45 Comments

Dan Wieden got "Just do it"from a quote that a prisoner on death row made right before execution in the electric chair...strange but true
chuck
2011-03-08 11:44:31

When I am particularly stressed I usually get my best ideas in the shower, perhaps it's because I am allowing my mind to wander.
Oliver Bothwell
2011-03-08 12:08:28

I spend most of my free time doodling in my sketch pad or noodling on my ukulele (not a euphemism). It is usually during these activities that something hits. Most of the time it's the missing piece from a puzzle at work or sometimes it's just a design/creative idea in general. I am usually a million miles away and then this idea hits and I'm like.. whoa where did that come from?
Steven
2011-03-08 12:33:10

Inspiration usually strikes when I am farthest away from anything with which to write or draw. inspiration is when you have to fumble for a utensil and some scrappy shred of paper or corner of an envelope or restaurant napkin on which to compose.
Scotty Roberts
2011-03-08 12:35:07

Feeding off the fear.

The fear of looking like a fool,
the fear of the not having the right solution,
the fear of having seen it before,
the fear of it not being good enough,
the fear of not knowing.
Ben Stott
2011-03-08 12:42:47

Train Journeys
Jennie
2011-03-08 12:44:51

wine wine wine...
marta
2011-03-08 12:55:15

I also get inspiration in the shower or performing mundane tasks. Annoyingly I also get inspiration just as I am about to go to bed when it is too late to then go and really get into it.
superfried
2011-03-08 12:59:12

Inspiration is a bit of a tease - makes me chase it around a bit, assuming different guises, until it finally deigns to reveal itself at the last possible moment. The important thing is not to panic and give in to one of the many fake inspirations that crop up along the route. If I do that, then my final completed idea feels all wrong and I mistrust my own creative judgement. So, don't panic, let inspiration play its game and trust your instincts.
Cathy Stuart
2011-03-08 12:59:14

It's not often I have eureka moments. Many of my favourite and most effective ideas come from an evolution of another idea either using pad n pencil, 'brainstorming' with colleagues or good old mind mapping but in most cases it takes plenty of focus.
Marc
2011-03-08 12:59:51

Places where you are normally more relaxed are always better for having fresh ideas. My personal favourite is to lie or sit on the bedroom floor near the bed, where the light happens to be good. I think it must go back to the countless hours I spent there with lots of lego as a kid.
Steve
2011-03-08 13:05:44

on the toilet seat
hessa
2011-03-08 13:07:29

If I can't crack a brief I stay up late with a glass or three of wine and fill my head with the latest music videos. An idea usually comes out of something I've heard, seen or thought. Works every time.
Trevor Rudder
2011-03-08 13:20:06

Out running, preferably late at night.
Jonathan
2011-03-08 13:49:03

There's a good article related to this on the iso50 blog, featuring similar responses from the likes of Erik Spiekermann and Build.

http://blog.iso50.com/14312/overcoming-creative-block/

Me? Long tube journeys...
Sam
2011-03-08 13:50:03

We like to look at lots of young teams' books and then just use the ideas in there. It's easier.

Dave and Liz.
Lemon
2011-03-08 14:04:06

I don't just think its down to a particular place or type of wine that you choose to drink to induce inspiration.

I think understanding your creative rhythm is important too. I know I am at my most creative late mornings. Its the time of day where I can more or less guarantee something good will come out of my creative development.

I've also used another cool tool to improve creativity and productivity amongst staff http://bit.ly/h9LhHz
GraphicDesignBoss
2011-03-08 14:06:54

I get my inspiration from the back of penguin wrappers.
Sam
2011-03-08 14:18:11

I look at all kinds of things and get ideas: I look at lots of jewelry in magazines and books, and on the Internet. I cut pictures out of magazines and print images I find on the Internet which I put in a file or tape in my sketchbook. I read about artists and other people who are interesting to me. I travel. I visit museums and galleries. I go to thrift and antique stores. I look at what people are wearing. I observe nature. I study my collections and arrangements. I look at architecture, design, and other media. I listen to music. I talk to other people. I draw in my sketchbook. I make lists in my sketchbook. I “mine” my sketchbooks and rework old ideas. I look for pattern, repetition, and texture all around me. I collect imagery with my digital camera and keep the pictures organized in different categories on my computer. I also get ideas just from making. Often, Ideas seem to happen randomly and independently.

When I am stuck I look to all of the above. I often leave the studio to get a different perspective. I try to limit my time to maybe an one hour to see if I can force my way out. It often works. I also look to what I already know as a starting point. I find by doing something familiar I can find happiness and a rhythm. I feel productive. These all lead me to feeling open and that's when the new ideas begin.

I am currently working on a project where I make abstract representations of jewelry stored in my memory. I was in my car and three pieces from my past popped into my head. I don't know what triggered it to happen, but it was sudden and very exciting. I thought about them all the way home so I wouldn't forget and drew them immediately in my sketchbook when arrived.
Amy Tavern
2011-03-08 15:19:54

When I get my much-sought after press pass and wander round DFS Crufts getting licked, sniffed and generally groped by the finest dogs you can shake a stick at.
Karen Parker
2011-03-08 15:36:13

Google
GeeDee
2011-03-08 15:49:23

Inspiration often strikes me in the shower too - must be all that oxygen flying around. Then again, being naked probably plays its part too. Must do some nude brainstorming sessions with my next client...

I used to walk in the park looking for a thunderbolt. The only thing that strikes me now are my children when I drag them away from the swings.
Chris Day
2011-03-08 15:55:36

I find inspiration to be a very organic process that work differently for everyone.
For me, it strikes not some much in unusual places but rather in unusual situation.
When my mind has emptied of its daily chatter, when it is at rest and free of stimulation, then the object of my attention I believe turns within and whatever I perceive in that moment get transformed, re-imagined and I am able to strike a new idea out of that object of my experience.

I never came up with the best ideas out of a brainstorming session. It is like forcing a cat that is full to eat. If I am struggling with ideas, I usually surrender and do something else. I still stay focus but change what I'm doing and try to put myself in a free mind setting so that when the idea comes, I can quickly filter it and explore it further.
faycal
2011-03-08 16:31:46

i like to go to bed and think about a specific design problem in mind i am trying to solve, and keep focusing eye closed on all the possible ways to resolve it.
laurent bourscheidt
2011-03-08 17:11:06

Recently (and amazingly for me) jogging stupidly early when it's just me and the city sans the noise.

I also have the same 'right before I fall asleep' conundrum that a few people have mentioned.

Most importantly I get a lot of energy from seeing inspiring things (design, painting, building, film, etc.)
Gwen
2011-03-08 19:44:29

With the phone call.
barry macey
2011-03-08 20:20:00

Some of my best ideas come at breakfast on whatever bits of paper are lying around. There's something to be said for that 'detuned' time early in the morning, before you feel you are 'officially' starting work and all the stuff you've crammed your head with, desperately trying to answer a brief over the past few days/ weeks, subconsciously settles and filters through scribbles and notes to self. However, I find the clearing out of crap ideas needs to happen long before this can occur—without that purge, I'm not going anywhere with anything.
Nigel
2011-03-08 21:04:34

Whilst trying to sleep undoubtedly yields the truest crops, for me.
Graphic Design Manchester
2011-03-08 23:04:16

That is a tricky question! My brain just sponges up little things which i notice whilst walking in the streets, reading a book or even listen to music! I tend to get most of mine off the internet however I like to get a lot of it from town. I also get inspiration in the shower or walking through a wood.

I have to say I did have a blunder recently and noticed my brain was getting nothing! I did not know why but then i realised i was not in town for a while and stayed cooped on the net. I went for a walk today and things just threw into my mind it was brilliant. Sometimes to rejuvenate my mind I go on a walk or talk to other students in university and look at their work.

Sadly I don't have any interesting stories that made me get my ideas and I wish i did but most of the time i see something and an idea snapshots into my head.
L-saurus
2011-03-09 00:52:11

I used to get my ideas in the shower but that hasn't happened for a while. Doing mundane tasks, particularly gardening, brings ideas forward as the mind is relaxed and wondering.

If I have the time on a brief I sometimes consciously give the task of coming up with an idea to my subconscious and then forget about it. It's a technique that works but you need a little time.
Chris - Graphic Designer
2011-03-09 06:02:18

Quite commonly I find after working flat out all week in search of the 'big' idea it will pop up on a day off or especially on a Saturday morning during a long lie in – often without even thinking about it.

Elsewhere it's the usual suspects, where a journey's transitioning images form a narrative with transitioning ideas in my head; on foot, on bike, train etc

So basically I should go on holiday more?
Robin Howie
2011-03-09 09:11:46

When the idea comes - its generally the first idea, then spend hours trying to think of other ideas just to justify that the first idea was right.

Also there is nothing like a deadline, jobs with so so brief and a whenever you can fit it in deadline seem to be the hardest to crack.
Jake Shepherd
2011-03-09 11:50:34

My drive to the studio takes about 2 hours so I have the gift of time every morning and evening to mull over the projects I'm working on, and this is often the most valuable time of my day. I frequently jot down single words on post-it notes in traffic jams or at traffic lights, arriving at work with a steering wheel covered in notes.

Its interesting to me that these ideas come on the visually-uncluttered drive, when my mind is free to explore trains of thought. The visually rich part of my day immersed in magazines, blogs etc.. results in a lot of inspiration but rarely an 'idea'.
Luke Tonge
2011-03-09 12:55:49

Anywhere and anyhow.

My inspiration for a book came about when I was moaning that "All I want is a decent home cooked curry" because I kept burning saucepans because I was preoccupied with thinking and doing work in my final term at university. And I was hungry.
Bella
2011-03-09 13:49:43

I solve creative (and other problems) whilst out running, but usually I set my mind to thinking about a particular topic then allow my mind to wander and roam whilst I run. The number of times I've come back with inspiration or decisions about something important that needs progressing it really works for me. I think the key is in being in motion, taking in the views, air and sounds from around me. Living in the Lake District helps with this - I'm not negotiating traffic or dodging pedestrians on pavements...

Playing around verbally with ideas with other people works too, but not usually in a boardroom type environment - you are already constraining your ideas by the environment.
Paula Lernelius
2011-03-09 13:56:07

Describing what I'm doing, my rationale or my problem to someone else (normally my partner Dave) helps me stand back and get more objective. If that doesn't move things forward then, like others are saying a brisk walk in the fresh air, just makes new deas pop into my head.
Amy Fox
2011-03-09 15:17:16

Technique for producing ideas:

1. Think about the product from any point of view - your mum's, yours, from the point of view of colour, or form - and write each response down on a single index card.

2. Spread all the index cards out on a big table and see if you can find the relationship between the different thoughts.

3. Forget about the whole thing.

4. The idea will strike you miraculously when you least expect it.
Luke Mitchell
2011-03-09 16:03:23

THIS

Technique for producing ideas:

1. Think about the product from any point of view - your mum's, yours, from the point of view of colour, or form - and write each response down on a single index card.

2. Spread all the index cards out on a big table and see if you can find the relationship between the different thoughts.

3. Forget about the whole thing.

4. The idea will strike you miraculously when you least expect it.
(Usually after a jog)
A
A
2011-03-09 22:01:42

Talking to your opposite usually helps (in my instance, my business partner), or if nothing else works, forget about it, go home, leave it alone. You'll come back the next day with a fresh pair of eyes and your subconscious has bounced it around a few times.

I know when I am struggling because I feel the need to do other things (make tea, tidy the desk, wander around the block). It's not to get away from it, it's rather to give it some distance to do some thinking.
Marcus Taylor
2011-03-10 14:44:53

Like anything in life, the more desperate I am for an answer, the more it alludes me. I've learnt to just relax, do something else I love and a good idea normally presents itself.
C A Ramshall
2011-03-10 17:07:29

All such interesting comments!

I find that stress & fear are the archenemies of creativity. That said, I find my thoughts & ideas flow best when I'm relaxed & out-of-my-head. Driving, waking up in a slightly dissociative state, running alone before the frenetic NY pace has fully wound itself up for the day, grocery shopping at 2 in the morning, sipping coffee alone at the computer while the world sleeps.
annie
2011-03-14 12:59:19

There are 2 situations when ideas pop up in my mind:
1. Usually, after a long time inside a room trying to brainstorm with a bunch of other creatives and leading to nowhere. Then, I sleep and usually, I'd dream about the solution. It has happened to me over than 40 times.
2. When i am TOO depressed. So depressed that I can't shower anymore or eat, after days locked in my room, laying on my bed and wishing for the worst. Usually, the best ideas came up in that situation.
oh, and of course, there is a normal way to ideas to come up: when you are 10 hours away from your final deadline....I always get so creative.
lini
2011-03-14 17:56:52

the view of the sunrise on the outskirt of the town.. and nothing to hear but the birds waking up..

and also the sea is a great inspiring view..
refaat
2011-03-30 14:41:00

Just a little while before i'm wake up!
Jamez
2011-03-30 14:52:00

When I'm cycling. Not right away, normally after my body has reacquainted itself with the pain and effort. I get a sudden moment of clarity. All my issues seem to reorder themselves and I get waves of creativity, some of which I remember by the time I reach the studio!
simon
2011-05-24 16:25:01

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