Graphic Design Resources: Where to Go for Inspiration
“
In all creative endeavors, inspiration is always the essential starting point of the process. An inspired work will always express the feelings of the artist, and will most likely be an example of the best that your talent can offer. Any art form that is less than inspired can lead to a forced creation. Something you do because you need to produce something. The worst point of it all is when all creative inspiration vanishes, a kind of “writer’s block” for graphic design. For the growing numbers of graphic artists out there this is a growing phenomenon. With the pace of business as fast as it is these days, most artists are tasked to “mass produce” designs for digital and print media at a moment’s notice. Hardly time to get inspired. SO the question is, what are a few graphic design resources that you can tap for creative inspiration? Don’t fret, we have collected a few things you can do when you’re in a creative rut. Do any of the activities below and you increase your chances of getting creative inspiration.
Look at other art forms One of the first causes of a lack in inspiration is that you get overexposed to one type of art. For graphic design, this means you are always working on the same type of design over and over. For example, you may be working with banner advertisements all day for the web. You can also be a layout designer for a magazine or printing service and you have to produce page advertisements and brochure designs. If you work with the same media on a daily basis, your brain gets into its own repeating process to create your design. As time goes by you will be repeating the same ideas over and over again until eventually you’ll just plain run out of inspiration.
To get inspired and have those creative juices flowing once again, you have to “treat your brain” to a different task altogether. This is so that it can work with new and fresh concepts. One of the best techniques to jog the mind is to look at art forms other than the one you usually work on. So if you’re into print design, why not look at architecture books? If you work with web graphics all day why not look at a photography book or go to a museum and look at sculptures? Other art forms may give you that creative spark to get you out of being stuck. For this purpose, the museum is a treasure trove of graphic design resources for you. They have sculptures, paintings and other art forms. If a trip to a museum is a task unto itself, a bookstore will suffice. Just browse through their art book section.
Nature as the best art teacher Next up is nature. Have you ever heard of divine inspiration? It comes in many forms, but usually it comes from nature. The landscape, trees, mountains, lakes, rivers and of course the sky can be a source of inspiration. Have you ever looked at the sky on sunrise or on sunset? There are bursts of colors and light that you really can’t imagine yourself. If you look at trees you’ll find that they have a curious chaotic symmetry that can be really inspiring. If you have always been awed at the beauty of nature then you should take design inspiration from it. So go to the park, go out of town, or simply just look into the sky and be amazed.
Human Life Art Lastly, you can also take some creative inspiration from “human life art.” We are just coining a term here, but human art can be graffiti, children’s drawings, industrial complexes, construction sites, people’s faces, people at train stations. You’ll be surprised but a lot of inspiration comes from everyday, mundane things. You spill your milk and the floor and it suddenly has an interesting pattern there. You pass a construction site, and the crane and building materials can give you wonderful textures and intersecting lines. They key to tap this graphic design resource is just to be observant and look at the beauty in everyday things.
There! Those are just three of the basic and most accessible graphic design resources for creative inspiration. Use any or all three of the above practices and you’ll increase your chances of getting that eureka moment. Have fun!
“
Kate
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/graphic-design-resources-where-to-go-for-inspiration-704639.html
Should I share trade secrets with a work rival?
My employer, a web development firm, rents out office space to a self-employed graphic/web designer. I do most of the designing for my company; sometimes we contract out to her for design work. She has shared with me a couple of links to design resources (color ideas, etc.), which I appreciate. But one day she asked where I get my web design inspiration. I said I would send her some links but didn’t, because the fact is, she’s our competition as well. Her web skills need improvement (I think she knows that), and I don’t want her to take business from us in the long run. It doesn’t help that she used to brag about her talents, an attitude I don’t appreciate. If she’s so good, she should be resourceful enough to find her own inspiration. Should I be friendlier about this and send her the links?
You do realize that it’s a felony don’t you?
Not a good idea unless you want to be sued for millions and be financially ruined for the rest of your life.
The Executive Secretary and a couple of village idiots at Coca-Cola tried to do that with Pepsi, by telling top Executives at Pepsi that they would share the not-so-secret-formula for Coke (it’s an urban legend that only 7 people know the recipie…it’s alot more than that).
Guess who reported them? Pepsi.
I really hope you aren’t doing that on your work e-mail.
References :
No
References :
READ THIS…. oh ya and I say no unless you like prison food
2 sentenced in Coke trade secret case
Ex-Coke workers sentenced to federal prison for plot to offer rival Pepsi sample of new product.
May 23 2007: 3:54 PM EDT
ATLANTA (CNN) — Two former Coca-Cola employees were sentenced Wednesday to serve federal prison terms for conspiring to steal and sell trade secrets to rival Pepsi.
Joya Williams, 42, of Norcross, Ga., received an eight-year prison term, while Ibrahim Dimson, 31, got a five-year term, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Georgia.
Both were ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution.
Williams was convicted in February on charges that stem from a plot to offer samples of a new Coca-Cola (down $0.23 to $51.25, Charts, Fortune 500) product to Pepsi (up $0.36 to $34.17, Charts, Fortune 500) for $1.5 million.
Dimson, who is from New York, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in October.
Edmund Duhaney, 43, of the Atlanta suburb of Decatur, will be sentenced at a later date, said the news release.
The trio was arrested last July after a federal sting operation was launched when Pepsi tipped off Coke that it was being offered inside information.
All three are charged with wire fraud and unlawfully stealing and selling trade secrets from Coca-Cola Co.
"As the market becomes more global, the need to protect intellectual property becomes even more vital to protecting American companies and our economic growth," U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case. "This case is an example of good corporate citizenship leading to a successful prosecution, and that unlawfully gaining a competitive advantage by stealing another’s trade secrets can lead straight to federal prison."
Dimson, using the alias "Dirk," sent a letter to Pepsi using an official Coca-Cola envelope last May.
He later gave an FBI undercover agent 14 pages of Coca-Cola documents marked "Classified – Confidential" and "Classified – Highly Restricted," according to Nahmias. Coke officials confirmed the documents were tightly held trade secrets, he said.
"Dirk" then requested $10,000 for the initial papers, accompanied by a letter promising to provide further documents on request, Nahmias said.
"I can even provide actual products and packaging of certain products, that no eye has seen, outside of maybe five top execs," the letter states. "I need to know today, if I have a serious partner or not. If the good faith money is in my account by Monday, that will be an indication of your seriousness."
"Dirk" provided other documents to the FBI for $5,000 and agreed to take $75,000 for a highly confidential product sample from a new Coca-Cola project.
A surveillance camera placed in Williams’ office videotaped her "going through multiple files looking for documents and stuffing them into bags," Nahmias said.
"She also was observed holding a liquid container with a white label, which resembled the description of new Coca-Cola product sample before placing it into her personal bag.
"Coca-Cola later verified the sample was genuine and is in fact a product being developed by the company," he said.
On June 16, an FBI undercover agent met with Dimson at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Coca-Cola eyeing vitamin water maker Glaceau
Dimson handed over a bag containing documents marked "highly confidential" and a glass bottle with a white label containing a liquid product sample, Nahmias said.
The undercover agent paid Dimson $30,000 in $100 and $50 bills stuffed in a Girl Scout cookie box, he said.
The agent also agreed to pay another $45,000 after successful testing of the product sample, he said.
After the exchange, agents followed Dimson as he drove to co-defendant Duhaney’s home in Decatur, Nahmias said.
The three suspects were arrested July 4, the day they were supposed to be paid $1.5 million for the rest of the Coke secrets, he said.
"Theft of valuable trade secrets will not be tolerated, not by the Justice Department and not even by competitors," Nahmias said in July.
After the arrests, Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Neville Isdell announced the company would review its security procedures.
Coke expects more weakness at home in ’07
"While this breach of trust is difficult for all of us to accept, it underscores the responsibility we each have to be vigilant in protecting our trade secrets. Information is the lifeblood of the company," he said in a letter to employees.
Isdell also thanked PepsiCo officials for alerting their competitor "to this attack."
A Pepsi spokesman said the company was glad to help.
"We did what any responsible company would do," the spokesman said. "Competition can be fierce, but it must also be fair and legal."
References :
Anna, I hate to be a spoilsport but my simple answer is "No!"
If you give your competitor your secrets then you have basically given them your job.
Do not send her the links.
If she is that resourceful she should be able to sort herself out.
Hope that helps.
Regards
Business in Barnet
http://www.business-in-barnet.com
References :