attentionscan » Inspiration http://www.idfive.com/blog more signal, less noise Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:07:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= The Strategy of Channeling Your Inner Child http://www.idfive.com/blog/2012/04/the-strategy-of-channeling-your-inner-child/ http://www.idfive.com/blog/2012/04/the-strategy-of-channeling-your-inner-child/#comments Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:00:24 +0000 Katelyn Jacobsen http://www.idfive.com/blog/?p=2554 “Creativity shouldn’t be seen as something otherworldly. It shouldn’t be thought of as a process reserved for artists and inventors and other ‘creative types,’” according to Jonah Lehrer in his new book Imagine. Lehrer studies the neuroscience behind creativity and thinking, and believes that this (which is usually thought of as a character trait than [...]

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]]> “Creativity shouldn’t be seen as something otherworldly. It shouldn’t be thought of as a process reserved for artists and inventors and other ‘creative types,’” according to Jonah Lehrer in his new book Imagine.

Lehrer studies the neuroscience behind creativity and thinking, and believes that this (which is usually thought of as a character trait than a skill) can be taught. If that’s the case, I wish I knew about this before I started my design classes! Yeesh!

Based off a study, Lehrer believes that we must channel our inner child to fully exhaust our creativity. He also touches base on different topics, like stifled creativity in groups (read more about this from our whitepapers: “Effective Brainstorming”), regional advantage, and the benefits of cultural mixing. Lehrer also discusses drug use and mental illnesses and how they affect or inspire creativity.

On a personal level, working at idfive and in this industry constantly requires a level head and imagination. At times, it can be challenging (I can’t imagine (HA!) how difficult it can be for our head designer). So, if the idea that channeling my inner child can help inspire great work, well, then let’s try it! I think that sounds like a good strategy!

To read the original article that inspired mine and learn more in depth about Lehrer’s book, please check out How to Be Creative: The Science of Genius.

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]]> http://www.idfive.com/blog/2012/04/the-strategy-of-channeling-your-inner-child/feed/ 0 Data Visualization Inspiration http://www.idfive.com/blog/2012/03/data-visualization-inspiration/ http://www.idfive.com/blog/2012/03/data-visualization-inspiration/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:00:20 +0000 Katelyn Jacobsen http://www.idfive.com/blog/?p=2546 I’ve been assigned a design project to visually represent a concept of idfive’s. Straining for inspiration, my boss shared with me what this company, FFunction, designed. A beautiful representation, organized like a Venn diagram, of what they do by grouping different terms and colors to differentiate them. Ahh, admire:  

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]]> I’ve been assigned a design project to visually represent a concept of idfive’s. Straining for inspiration, my boss shared with me what this company, FFunction, designed. A beautiful representation, organized like a Venn diagram, of what they do by grouping different terms and colors to differentiate them.

Ahh, admire:

 

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]]> http://www.idfive.com/blog/2012/03/data-visualization-inspiration/feed/ 0 Need Inspiration? 5 Inspirational Websites for Designers http://www.idfive.com/blog/2012/01/5-inspirational-websites-for-designers/ http://www.idfive.com/blog/2012/01/5-inspirational-websites-for-designers/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:14 +0000 Aaron Talbot http://attentionscan.com/?p=2441 Sometimes taking a break from your routine and giving yourself some time to take in the surroundings can be a great thing. We often get caught up with our own work that we forget to “look outside” and see what’s happening all around us. As creative people it’s important that we take in everything we [...]

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]]> Sometimes taking a break from your routine and giving yourself some time to take in the surroundings can be a great thing. We often get caught up with our own work that we forget to “look outside” and see what’s happening all around us. As creative people it’s important that we take in everything we can and look for inspiration when ever possible. Below are five sites that I’ve gone to for inspiration at one time or another. Hopefully they will be as useful to you as they have been for me.

Designers Go To Heaven

I stumbled across this site a week or two ago and it’s been on my daily watch list since. Though this is a simple, minimally designed Tumblr blog, the amount of content Andrei D. Robu found (or created) to curate here is just great. I’ve found myself skimming through this for hours, breaking off to follow the links to the sources and finding more and more beautiful work. Designers Go To Heaven has a bit of something for everyone and does a great job of being inspirational without trying to hard.

abduzeedo.com

Abduzeedo is just a great site. I originally met its creator via Twitter shortly after I joined. I really enjoyed all of his tutorials, inspirational images, and wallpapers as a young designer. After 4 years I still enjoying clicking the links and checking out the new images, logos, and techniques he shares on his Twitter feed.

Globe Poster Printing

If you’ve ever spent some time in Baltimore as a designer you undoubtedly know who Globe Poster Printing are and have heard of their long colorful history. Though their site isn’t the prettiest thing but the posters that they have on display are some of the best hand screen printed posters ever to exist. They’ve done work to promote Jimi Hendrix, BB King, Howling Wolf, Stevie Wonder, Chubby Checker and many more. With their bright colors and classic feel this is not only a great trip down memory lane but a great look at the history of poster printing.

 Behance Network

Even though Behance is a part partfolio site and part social network, it is a great place to get inspired by young or even established designers from all around the world. Some of the projects showcased are just proofs of concept, while others are documentation of finished products produced by the designers client. And since the site allows you to filter results based on they type of medium, special curated galleries and number of views the number of ways you can experience various projects is practically limitless.

Brand New (Underconsideration.com)

If you’re really into branding or enjoying comparing the minute differences between two versions of a logo than this is the place for you. This blog catalogs some of the most interesting conversations about brands and their logos. Built by a group of designers for designers the updates and the conversations that follow really make you think about all the little things that make a big difference during the branding process. This is also a great place to go to compare logos from around the world and see what other designers are saying.

 

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