Jesus Hates Papyrus » inspiration

Fill your creative tank

Michael Buckingham — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:35:28 +0000

As creatives we need to constantly be filling our brains with creative input. Being creative is a habit as much as it is an action. You can’t expect to be able to just turn the creativity switch on when a project falls in your lap. Instead fill your creative tank with different ideas, inspiration, and perspectives.

The greatest ideas come when seemingly unrelated content comes together and communicates in a whole new way. Remember the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup commericals, “you got your chocolate in my peanut butter”? It’s kinda like that.

By actively filling your creative tank you not only open yourself up to bigger ideas and greater creativity, you also establish your role as a creative in your church. Here it is in 140 characters from my Ninjas in the Church talk:

know the part you play and remind others of that role in the way you live it out

And as promised, here are some of the online places I go for inspiration. These are all good starters, but again be sure to venture outside of the world of design. For me that means walking down the wine isle paying attention to the labels, looking at architecture and interior design, and always being aware of the creativity that is all around me in even the most seemingly mundane places.

Wordle – Create
illustrationclass.com
LogoPond – Identity Inspiration
Logo Of The Day
SKYplay – a photoset on Flickr
iPhone pic of the day
Obey Giant
Abduzeedo
40 Beautiful Examples of Vintage and Retro in Web Design
Most Creative Agencies
Wooster Collective
Indexed
Dwell – At Home in the Modern World
Church Marketing Lab
HOW
Communication Arts
PRINT
Design is Kinky
A List Apart
GOOD magazine
Deviant Art

And that’s just a handful of them…where do you like to go to fill up your creativity tank?

Action item : stay creative

Michael Buckingham — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:22:24 +0000

I’m getting settled back into a normal routine after a great week at the HOW Design Conference. There is a ton to unpack from the sessions I was able to attend (not to mention unpacking all the swag.)

But the top item on my to do list from the conference is something that wasn’t covered in any of the talks, not included in any of the handouts. It came from just being around some of the most creative people on the planet. Just being around them, sharing a lunch with them, watching them sparked my own creativity. My goal is to make the church the most creative place on the planet, what better way to do that than to be constantly surrounded by creativity. This to do list has the simple heading of Stay Creative. Here are some of the action items, for me, under that heading:

Take a pottery class
Take a Bob Ross painting class
Attend the architectural exhibit at MCFTA
Visit the Saginaw Art Museum
Make a sock puppet
Play with chalk art
Tour the Alden B. Dow house

Now this is just a beginning list for me and let me just say, if I can find this many outlets in my little town you can have even more fun exploring new perspectives of creativity in yours. For me it’s all about becoming a sponge for the creativity to soak in and surrounding myself with inspiring people and things. Then, later when I’m working on a project (which could be your project) I can squeeze that sponge and let the creativity drip all over it.

What’s on your list? Where do you go to find inspiration and creativity?

Creativity through a flight plan

Michael Buckingham — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 02:01:01 +0000

As I wrote last week creativity is all around us. This time it is above us and a lesson that beauty can often be found in things not considered beautiful. Check out flight patterns and be sure to view the movies…beautiful.

Beauty in, beauty out

Michael Buckingham — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:41:37 +0000

A key to cultivating creativity is constant input of new stimuli. Sometimes this stimuli is very obvious in its connection to design, other times it will be input that just captures your eye for a moment. You can find it in the way an architect carves a building into the landscape of a city, the label on a wine bottle, or during your commute on the subway. Design is all around us, take it in and let it inspire you as you develop new and original ways to communicate.

While I hope the words I type will inspire you, I want to make sure I give you visual stimuli…after all I am a visual guy. So, from time to time I will share with you some of what inspires me.

My most recent is when I came across Illustrator Si Scott. His work is simply beautiful and all by hand….he only uses the computer to piece it together: “Computers are great as a tool but I do believe that a lot of people rely on them far too much and let them dictate how a piece is ultimately going to look.”

What inspires you?