Raise your hand if you’ve ever been in a creative rut. Ok. First of all, thanks for putting on deodorant this morning. And secondly, you’re not alone. All creatives have found themselves in a dark place suddenly void of those magical lightbulbs that we call ideas.
One way that I like to combat a creative block is by enjoying the work of other creatives. It could be a photography collection, an illustrator’s kick-ass Instagram series, or even some poetry. Over the years, I’ve found and subscribed to a number of blogs that offer an inspiring creative boost in times of need. Here are a few of my favorites.
This is Colossal does an excellent job of covering photography, design, animation, architecture, and street art. Only interested in art? No sweat. This Is Colossal segments their posts quite nicely so you can seek out what interests you specifically. Subscribe to the This Is Colossal RSS feed here.
AIGA’s official design blog is chock full of incredible content. Designer profiles, Design Diary posts, and opinion pieces about a wide range of design topics will get your creative juices flowing in no time. Subscribe to AIGA Eye on Design here.
Founded in 2006 by writer extraordinaire Maria Popova, Brain Pickings shares insights from well-known artists, authors, and other creatives. This post on Mozart’s views on the creative process is worth the read. Subscribe to Brian Pickings here.
I really can’t describe The Jealous Curator any better than founder Danielle Krysa herself:
“The Jealous Curator launched in February 2009, as a place for me to show artwork that ‘made me jealous’… in a bad, toxic, soul-crushing way. I was literally getting stopped in my tracks every time I saw work that I loved. It was awful. But now, almost five years later, that ‘jealousy’ has turned magically, wonderfully, and thankfully into inspiration… but it’s too late to change my logo ; ). In all seriousness though, I’ve realized that jealousy can actually be turned completely on it’s head, and used as fuel to get back into the studio. It can only stop you if you let it. That’s when the magic transformation from jealousy to inspiration starts to happen… thank goodness.
The curated content on the blog does indeed make me jealous and also pushes me to try new styles. Subscribe to The Jealous Curator here, and while you’re at it, check out Danielle’s book, Creative Block.
Typeverything is such much a blog as a collection of really awesome typographic designs. If you’re a type and lettering nerd like me, you’ll love the striking visual style of the Typeverything site. If you think your own typographic or lettering projects would be a good fit for Typeverything, shoot them a note.
If you think gifs are only good for capturing meme-tastic reactions or moments from your favorite t.v. shows, Gif Selections will make you think again. Curated by Skip Hursh, the site consistently melts my face with all its beautifully bizarre gifs. Subscribe to the Gif Selections feed here.
I hope you find these blogs as inspiring as I do. Be sure to share your favorite design/inspirational blogs in the comments below!
