Discovering Web design inspiration in unlikely places

This post was origially published on the Microsoft Office Live Small Business web site (thank you, Monte).

No doubt, finding design inspiration for a website can be a tough job. Combine running a website with your normal business operations, and it can be even more difficult for you to fire up the creative side of your brain when you need to.

In honor of the holiday season, I’d like to give a gift to everyone in the Office Live Small Business community: a design tip. Let’s unwrap it together, shall we?

The tip is to…slow down.

Really, that’s it. Slow down and take a moment to think. As in stop and smell the roses. I’m encouraging everyone who is working hard on their websites to stop, look at the roses, and keep your mind open. Why? Because you never know what you’ll discover when you pause. By changing your pace for a bit, it may mean finding the inspiration to resolve artistic dilemmas, page layout problems, struggles with content development, or online campaign issues.

Before I begin working on a client’s project, I always spend time looking for and researching design inspiration. Most of the time I roll right along, but every once in awhile a project will have me stumped until I change it up and shift gears. That’s where that slowing down and pausing comes into play.

A short, snappy story

Here’s what I mean by slowing down and keeping your mind open. Recently, MapMyFitness co-founder Kevin Callahan asked me to design a new set of mapping markers (12 total) that would define the look and feel of all of the markers used in his company’s mapping engine. I must have scoured resources online and off-line for a week straight and mocked up 10 different ideas to no avail. I had nothing I felt comfortable presenting to Kevin.

Then one day, while dressing my toddler, I became fixated with the snap on his shorts. I slowed down. I stopped. I thought about it. Snap on, snap off. Snap on! Snap off! I sat down on the floor and tinkered with the snap for a few minutes and victoriously shouted, “That’s it!” to no one in particular (little one having wandered away at this point).

Once I got into the office and began sketching the idea, I realized I had it — distinct, easily recognizable markers that “snapped” onto users’ route maps, inspired not just by universal road signage, but my toddler’s shorts!

The images below are a side by side comparison of the snap and the finalized MapMyFitness map markers.

More tips for getting design inspiration:

• Make your own design inspiration resource book. Don’t be alarmed, the book does not have to be anything fancy. You can cut images and text that inspire you from your favorite magazines, newspapers, or even mailbox fliers, and tape them onto sheets of paper to make your “book.” Collect ideas for future use or refer to it when you are in a crunch.
• Don’t feel limited to using only graphic art as a point of inspiration. I often find music, poems, paintings, and books helpful. There have even been instances where I have bought movies a client may have mentioned as a point of reference.
• Get out of your office. Part of finding inspiration in unlikely places is actually giving your eyes and mind a break so you can have a chance to rethink the design task. On many occasions I have resolved design problems by taking a long walk.

Happy Holidays!
Sara Richardson-McCreery