In my online travels this week I have come across a site or two I wish to share with you. I was struggling with a site design and visited the usual CSS galleries we all know and love for some inspiration, but that was not where I found it. In my despair I started visiting random sites, in the hope of something setting off a spark and inspiring me. Then I came across two sites, each unique in there own way and I had my inspiration!

The first of these was Multiplayer Bingo

On first impressions its not a ’stunning’ site, but it was the colours that grabbed me. The bright pink’s and blue’s could be blinding, but the beige eases the eyes and in all they compliment each other well. Online Bingo is not my thing at all, but attention is drawn to the important areas of the site through the use of these colours and tempts you to give it a try and sign up. (although I didn’t, bingo is just not my thing!)

Another site which grabbed me was edubook.com

I love the colour scheme and layout on this site. Personally I think it looks awesome but then I have always been a fan of orange and black layouts! Every detail on this site has also been carefully planned. Articles are well layed out, you can easily get to a category you require such as SEO resources or the Internet marketing articles, and they are well presented.

Just from exploring random websites I was starting to notice that you can be experimental with colour schemes, go out on a whim and use bright colours but use them in an effective way. They have not been overused on either site, but they are dominant and do their job: draw your attention and inflame your curiosity of the site!

There are alot of great resources for finding colour scemes, wether it be css galleries, other sites or colour matchers etc. But why use those? Why not be experimental, splash some bright colours over a site but think about how effective they will be, and are they drawing attention to the correct areas?

Well, enough of me waffling on, i’m going to go experiment with colours!

Spill your thoughts below and if you find anything cool, share the love!

Jason

The set includes over 480 photos of some of the most truly imaginative business cards. All of them are utterly creative, but some of them cross that line where creativity comes at the expense of functionality. Here are a few examples:

Personally I give all of these maximum points for originality, but if the objective is get your name remembered I’m not convinced these will have the lasting effect of a more conventional business card.

How creative should a creative professional be?

Are any of the above business cards good or bad designs? How important is originality to a creative professional’s card? Is there a danger of being overly unorthodox?

Dave Devrie strives to answer that question on his website, The Monster Engine. However, there is more to Dave’s work than simply satisfying curiosity.

Dave gives workshops in schools to help children express their fears and anxieties through drawing monsters. Dave’s sessions help children who may be going through divorce or having other troubles to tell their stories through the power of art, and ultimately help control their demons.

Here’s a few examples of Dave’s work:

I think these are fantastic, and what’s more they offer a fascinating glimpse at the power of a child’s imagination and creativity. Next time you’re struggling with ideas for that new logo design, why not go grab your daughter or nephew to help throw a few ideas around?

Head over to Dave’s website for more examples of his work. Much credit to Marc Rapp for pointing me in the direction of this one.

Yet, all to often, when I sit down to brainstorm project ideas or think of topics for my blog, my brain doesn’t want to play ball. All I remember about my thoughts and ideas is that they were brilliant, once. But now they’re gone and I’m starting from scratch. How irritating.

So yesterday, I popped into town and searched for an A6 notebook. After concluding that masculine people clearly don’t buy notebooks, I bought this.

The notebook will fit in my pocket and be on my body at all times. Any creative seeds that pop in to my head – be it thoughts, ideas, quotes from reading, things that I see or hear – will be scribbled down for a time when they might be useful. So now I’m making a mental note to write more notes.

How do you record inspiration?

Whether you’re a designer, an artist, a musician or a blogger, capturing inspiration is key to your life. How do you do it? What tools and methods are your stock-in-trade when it comes to capturing those random ideas?