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No single designer operates inside a bubble, we all need inspiration of some form. All design is influenced by the previously created works by which we are surrounded, but how can inspiration be leveraged without plagiarizing or stealing another designer’s ideas?
Use a Few Different Designs for Inspiration
When you have found a great design and you think to yourself, “this works, I could do something like this,” don’t stop with that thought; keep looking for other designs that are similar in content, structure, and color to what you have in mind. The goal is to merge the best elements of each design into a new layout. Try visualizing your new design with a combination of ideas that inspire you. Avoid picking a single design and copying it, but instead, find an assortment of great elements that can work together in a new way. By the time you start creating initial layouts, you should have developed some fresh ideas with the result being something new and unique.
Break the Designs Down into Separate Parts
A great way to approach inspiration is to not look at the whole design but to scan the elements that are relevant to your project. Observe how others have solved problems similar to yours. For example, a limited color palette with use of several subtle tones, a large headline clearly stating the main message of the piece, icons being used in place of bullets, an effect used on the main image to strike a particular mood, or plenty of white or negative space making the layout feel comfortable and open.
Choose Your Favorite Details
When you have found some designs that inspire you, take a closer look and pick out the elements that really make them shine. Watch for gradients, light effects, typography, and all the subtle details that breathe life into the design. Ask yourself, what is it that makes this design so great? Take the best of the best and start solving the biggest problem of all, how can all these separate elements fit together to convey the client’s message.
Putting it All Together
It may sound like I’m suggesting that you just simply take pieces from various designs and paste or stitch them together, but all that will create is one big collage of elements…a literal Frankenstein monster. The whole point is to create a new feel by merging great elements in a positive way. You may find that your new creation resembles nothing like any of the projects that initially inspired you, but that’s the goal. In my experience, I have found that inspiration is most useful when it gets you pointed in the right direction. A good idea may spark another good idea which may spark yet another, and those original points of influence can be used again on future projects.
Conclusion
Whether you’re designing a new logo, brochure, direct mailer, or poster, initial inspiration needs to come from somewhere. By doing research and getting inspired by other pieces of work before the design process even gets started, you will have knocked out a large part (and sometimes the most difficult) of just getting the creative juices flowing. Who knows, maybe even one of your pieces will catch the eye of other designers in the future. In the end get inspired, leverage great ideas – don’t copy.
