Inspiration is a key component of creative work, but good artists can’t just wait for it to happen. To get your brain moving each day, give yourself a “game” as you go about each day, like spotting certain shapes or uses of colour.
Photo by JD Hancock
Ji Lee, former Creative Director at Google and currently at Facebook, explains how he turns the world around him into a game in order to boost creative thinking. For visual artists in particular, this is easy as we’re surrounded by visual design virtually everywhere, but it can work for writers, architects, motion graphic artists, or any other creative type:
So, for instance, right after 9/11 I realised there was lots of logos with the cityscape that contained the twin towers and it was very mixed feelings that I had because I was sad, but at the same time happy to see this typical cityscape logo with the twin towers. So I started to collect these logos and photography them and it became a game. Wherever I went on the street, I would look for something like this.
The games you challenge yourself with can take on any form you like. You can spot examples of the blue/orange contrast, or spotting file extensions in licence plates. The idea is to get your brain to observe and consider the world around you. The mere act of looking can help you get more inspired than simply walking through life with your eyes on the ground.
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