Are you looking for Inspiration?

"Inspiration is for Amateurs, professionals get up and go to work...

It is not about waiting for inspiration to strike, it's about showing up and getting started."

- Christoph Niemann

I was watching Abstract: The Art Of Design, and the above-quoted words by Niemann got me thinking quite deeply about our dependency on inspiration.

Being in a creative field, we need to pitch ideas, concepts, and solutions, and we do depend on inspiration to do that right? Well, after months of having conversations with my peers and professors, and an unbelievable amount of time that I have spent introspecting, I can confidently say that we do not have to depend on inspiration to come up with smashing ideas!

Let me break this down to make it easier for you -

You have a cool creative project to work on, and you're blanked out. What is the first thing you do? You go over on the internet and skim through a gazillion websites to get that one spark to create magic. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with searching for inspiration.

The problem with inspiration is that it is so random.

We hop on the internet and rely on sources that we are not even sure of. Thinking that you might get that unique magical click somewhere outside of your zone, leaves you browsing a thousand different websites and skimming through pages of random books.

Did it ever happen with you that you go over Pinterest in desperate need of inspiration, and five minutes later, you find yourself taking screenshots of that aesthetic coffeehouse?

And how many times have you lost two hours to a scroll on Instagram?

Now mostly, from what I have seen is that we seek inspiration in order to be "different" or "exceptionally unique". And once again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but have you guys observed that most people create content which is slobby, soulless and inappropriate?

If you are driven to solve a problem, then things like- where the idea sparks from or originates from become irrelevant. All that matters is whether that piece of idea works or not.

This is the attitude one should aim for.

Instead of going through the hassle of searching for inspiration and ideas, and going in a completely different path that does not serve the purpose of the project, if we find a sweet spot between studying the data provided to us including ideal clients, their pain points, their goals, and emotional triggers, and bringing our exploration and ideation process in sync with them, we can create a merry piece of content which speaks to the audience.

Clients don't ask for super spiced, gold plated content. All they need is a solution that works. And what ruins it is mixing a raw idea with tons of inspirations drawn from the web which hampers the natural creative process, snatches the context away, and creates an ugly slug of a piece, and nobody wants that.

As a creative person, get up close and cozy with the problem, draw them out, write it down, or sleep on it, but don't go astray by stepping into websites and glossy magazines. Keep the essence of originality intact throughout your ideation process.

Show up, draw an outline, and just start working. You will find ideas flowing in from everywhere! (It's tried and tested so you can blindly take a plunge here).

Are you still looking for inspiration?