Taking Inspiration for Design

What does it mean to take inspiration from something? When designers meet their client and discuss all that the client wants in the project, how do designers go about inspiring design from the collection of ideas and data given by the client? Sometimes the inception of an idea just doesn’t happen. Most ideas have already been taken and sometimes designers struggle to bring out something new.
In the business world, time is money and projects have to be delivered on time. An idea has to be there while executing a project to give it a direction. Designers, when lacking ideas, turn to design galleries to find ideas. But there are a few problems with that approach. The most obvious is that when taking inspiration from similar mediums, there’s a fine line between inspiration and copying. Also, you tend to shut off your creative side a bit because you feed your brain something that hasn’t conceived on its own.
There are so many things designers could be turning to for inspiration outside of design galleries. Here are five different sources of inspirations that one could look at.
FASHION

The world of fashion has a long and varied artistic history. Trends change on a seasonal basis and often reflect the overall sentiment of culture at any given time. For example, in times of war or turmoil, feminine designs tend to become more popular to counterbalance all the perceived negativity. When there’s financial trouble, designs tend to be less over-the-top and many designers focus on more realistic designs. By contrast, in times of prosperity, designs tend to be very experimental and are more art pieces than functional clothing.
Taking inspiration from both modern and historical fashion can be a great way to infuse something new and fresh in designs. Magazines and Style blogs are a great way to take reference from while looking for fashion related inspirations. Looking at fashion in the city or town in which one lives is a great way to take inspiration. There plenty of fashion-forward residents in the neighborhood to take inspiration from.
ARCHITECTURE
The world of architecture and interior design holds a huge variety of potential sources of inspiration, and there’s likely an aesthetic style out there for every taste and every project. From vernacular architecture to modern styles and everything in between, there’s almost certainly an architectural style out there that can be adapted to a project.
The number of architectural styles is really astounding and one can take reference from any of the sources that deliver this information. Magazine, Design blogs and Architecture books are very popular sources to look into. The Real World also has so much to offer. Looking around will likely help identify a number of architectural structures not far from where one is. Looking at buildings around on a daily basis and taking their forms, shapes, details, and other defining characteristics to feed one’s inspiration is a great exercise to follow.
PHOTOGRAPHY
There are billions of photos online and one can access them whenever one requires a bit of inspiration. Looking at composition, color, and balance within an image can give inspiration to ideas. Also keeping in mind what the story behind the image is, would help think about how something similar could be applied to a design project. There are thousands of photo sites online. But that’s not the only place one can find photographic inspiration.
TRAVEL
Traveling to new places can be a great way to feel inspired again. Whether one takes a day’s trip, go away for a weekend or go on a week-long exotic vacation, a change of scenery can go a long way toward getting one’s creative juices flowing again. The experiences one get to feel can bring inspiration and certain elements can be identified that associates to that particular experience. These can then be incorporated into designs. Going to a place where one has never been before could help get a new experience. The mode of travel may be almost as important as the destination because travel is all about the experience.
THE NATURAL WORLD
The inspirational opportunities present in the natural world are unlimited and all around us. There are literally thousands, if not millions, of things to be inspired by around us and in our own backyards. Birds, trees, animals, bugs, the sky, mountains, valleys, deserts, rivers, lakes, the list could go on forever.
Taking a walk through a nearby park, garden, field, forest, or other natural space would be a good opportunity to observe and get inspired by looking at the shape and texture of things, the colors, the patterns, and anything else that catches one’s eye. If one takes time to look, they can certainly find something that they can apply to their projects.