Sources of Inspiration

One of the best things about being a home-based, single employee business is that all the usual corporate rules are out the window. I don't adhere to standard work hours and I am free to seek inspiration wherever I need to find it.

The routine of arriving at work at 8:00am and staying in the office until 5:00 (or later) with a measly hour in the middle for lunch is stifling. When that was my routine, I often found myself restless while solving a problem or brainstorming a new idea. One of the great tenets of creativity is to go seek the solution outside of the normal channels, outside of your area of expertise, from completely different industries or products. In my cubicle days, I often wished I could run from the building, jump in my car, and go browse the aisles of some retail establishment for ideas.

The local grocery store is chock full of innovative packaging solutions; low-cost, in odd shapes, and using a variety of materials. The local consumer electronics showroom is piled full of sheet metal parts mated to plastic parts, controls and displays, and well-designed edges of complex radii and blends. Places like The Container Store, IKEA, various hobby/craft materials outlets, office supply stores, hardware stores, and many others are not only ubiquitous in our densely urban landscape, they are like exposition halls full of successful product designs, where the admission is free and you can pick up and turn over every piece to decipher what some designer has done to solve a problem or achieve a look.

When I need the inspiration, I go find answers, and always come back energized and apply what I learn. It's another way to keep on top of the current trends in design and continually learn about what works.