Pop Culture as inspiration...

I've said it before, but I don't think I quite hammered home the point enough, pop culture has always and will continue to be the main driving force behind the work I create. Until now I never really read books on graphic design, or studied it's history; I just knew I wanted to be someone responsible for designing a really cool poster, or a magazine cover. And the only inspiration I had at the time were television adverts, billboards, comics, books, magazines etc... all things linking back to pop culture. Design shapes and refines pop culture, and is instrumental in determining how we digest information. There is enormous power in that. But it's not just existing design that offers inspiration, it can be found in the most unexpected places.

Lana Del Rey

Music inspires everyone. Any profession demands at least a little creativity, and there's nothing better to get the creative juices flowing than music. As someone who works with music on full blast constantly, the stuff I listen to really sets the tone for the whole project; I pick the music I listen to carefully, I'll pair different briefs with music that fits they're proposed stylistic tone. For example, if I'm designing a leaflet for funeral home, bring on Lana Del Rey's Born to Die. If I'm creating posters for a candy shop, then it's sugary sweet top 40 pop. Interpreting music onto paper is a wonderful thing and a good way to get ideas out. It's 2am in the morning, your half asleep and you desperately need to wrap up a sketch book for a deadline the next day, getting a few water colours out and slabbing them onto paper to the beat of a good Enya track could deliver some pretty interesting outcomes.

Mulholland Drive

Watching movies is another useful technique. When your hit a creative block half way through a project, settling down to watch a movie might not sound like the most productive of activities; but it really helps. Simply because there's so much to absorb from them, no matter how bad the movie is. Think about it, the imagery, the colours, the way scenes are shot, music etc... even from looking at the technical perspective there's still a whole bunch of opportunity to think creatively and develop new or even existing ideas. In terms of concept a movies's plot, characters, central idea or even just a scene can always spark up some imagination. Especially if your involved emotionally, if a movie can make a feel something, or can provoke a reaction; that movie has just done a very important thing; it's not exactly what defines a "good" movie but it's powerful quality for any film (bad or good) to posses. The way we can get invested in good movies, shows me just how powerful they can be.

Cyberpunk 2077

Video Games might sound obscure but don't judge; they can do anything a movie can do, with one very big bonus. YOU are part of it. When you play a game, there's a real sense of immersion, you could be fighting of zombies in an abandoned noodle factory one minute (Resident Evil), to boarding and alien aircraft (Mass Effect) or driving around New York picking up prostitutes and beating up old ladies. These games offer avatars to live out fantasies, a concept that will continue development. When your given something like a sandbox game (a game where you can nagivate an open world) the player is being given a blank canvas, they are given the tools to do anything they want to do inside that game. That's a pretty powerful thing.