achieve a certain “crafty” feel in a particular project.

Garamond

Garamond is a catch-all serif. Although there are a multitude of other serifs that I love dearly, Garamond is one of those widely-used typefaces that has maintained its charm and has stood the test of time. Use it for body copy. Throw it in a headline. Embrace its multipurpose-ness!

What I love about truly well-designed sets of type is that the possibilities are endless. The right font can transform any design. When it comes to their overused and abused counterparts, there’s really only one rule I follow: don’t use them.

Mistral

I know it looks fancy and I understand that it looks handwritten. And I also realize you may want to use it to appear both classy and relatable. Mistral will not accomplish anything remotely like that – unless you want to appear as though you’re a hair salon whose print material last received an update in 1992.

Comic Sans

There was a point in my life where I used Comic Sans for everything. It was 1996. I was seven years old, and I often used it in conjunction with Curlz. Shortly after, I reached the age of reason and realized there is no excuse for the use of, quite possibly, one of the most abhorred system fonts the design world has ever known.

Papyrus

From whole food stores to the film, Avatar, I cannot seem to escape the font that never does anything short of make my skin crawl. Cafés are obsessed with it and it somehow makes its way onto nearly every product deemed “natural” or “organic.” Designed to mimic how English language texts may have looked written on papyrus 2,000 years ago, it has a distinct calligraphic, antique look that establishments from churches to restaurants go ga-ga over. I simply don’t feel the same.

I’m sure all of these typefaces had their glory day. They all had a purpose within the world of typography – perhaps they still do, however, I have yet to find it. Perhaps Papyrus was never designed to stand the test of time as Helvetica has.

The rise and fall of typefaces certainly highlights the importance of staying current, maintaining a unique sense of style and staying a step ahead of the fast-paced, whirlwind world of design.

Whichever fonts you choose to employ on a regular basis, you should always be sure of two things:

1.) Why you are using it and 2.) That it’s not Comic Sans.

Lisa Twenter is the newest addition to the M3 family. She loves typography, design and cupcakes.