It seems like at the worst possible time during a project, be it Graphic Design or illustration, you end up getting hit by a creative block. If you are working on a project for a client, or even if you’re just doing something for yourself, it can be frustrating, highly costly, and just plain annoying. What do you do when the creative well dries up and you start running out of ideas? Here is a list of places to go and things to do that will help you get your creativity flowing again. They have all saved me countless times and they might be able to help you out when you can’t afford to just sit around and wait for your creativity to come back…

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Read a book packed with new ideas

Most designers have already amassed their collection of technological books. However, not many of these directly address the problem of a creativity block. Here is a book that does just that.

# 1 Idea index – Jim Krause

This book has been invaluable to me. What I like about it is that it doesn’t directly help you solve your problem, it just helps you get rid of the creative block. There is an entire series of these books that are designed for a variety of different creative fields ranging from photography to web design. This one is my personal favorite because it works for most of the tough situations I run into.

Visit some new art and design centered websites

Taking the time to see what has worked for other people, even in other fields, can be really motivating. These websites can be really helpful as they are updated regularly and are usually filled with really well done art and design.

# 2 FFFFOUND!

ffffound constantly has fresh new art projects that don’t feel trendy or overplayed. I am constantly finding artwork that is really inspiring. The best part for me is seeing how people decide to push boundaries with different mediums.

# 3 Abduzeedo

Abduzeedo is filled with high quality ideas for graphic designers. They are continuously exploring photography, design, and typography. They also have a great daily inspiration post.

# 4 The Cool Hunter

The cool hunter is devoted to broadcasting things that are beautiful and amazing. Their about section boldly proclaims “the cool hunter celebrates creativity in all of its manifestations” and it definitely shows.

# 5 Start Drawing

A great source of top notch asian artists.

# 6 Drawn!

Drawn! is a collaborative blog for illustrators, artists, cartoonists, and anyone who likes to draw.

Use a new art technique

When books and websites fail you, try stepping away from your project completely and do something completely different for a while. Here is one of my favorites.

# 7 Play with ink

Splash ink all over a surface and move it around by blowing it with a straw. For added effect try experimenting with multiple colors.

Come back later for more help with your creativity

So that’s it for my first list of design inspiration. Hopefully you found something here that helped you out. I know this list is by no means complete so feel free to let me know where you get your inspiration from. Do you have any useful books to read, websites to visit, techniques to use, or places to go that you think should be on this list?

Creative inspiration for art and design projects