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In the world of design, it is easy to reach for ready-made solutions. Pinterest, Behance or Instagram are full of beautiful images that tempt you to duplicate or subtly process them. The problem is that the more we do it, the more we fall into patterns. Projects begin to look similar, and our own creative identity fades.
That's why sometimes it's worth shutting down your computer and looking for inspiration elsewhere — not in ready-made trends, but in what surrounds us: in movement, textures, sounds and experiences that have nothing to do with the screen.
First step — associations and formal treatments
When we get a new topic, the first question is: what comes to mind? This is the moment when associations are triggered — raw, unobvious, and often surprising.
At this stage, it is also useful to determine what visual treatments could best reflect the subject: fragmentation, distortion, scaling, duplication or rotation of elements. These simple actions open up the field for experimentation.
At the same time, we do research — we check what the industry consists of and what language it speaks. These are often areas completely remote from our daily work. With this stage, we build a base of unique visual leads, rather than duplicating familiar schemes.
“Inspiration exists, but it must find you at work.” — Pablo Picasso
This perfectly captures the idea that just looking at images won't do anything — you have to experiment, try and observe.
Nature — the perfect designer
Nature teaches us rhythm, dynamics and form. Observation of simple phenomena can inspire movement in projects, animations or compositions.
How do leaves move in the wind? How do the waves line up on the water and the bubbles rise and fall? It is physics in action that can be processed into graphic design, animation or digital interaction.
The colors of nature are also incredibly inspiring. It is not only about aesthetics, but about combinations that would be difficult to come up with in a graphic program: contrasts in the setting sun, subtle gradients of mosses, intense colors of fruits. These are ready-made pallets, you just need to notice them and recreate them in the form of a design.
Arts, culture and crafts
It is worth visiting a gallery, museum or theater not to copy works, but to look at the world through the eyes of other eras and trends. Ancient rhythms, Renaissance proportions, avant-garde experiments — any of these languages can be an inspiration.
Crafts, such as weaving, ceramics or architecture, show a different dimension of form and structure, often unavailable in the digital world. It is also worth including music — the rhythm and dynamics of sounds can direct us to the pace and character of the project.
Immerse yourself in context
The best inspiration comes when we enter the world for which we design.
- A project for a cafe? Going to the premises allows you to feel the rhythm of the place, observe people, feel the atmosphere and light.
- A project for scuba divers? Observing the movement of water, waves and submersion allows you to better understand the dynamics of the environment.
- A project for the AI industry? Understanding the contrast between machine logic and human intuition helps to build a project that is more complex and visually interesting.
Touch, smell, sound — these are the elements that enrich the design when we include them in the experience. It is through contact with the real world that ideas are created that are difficult to find on the web.
Micropractices for everyday life
We don't always have time for trips to museums or nature, so it's worth developing your own creative micro-practices. In my case, three things work in the first place:
- Inspiration Folder — I collect in it everything that catches my eye by chance: interesting deformations, errors, unusual combinations. This is a source of ideas that I can then process in projects.
- Photography — I take a lot of pictures, often large close-ups of details, forms or color combinations. This allows you to capture things that in everyday vision could escape.
- Notepad and observation — I sketch the first associations, I choose one color or theme and observe it in the environment.
Such exercises make everyday life a source of inspiration, and the mind learns to capture details, which can then be used creatively in projects.
Creating outside the schema
Inspiration does not come by itself — it is born from observation, experience and experimentation. Going beyond the screen and the schemes, towards nature, art and physical experience, allows you to create authentic and unique designs.
It is not about completely rejecting Pinterest or Instagram, but about treating them only as an addition, and finding the real sources of creativity in the real world.
