What Inspires You?

Where did the greats like Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Rembrandt draw their inspiration from? It's hard for me to imagine being that we live in the age of computers, where there are no limits to what we can find. Especially inside the design community where there is a huge playing field of resources available for all our inspirational needs.

But how much is too much?

Personally, I think we've already crossed that line and are now left to wade through all the muck. All of these inspirational blogs are only hindering us from creating something truly original.

Take a look at Shephard Fairey for example. He started out making "Andre the Giant Has A Posse" flyers and stickers. From there he took the stencil art world by storm. And we all remember his Obama campaign poster that gained him national (even global) attention. But how many rip-offs have we seen of his Obama poster? I'm not saying that it is wrong to be inspired by another artist. But I am saying that we shouldn't set the bar so low as to copy someone else's work and be proud of it.

Dare To Imagine

So is it so hard to imagine that maybe the classic artists, the greats, were able to paint, design and craft magnificent pieces of artwork without having to look at hundreds of others work? Maybe there's something to be learned from a life without computers. Where people actually interacted with one another and had discussions face-to-face instead of on facebook. That's why I love meeting up for a drink with friends to talk shop or finding local meetup groups that share my interest. Or even taking my dogs to the park for that matter. Just getting outside and communicating with other people is so refreshing.

We need to be more creative in the ways we get inspired. I don't want to compare myself to others whose work is amazing and feel like giving up. I'm sure the people behind those great pieces of art/design didn't make it just to make the rest of us jealous. But instead did it from a place of passion and wanting to push the envelope. And I bet if you talked with any of those designers that inspire you they would tell you to do work that is original and that you can be proud of.

I think true inspiration is a gift that's given to us. Some have called it a Muse, others have called it drugs, but I think it's the One who created us that imparts it to us.

---

Originally posted on WeAreJustCreative.com on February, 05 2009

Baptized Into Death

Please vote for my design on RedIsWhite.com.

A Little Background

Chris Wallace and I had been talking about doing a t-shirt design competition, and how fun it would be to stir up some trash talking. Originally we planned on having a week to get our designs ready, but we ended up only having a few days.

The rules were simple, design a t-shirt based around a verse out of the book of Romans. Any verse we wanted. Next was to upload the design to RedisWhite.com and give the people a week to vote. At the end of the week whoever claims the victory will have their shirt printed and sold on RiW, as well as the chance to place something on the losers site for a month.

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" - Romans 6:3

This verse stood out amongst all the rest because of the visual appeal it has. The cryptic way it defines our new life in Christ as death. It's saying that while we were alive (in our flesh) when we come to Jesus Christ we must die and then God will raise us back up again. Just look at the next two verses:

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." - Romans 6:4-5

I wanted to design the truth, not the obvious, so by placing the skull on the left it represents our flesh (death) and the face on the right represents the new life we have in Christ.

Simple Running

Forget what all the big shoe companies tell you, they're making promises they can't keep, and instead simplify the way you run while keeping a little more cash in your pocket. You don't need the new $150 pair of Nike's or [insert major shoe brand here] to help you run better, all you need are your feet and a path in front of you.

I'm a fan of minimalism and simple living, so it's only natural that once I heard about bare foot running my ears perked up. I heard about a story on NPR of this guy Chris McDougall who went to Mexico to study a tribe of Mexican Indians known as the Raramuri that have won 100 mile races with nothing more than a thin strip of leather tied to their feet. The more I read about this "barefooting" phenomena I am beginning to realize how much sense it makes. OF COURSE we should be running how God made us, with just the strength and endurance of our own feet.

Vibram FiveFingers

From that same interview on NPR I was reminded of the Vibram FiveFingers shoes. However, it wasn't the first time I had heard about them, my best friend got a pair for Christmas last year, at the time I laughed at him. But now it seems that he was on to something big.

Last Monday I went to register my wife and I for the 42nd annual Turkey Trot here in Dallas, and while at the shoe store I noticed they sold the Vibram shoes (if you can call them shoes). So after trying a pair on I knew these were what I wanted. Intrigued to simplify the way I run and to join the small group of "barefoot" runners, I made my purchase. The Vibram FiveFingers KSO series are beautifully simple.

My New Journey

Now since I've embraced minimal running, I am intrigued to get out there and meet other people who are interested and/or already doing it. I just signed up for an account on DailyMile to keep track of my running. If you're on there I'd love to connect with you.

Learn More

Here's a video of Christopher McDougall demonstrating and discussing the Tarahumara style of running.

Here's a review of the Vibram FiveFingers on WIRED.com

Wallace vs Steed

Wallace, I accept your challenge!

The Details

In this design-off, we will select a verse from the Bible from the book of Romans. Then based off each verse, we will each design a t-shirt concept for RedIsWhite.com. We will have one week to design our shirts and one week of voting to determine (me) the winner.

Smack Talk

Chris, we all know you're a great guy with a good heart, but let's face it, you still use a pc. Don't go thinking just cause you got yourself a fancy new iMac that changes anything, I know you're still running Windows 7 on it. Plus, I'm not so sure about that whole shower thing, when I came and visited you I only remember you taking a shower once, and I saw no evidence of deodorant.

In the immortal words of The Doors: "The Time To Hesitate is Through".

Magntize Your Life

Formerly known as Nectar, the guys behind Magnt are an incredible crew of web sophisticates (is that even a real word?). Apart from knowing them personally, just seeing the work that they produce is enough to make me admire them. If you're interested in learning more about the team behind Magnt you can read an old interview I did with them.

The Lowdown

Pretty much their slogan says it all, "Beautiful websites that introduce you to the world". But if you don't believe me, then let me show you how easy it is to get yourself set up online with Magnt.

Sign up for free in seconds

Seriously it takes no more than entering in your email address and a password to get set up with your free account. Magnt has really stripped the sign up process down to the bare essentials, all the while keeping is super sexy and intelligent (it will tell you if you enter in an invalid email address).

Tell the world who you are

This next six steps are all available to you at your leisure. If you want to skip all six, go ahead, nobody is forcing you to fill out anything in order to get to your site. But I think you might want some content so when people see the hot new magntized version of yourself, they can recognize you.

Also, I suggest you utilize the "Keywords" on the site. They are there to help you describe yourself in brief snippets. Save the more lengthy description for the "About Me" section. Have fun with them. Don't take yourself too seriously, unless you're a serious person then by all means go for it. And if you're not good with words, don't worry, they're one step ahead of you. Type in any word in the "Need a better word?" field and watch the magic happen.

And if none of that still doesn't impress you, then maybe the way they've built the admin interface to sit on top of your site so there is no load time between editing your site and viewing your site should. I don't think I can describe all the programming that went on to make this happen, but I'm in awe with how simple and beautiful they made the whole thing work.

Go Pro

With a Pro account for just $9/month whereby you get your own custom domain, email forwarding, RSS feed, premium themes, mobile version of your site and have a downloadable resume, this is the perfect solution for anyone in need of a central hub on the web.

In Review

To sum it up, I'd definitely have to put the release of Magntize in my top three list for awesome new web apps in 2009. From engaging users on a simple level and allowing them to edit content on the fly, to beautifully designed themes and how seamless everything works. Magnt has really stepped up their game. So go sign up now and introduce yourself to the world.

Go Play Canabalt

The Game

Maybe you've seen it, maybe you haven't, either way this new flash-based game from Adam Saltsman and Eric Johnson of Semi Secret Software is the definition of addicting. It makes me reminisce over the days of 8-bit graphics on my Nintendo.

Tips and Tricks

Tap quickly for a short, low jump; tap and hold for a long, high one.

Leap early, land early! This gives you more time to deal with obstacles and plan your next jump.

You blink. You die.

You can read the rest of tips and tricks over on the canabalting website.

Screenshots

Here are a few quick screen shots from the game.

In Review

My best performance to date is 4284 meters. Not to bad considering I just started playing last week. But I won't stop until I reach over 10,000 meters. Even then I think I'll still be hooked. But who can blame me? So if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch you can buy canabalt for $2.99, or if you're iPhoneless like me, you can just sit in front of your computer for hours on end clicking the night away.

Now stop reading and GO PLAY CANABALT!

Enjoy Your Work

We all have those days when we're not 100% - that was today for me. But what really counts in this life are the relationships we have and those who can lend an ear and an encouraging word. After an uplifting conversation I had with my friend Daniel (really more like a brother) I opened up the Bible to Ecclesiastes. I ran across an old verse I had underlined that really inspired me:

"So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?" - Ecclesiastes 3:22

Regardless of whether you are unhappy at your job, in between jobs, or out of a job, we should all enjoy the work which we can get/have, no matter how small or big the task.