7 Great Graphic Design Sources for Inspiration in 2021

Graphic designers do not have to worry about their future. There is a bunch of companies looking for people that will design logos, banners, and other promotional materials for them. However, it would be unfair to say everything in that industry is perfect. The competition is tough. That is probably the reason why around 40% of graphic designers quit after only two years.

There are multiple ways to succeed as a graphic designer. You primarily need to master different graphic design tools and practice a lot to become better than your competitors. On the other hand, you also need to use all the available advertising channels such as social media, a personal website, and others to reach your target audience. In the end, you need to make an impressive portfolio where you can represent your talents and skills.

However, what happens when you stay out of inspiration? Well, in that case, good marketing and portfolio won’t mean anything. You simply won’t know how to complete the job successfully and meet the requirements of your clients.

If you feel like a lack of inspiration is the problem you have, we prepared a list of useful tips that will help you solve your problem. There are a few great graphic design sources for inspiration. They will boost your creativity and let you impress your clients. Let’s find them out together!

Work of Other Designers

Okay, we need to be clear and specific here. There is a big difference between stealing someone else’s work and looking for inspiration. You must not copy/paste the creativity of others. Your goal would be to analyze their work, try to discover the reasons why they decided on specific designs. After that, you will easily find a solution to meet the requirements and expectations of your client.

Let’s imagine that you need to design a logo for an eCommerce shop. All business owners are looking for uniqueness to boost their brand identity. If you simply copy/paste the logo that some other graphic designer created for another eCommerce shop, there is a big chance your clients will be unsatisfied. That’s not a way to improve your reputation and work on your word-of-mouth marketing.

Explore the Latest Trends

You do not have to necessarily look for a portfolio of your competitors. Instead of that, all you have to do is to look for the websites of companies that have established a good reputation in a particular industry. There is probably a good reason why some of the strongest brands have decided to redesign their logo or any other promotional material in a specific way. Once again – upgrade the inspiration you see and adapt it to the needs of your client.

Check Out Magazines and Print Ads

This is not a modern source of inspiration at all. For a long time, magazines and print ads are an excellent source of inspiration for all graphic designers. They often come with some inspiring printed graphics that can boost your levels of creativity. Don’t hesitate to buy them as much as you can because they are all using different types of visuals. That is the only way to find the one that is matchable with your style.

Listen to What People Have to Say

Professional graphic designers are not the only ones that can serve as inspiration. You need to understand that your designs need to inspire average people that want to purchase a product or ask for a service. Because of that, talking with people and hearing their wishes, tastes, and desires is the best way to find inspiration.

For instance, if a couple of people tell you “the logo of this company is entertaining”, you should try to determine why exactly they have an opinion like that. On the other hand, before you start selling your services, you should publish your work somewhere (social media groups, websites, etc.) and ask people to share their opinion. It may be better to ask random people instead of talking with people that you love. Beloved ones often feel that you would feel offended if they say something negative about your designs.

Architecture Will Inspire You a Lot!

Have you ever heard about Tinker Hatfield? He is the president of the design at Nike, but he is also an architect. Believe it or not, the main source of inspiration for him was the Centre Pompidou in France. The artwork of Renzo Piano as well as the color mixture that he used inspired Tinker to make some incredible designs for the most popular sports shoes in the world.

The good news for you is that planet Earth is full of different architectural designs that you should visit. That is the reason why we recommend you use your savings to travel around the world and check out different historical buildings that can serve as an inspiration for your next job.

Library Isn’t Only for Readers

You do not always need to follow the latest trends. Libraries are places where you can find dozens of books, magazines, and newspapers from the past. Despite that, even if you are not a parent, going to a children’s book section may be a smart move. The books for the youngest generations are often full of incredible colors and illustrations that can serve as inspiration.

A good example of that is one of the most famous fashion brands in the world – Versace. Gianni Versace started to read books about Greek mythology. Then, he realized that Medusa is a symbol of power, beauty, and strength. That inspired him to design a logo that we see on every corner in today’s world.

Bonus: Be the Source of Inspiration for Others!

If you want to be inspired, you should serve as an inspiration as well! Whenever you get an idea of how a logo, banner, or anything else should look, share your work with other graphic designers. You can, for instance, start a personal blog and try to inspire someone else. If you are not a good writer, starting a blog may be a tough challenge. But there are always writing services that you can use to boost the textual content of your website. Just have in mind to read best essay writing service reviews before you decide on that. You have to be sure that a writer you hire is a true professional that won’t reduce the quality of your overall website.

This way, you will manage to get feedback from other people (their opinion matters!), but you will also make a small community of graphic designers that can inspire each other. Sharing your knowledge will pay off!

Final Thought

It is much better to take a break from work when a lack of inspiration occurs. This type of work requires a clear mind. If you feel like you can’t think of the most creative solutions, it is much better to go outside, visit a library, read magazines, or do whatever it takes to gain inspiration.

Author Bio

Nicole Garrison is an experienced writer that offers the best cheap essay writing service for many years. She worked with many graphic design companies that wanted to improve the quality of content on their website. Nicole quickly realized that graphic designers use specific methods to gain the necessary inspiration and deliver impeccable work.

6 Comments on “7 Great Graphic Design Sources for Inspiration in 2021

  1. Finally, I see some really good advice how to improve design skills! For the last couple years, I see only promotion of platforms that will design everything for you, just bring cash and wait for the result. It’s so weird, I can’t accept such approach of working. The design skills are extremely important for any person, even you are not planning to be a professional in it.

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