Inspiration at 30,000 ft

This past month, I was blessed to be able to take a trip to my hometown in Memphis. I’m super grateful to have been able to go and visit family and friends, but I also got a chance to do the tourist “thing”. I had the opportunity to look at the city with fresh eyes and a new perspective. The entire trip was a learning experience for me. I grew as a person and as a graphic designer.

On the plane ride back, I sat next to one of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Her name was Debra. Now Debra had the unbeknownst task of keeping me calm because I was on the verge of having a panic attack from this particularly rough flight. After conversing for a while, she took out her tablet and started showing me all of these fantastic places she’s visited. Several photos were from where she lived. This one photo of the sunlight hitting some kind of organic structure caught my eye. At the time, I was working on a project that consisted of shade and I could not get it to look like I needed it to. Debra’s photo was exactly what I needed to see because I wanted my light to fall off of my design object similar to how it fell off in the picture. After that, I was inspired to go home with that new perspective and it was a success.

Every designer has some other designer they look to for inspiration. I say God is the greatest designer there ever was or will be. Why not enjoy what was given to us to take pleasure in? You don’t have to travel 4000 miles away from home like I did to know that design opportunities are all around us. I always thought Alaska was boring and drab. When I came back, I noticed how beautiful and peaceful it is here. With that, I encourage you to just get out and see what strikes an interest in you. Whether it be color or forms, take what you learn with you. You never know if your next outing will contribute to your next design project.