Interviews with Paula Scher

Paula Scher is one of my favorite designers - I find her very inspirational, and I only wish to one day meet her. These are a couple of videos that I stumbled across today, they really make me want to move back to NY.

#1 27 Letters: And Interview powered by Getty Images

#2 Part 1


#2 Part 2

Creative Findings

I’ve always talked about staying creative and finding inspiration every where you go. One way is to utilize books. Two great books I’ve mentioned in the past are: “Caffeine for the Creative Team” and “Caffeine for the Creative Mind,” by Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield. Another way to get yourself into the creative zone is to review what other people have done. Perhaps it will spark an idea for new packaging, business card, or even a strategic marketing plan. There many wonderful websites out there that share all sorts of creativity and as much as I want you to stay on our site I’m going to share a few of my favorite go-to places with you today.

Bench.li – Wonderful clean simple design inspiration. This site seems to have a heavy interest in print – one of my favorites.

DesignInspiration – Another great place for design.

The Dieline – Design examples for all sorts of products.

The Inspiration Room – Creativity from around the world, there always seems to be a lot of videos here.

The Story of Telling – Even reading a Creative’s blog helps to loosen up those creative oils.

Finding inspiration every where we go helps us learn and grow, and I personally try to look for it every single day. Inspiration can come in big and small packages, you just have to know where to find it. Go – be creative, and share with us what you come across.

*All images above were found on the blogs mentioned above. Thank you to you all for the great inspiration!

This post also on Stokefire

25 Inspiring Quotes

1. “Innovation is anything, but business as usual.” (Anonymous).

2. “In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman”. (David Ogilvy).

3. “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there will be no hope for it.” (A. Einstein).

4. “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” (A. Warhol).

5. “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” (George Bernard Shaw).

6. “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” (Alan Kay).

7. “There are no old roads to new directions.” (Advertisement of the Boston Consulting Group).

8. “Nothing is stronger than habit.” (Ovid).

9. “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” (A. Einstein).

10. “Organizations, by their very nature are designed to promote order and routine. They are inhospitable environments for innovation.” (T. Levitt).

11. “It’s tough when markets change and your people within the company don’t.” (Harvard Business Review).

12. “Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.” (Goethe).

13. “What we’ve done to encourage innovation is make it ordinary.” (C. Wynett, Procter & Gamble).

14. “To gain customer insights, we must understand that we are prisoners of what we know and what we believe”. (Mohanbir Sawhney).

15. “He who ask a question is a fool for 5 minutes. He who does not ask a question remains a fool for ever.” (China)

16. “A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.” (A. von Szent-Gyorgyi).

17. “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises”. (Demosthenes).

18. “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”  (Anonymous).

19. “People who don’t take risks generally make about 2 big mistakes a year, people who do take risks generally make about 2 big mistakes a year” (Peter Drucker).

20. “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” (R. Emerson).

21. “The impossible is often the untried.” (J. Goodwin).

22. “Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.” (Tao Te Ching).

23. “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.” (D. Adams).

24. “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow” (Rupert Murdoch).

25. “The key to success is for you to make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear.” (Vincent Van Gogh).

Now off you go - be inspired - create!

Original Post via Innovation Excellence

Keeping up with Creativity

I found this blog today while searching around the good ol' google reader. This blog post share some great views from people in creative positions. 

Read the Full Blog

Here's a little taste:

DJ Stout, partner, Pentagram: "Do self-assigned or 'not-for-pay' projects. Anything that doesn't involve a 'real' paying client who will most likely reject or rip the heart out of a truly original or innovative idea. For instance, I've been doing silk-screened posters for a creative speaking event called Pecha Kucha and I've been doing little self-published books on things that interest me."

Loni Peristere, founding partner, Zoic Studios: "Replace yourself. The intern program at Zoic is loaded with young super creatives. Their inexperience with production and process often opens the doors for huge ideas. We also hired a number of industry veterans of 30 years or more across the art and production divisions. These legends also bring amazing solutions. How do you keep sharp? Surround yourself with people who will call you out when you are dull."

Thanks to AdAge for the constant inspiration!

GOOD: 30-day Challenge - Unplug at 8

I am always telling people to step away from the computer and do something else to get creative. Well here's the challenge:

I'm going to do it and you should too. This will give me the chance to actually live up to what I say on here. I'm unplugging at 8pm tonight and I will start the painting series that has been in my head for over a month now.

Good Luck!

This video was originally found at creativity-online.com

Take a Hike

Inspiration doesn't always happen where you'd most expect it. One of the best things you could do to gain inspiration is to get off your butt, away from the computer or canvas and get outside. I recently took a hike in Great Falls Park, MD on the Billy Goat Trail, section A. It was an invigorating experience. I didn't know if I'd be able to do it all, but I did and it felt wonderful.

Yeah, I climbed up that.

Remember that inspiration doesn't always have to relate to creating. Get outside and inspire yourself to move around, exercise and to see new things. Hiking is something I will be doing more often, after all the Billy Goat Trail has two more sections!

Don't Mistake Legibility for Communication

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Design is everywhere and typography is everywhere as well; whether it is a street sign, the newspaper you pick up in the morning, the website you visit everyday. while the TED Talk below isn’t about design being everywhere, David Carson shows a few slides here that speak to this same idea (even if its not entirely noticeable).

Anyway, the real point here is: don’t mistake legibility for communication. Just because you can read it, doesn’t mean it is communicating the intended message. David Carson is famous for his crazy typography and his ability to connect emotion, design and key messages in an effective, impactfull way.  Some of it is legible, some of it is not, but all of it delivers a message. Take a look at his TED Talk, where you can see some of his work, learn about his process and find out how he feels about the design and communication choices some people make.

This post is also posted on Stokefire

33 Ways to Stay Creative

I Love love love this. My recent blog post "Creative Fuel" is about finding inspiration and staying creative, much like this list. While I believe in all of these, the ones I'm most interested in (at least for today) are, #3, #5, #11, #18, #23, #24, #25, #29, & #33. I hope you find these as useful as I do, and I hope you're getting out there and finding creative inspiration!

1. Make Lists
2. Carry a notebook Everywhere
3. Try free writing
4. Get away from the computer
5. Be otherworldly
6. Quit beating yourself up
7. Take breaks
8. Sing in the shower
9. Drink coffee/tea
10. Know your roots
11. Listen to new music
12. Be open
13. Surround yourself with creative people
14. Get feedback
15. Collaborate
16. Don't give up
17. Practice, practice, practice
18. Allow yourself to make mistakes
19. Go somewhere new
20. Watch foreign films
21. Count your blessings
22. Get lots of rest
23. Take risks
24. Break the rules
25. Do more of what makes you happy
26. Don't force it
27. Read a page of the dictionary
28. Create a framework
29. Stop trying to be someone else's perfect
30. Got an idea? Write it down
31. Clean your workspace
32. Have fun
33. Finish something

Posted by Stokefire. Original Post by iainclaridge.net

Great Control. Great Practice.

How is it people learn to have such great control over such things like a simple ballpoint pen? Apparently I need to work on my skills. Anyone have any advice? In the mean time, check out these illustrations by Paul Alexander Thornton. (Watch the video on the landing page - awesomeness) Check out his blog for more cool stuff!

Blog via Illusion - Scene 360 original Link via Escape into Life.

Graphic Design is Everywhere

I've said it before, and here's some physical proof: Graphic Design is Everywhere. In one of my previous posts "What is Graphic Design?" I talked about how design can be found everywhere. Now you can see - I'm definitely not lying. Check out these images via Email Inspiration. You can find shapes of all kinds interacting directly with society. It's absolutely beautiful.

Photos are by Navid Baratu.

Great Photographer or Great Jumper?

Both apparently. I found this blog (My Modern Met) while searching around for inspiration today. There I found a post with the title "The Girl Who Loves to Levitate." In this post, a Japanese woman named Natsumi Hayashi, took self-portraits of herself levitating all around Tokyo, Japan. She literally sets up the self timer on her SLR, and then jumps into place. It looks so graceful, and perfectly planned. 

I love finding posts like these, it makes me want to go out and try it. If this isn't inspiration to go be creative, I don't know what its. Maybe, just maybe I'll dig up my old camera and film (which hopefully still works) out of the closet and take a walk around town. 

Do you have any creative photo series? Share it!

This Post is also on Stokefire

What is Graphic Design?

I spent a few hours the other night trying to figure out what my next blog would be about. I read other blogs, I pulled about six different books off my shelf, I took my dog for a walk, I even asked my dog what I should write about (yes I talk to my dog - she's a great listener).

Finally, I came across a competition, which happened a couple of years ago, that involved finishing the sentence "design is…". Some came up with very creative, humorous answers, and others were more technical, but all of them were unique definitions and unique designs. You can check out the submissions here: Veerle's Blog & Flickr

So, What is graphic design?

There are many different ways to answer this one, and I'll share a few with you in a moment. My answer: Graphic design is the visual communication of a message, created by the use of imagery, typography, colors and most importantly - strategy. Here's what a few others had to say:

"Graphic design is a popular art and a practical art, an applied art and an ancient art. Simply put, it is the art of visualizing ideas.” - Jessica Helfand, AIGA

"Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form (i.e., printers, programmers, signmakers, etc.) – undertaken in order to convey a specific message (or messages) to a targeted audience." - Wikipedia 

"Since prehistoric times, people have searched for ways to give visual form to ideas and concepts, to store knowledge in graphic form, and to bring order and clarity to information. Over the course of history, these needs have been filled by various people including scribes, printers, and artists. It was not until 1922, when the outstanding book designer William Addison Dwiggins coined the term ‘graphic design’ to describe his activities as an individual who brought structural order and visual form to printed communications, that an emerging profession received an appropriate name." - Philip Meggs, History of Graphic Design

Graphic design is the most universal of all the arts. It is all around us, explaining, decorating, identifying; imposing meaning on the world... Without graphic design's process and ingredients - structure and organization, word and image, differentiation - we would have to receive all our information by the spoken word. We would enter another Dark Ages, a thousand years of ignorance, prejudice, superstition and very short lifespans. - Quentin Newark, What is Graphic Design?

In short, that's what graphic design is. But what is design?

Design is everything. Design is everywhere. The web page you're looking at right now, that's design, and the one you'll click to next, that's design too. Twitter, Facebook, the book next to your bed, that bag of chips you had with lunch yesterday (admit it), every single product and product packaging you have ever laid your eyes on, that's design. The clothes you're wearing, the chair you're sitting in and even the building you're inside, all of it has been designed by someone. Everywhere you look, everything you touch, design has had an impact. Massimo Vignelli says it well:

"design is a profession that takes care of everything around us (…) Everything that is around us, this table, this chair, this lamp, this pen has been designed. All of these things, everything has been designed by somebody (…) So what is design all about? It is to decrease the amount of vulgarity in the world. It is to make the world a better place to be. But everything is relative. There is a certain amount of latitude between what is good, what is elegant, and what is refined that can take many, many manifestations. It doesn’t have to be one style. We’re not talking about style, we’re talking about quality. Style is tangible, quality is intangible. I am talking about giving to everything that surrounds us a level of quality." - Massimo Vignelli, Vignelli Associates, via The Design Observer 

To me, design is communication. It's visual thinking, It's strategy. It's beauty. Design is change. It's challenge and growth. Design is what you make of it. It's art. It's artful. It's getting to the point. Design is representation. It's clarity. It's telling a story. It's emotion. Design is our future. Design is my voice.

I leave you with two things today. My own poster on "Design is.." and the question: What is design to you?

I also posted this blog at Stokefire

Creative Fuel

Kids have the biggest imaginations. I can remember when I was a kid, I would make up stories, draw pictures of things that weren't really there, and imagine other worlds that don't really exist. As an adult, have you ever noticed that sometimes you don't have quite the same creative spark you had as a kid?

So, how do you fuel your creative world?

About a year ago, maybe more, I stumbled across a few books that help creatives find their muse. The two books I've been using (and will be referencing for this post) are: "Zing!" by Sam Harrison, and "Caffeine for the Creative Team" by Stefan Muman & Wendy Lee Oldfield. Both give exciting, interactive tips and exercises that help fuel the creative mind. After going through both of these books, I've pulled together some of my favorites; I even have some examples to show you. 

Get off your damn computer.

The biggest mistake I make when looking for an idea, is I keep Googling. Get your research and move on. Explore beyond the internet and actually get out there. Take a walk, sit in a cafe. People-watch, as some would say (just no stalking, please). Take a sketch book with you or a small pad of paper, sit somewhere and sketch or write out words. How are you feeling that day? What are some of the sounds you're hearing? What's the weather like? What types of things are around you? What colors do you see? Did you happen to overhear some weird statement while in line at Starbucks? What are the people around you like? What are they doing? What might you say to them if you wanted to start a conversation? Exploring can open your eyes to new things and in turn spark an idea. 

Do Something Different.

If you're a designer, like me, try reading a poetry blog instead of a design blog. Read something you wouldn't normally read, such as a local newspaper (print, not digital), a book about anthropology or ethnography (as Stokefire's very own Lena Blackstock would say). Eat somewhere new or cook a new meal, make a random turn on your way home or lay in the grass and stare at the clouds (you can find faces in them, I swear). Ride your bike instead of walking, keep a journal. Doing something different gives you a new experience, and new experiences can lead to new solutions.

Get others to help you. 

If you're stuck, have someone else help you. Talk about your ideas, collaborating with someone else can turn your mediocre idea into a great one. Great work rarely comes from just one person, it comes from a group of people. Maybe that idea you had 3 months ago for a different project might just work for this new one, bouncing ideas off of someone else can help that come out. 

Do a group exercise. 

The very first exercise in "Caffeine for the Creative Team" by Stefan Muman & Wendy Lee Oldfield goes a little something like this: "…each of you is going to use a pencil to create a monster. The only restrictions are: [1] once you put the pencil down to start drawing, you can't lift it back up - scribble, scratch, shade, do whatever you want, but you can't remove the pencil from the paper until you're done - and [2] you and a partner are working together to create one monster, so you must both start at the same time on the same piece of paper working on the same monster. You can talk it out as you go, or stay silent and read from one another's direction what you can add to the monster. Make sure you have enough space around a table to move, get different perspectives and see what's been created." 

This very first exercise caught my eye as something fun to do this morning, so I did. My Creative Director (Damir Brajdic) and I gave it a go. 

This little guy (nicknamed Kamir) only took a few minutes to do, he's lopsided, partly hairy and partly scaly, but he has a lot of character and it helped open up our minds for the day. Another book you can reference is "Caffeine for the Creative Mind" also by Stefan Muman & Wendy Lee Oldfield, I have this book at home, so maybe next time I can show off another example.  

There are so many ways to find inspiration and spark your creativity and these are only a handful. So tell me…

How do you fuel your creative world?

I also posted this blog for Stokefire Branding and Advertising.

What's Your Flavor, Print or Digital?

What would you do if you didn’t have a business card with you that time you were at the bar and randomly met the CEO of Coca Cola?

Your business card is print.

Some say print will die in the next 5 years, and that digital will completely take over. But why 5 years? I won’t deny that digital is the future, but at this point I think people give it too much credit.

As a designer, I’m a fan of print.

You work long hours, withstand tough critics and refine your butt off, it should count for something, physically. With print, there is a nervous excitement in the back of your mind as you send it off to your print vendor and hope that it will turn out the way you dreamed. And when you finally hold the printed piece in your hand you get a little flutter in your stomach, that makes you want to jump up and down. Some might think – well she’s a young designer, she still gets excited over those things – but no matter how many projects that I have and will send to print, I know I’ll be proud to hold the final product. When I create a design that will be purely digital, sure it’s great and I’m proud of it, but I can’t touch it or feel it. It will probably get filed away on the server and I’ll never look at it again.

As a reader, I’m a fan of print.

Would you want to fall asleep on top of the hard screen of an iPad, Nook or Kindle? A book is just easier to bring to bed with you. I love the smell of a brand new book, the sound of its fluttering pages, and the feeling of the soft paper between your fingers. You don’t have to worry if you accidentally drop it, or if your dog happens to jump on you and completely takes over the very place your book once was. You can write on it, cut it out, and photocopy it. You can bend it, fold it and if you really want, you can even throw it.

But, digital is the future.

Don’t get me wrong, digital is great. I’m a designer after all, I practically live on the computer.  Designing for digital is different than print. You have to design more for user behavior than anything else. Sure you could have a great message, but can the person behind the mouse actually do anything with it? Is it interactive? In some cases, digital becomes less about the story and more about what you can do with it.

You can do more with digital. It can take you to other places, you can sync it to RSS feeds, you can adjust your text size and the typeface it’s displayed in. You can view more vibrant colors than ever before. It can give you more information in less space, and it can even fit in your pocket. You can read digital books and lend them out to your friends. And as a designer, you can create beautiful websites, advertisements, email campaigns and so much more. Every little bit of digital design will in some way reach an abundance of viewers, while print may be more focused on a smaller audience.

Most people can carry the digital world with them anywhere they go, whether it’s a smart phone, a palm, a laptop, an iPad or any other digital tablet. But there are places in the world that still don’t have full access to the digital world. Their internet could be spotty or non-existent, or maybe they can’t afford that new smart phone. Digital may be the future, but not yet.

My flavor happens to be print with a splash of digital. What’s yours?

*I also posted this blog for Stokefire

Pantone Cookies!

I just saw this posted on another blog, and I had to share it. This is absolutely brilliant. I was excited about seeing a Pantone mug at the office, but if someone brought these in I think I would jump up and down like a kid. Perhaps I'll make my next baking experiment Pantone cookies. Love it.

Found this Post via http://www.freshtruf.com/

Originally from www.kimcreativestar.com