Design Speaks Episode 133  – Chapter 4: Inspiration Part 2

BrandiSea: [00:00:00] Welcome to Design Speaks, the podcast that helps you discover uncommon inspiration so you can make more meaningful work. I’m Brandi Sea my cohost  is Julie Haider. Today we’ll be talking about part two on the strategy behind capturing and using your uncommon inspiration. Stay tuned for that coming up later in the show.

Hi. Hey, Hey, Hey, have you seen Moana? 

Julie: [00:00:35] No. 

BrandiSea: [00:00:35] Oh, you’re not going to get this joke then. It’s just going to go nowhere, but maybe people out there. 

Well, so there’s this chicken. There’s a chicken named, Heihei. 

Julie: [00:00:45] Ah. 

BrandiSea: [00:00:45] And I saw–I was looking–I was researching Disney shirts for our trip to Disney world, and this shirt that I saw had the picture of the chicken named Heihei. And it said, Hei girl Hei. I don’t know. Nevermind. It was lost on you. 

Julie: [00:01:00] Sorry. 

BrandiSea: [00:01:00] Sigh. So, this week I wanted to share my inspiration. Um, it’s actually been inspiring me for a few weeks. I think I posted it a little while ago, like, a couple of weeks ago on Instagram. But for new listeners, I love the Enneagram. For not new listeners, you know I love the Enneagram. 

So, um, I also have been following this really amazing photographer for a long time. Um, his name is Jeremy Cowart. I’m not really actually sure how to say his last name, but that’s not unusual. Um, I just hate last names. I’ll just say Jeremy. Be on a first name basis. He lives in Nashville, which is kind of like the heart of this whole Enneagram thing. And he recently launched this project called Enneagraph. So it’s, like, photograph and Enneagram mixed together. 

Julie: [00:01:50] Ooh, that sounds intriguing. 

BrandiSea: [00:01:52] It is. So it’s even cooler than you think. So, what he has done–so one of his, like, major things–I mean, all photographers, like, specialize in making sure that the lighting is right. You know, this is a photographer. 

But he is, like, he plays with light. Like, he’s–he’s an artist with the way he lights people in his studio. So what he did was in his study of the Enneagram, he came up with lighting styles for each Enneagram type.

Julie: [00:02:20] That’s so cool. 

BrandiSea: [00:02:21] So, like, if I wanted–I’m like, I so wanted this. I have a bunch of friends in Nashville, so I’m like, if I go to Nashville, I am going to save money so that I think I would have, like, my “3” photo shoot.

Julie: [00:02:32] Yeah. 

BrandiSea: [00:02:33] Um, so it’s really, really incredible how he lights people according to, kind of, like, the personalities of these types. 

Julie: [00:02:41] That’s so cool. 

BrandiSea: [00:02:42] So, that was really inspiring to me. Primarily because it just goes to show this idea. Um, we talked a lot about last week looking in different places for your inspiration. This was, like, the epitome of things that are completely different merging–

Julie: [00:02:59] Yeah. Something different.

BrandiSea: [00:03:00] –to make something only he could do. Not that anyone else couldn’t do it, but because he had this outlook, he’s like, “I’m great with light, I believe in the Enneagram, and I believe that light can show a person’s personality. And I believe that the Enneagram is part of someone’s personality.” And he put them together.

Julie: [00:03:18] Yeah. That’s so cool

BrandiSea: [00:03:19] And it’s, like, magical. And so, it was just, like, you know, if more people embraced this idea of merging different things–like, um, they always, you know, there’s, there’s this idea that, like, there’s nothing new under the sun. I would venture to say there’s never been a lighting technique for an Enneagram type until now.

Maybe not. Maybe it just wasn’t around when they did it. But I feel like there can be new things under the sun, but you have to merge old things– 

Julie: [00:03:53] yeah. 

BrandiSea: [00:03:53] –to come up with something new. So that was, like, so mind blowing and you, you’ve got to check him out. So it’s Jeremy Cowart. C-O-W-A-R-T. Um, and it’s ennagraph, just E-N-N-E-A-G-R-A-P-H.

And he’s been sharing so many cool photos and he, he’s been doing, like, in depth into, like, the person that comes in would be a 4– 

Julie: [00:04:15] I know he’s all about that 

BrandiSea: [00:04:16] –or whatever. So then it’s, like, all the details about this person and it’s just so cool. 

Julie: [00:04:20] I know, in the last episode, we were talking about, like, not following trends for the sake of being trendy. But I do think, and I was thinking about this after we had that conversation, taking something that’s relevant now in a different industry and merging it with what you have–like, that’s what he’s doing. Like, Enneagrams are a hot topic right now. And so, instead of just talking about Enneagrams like everybody else, he’s, like, I’m gonna emerge this with what I’m doing. With photography.

So I think that’s a really cool way of doing it. Like, taking something that has popped up in another industry that’s relevant and interesting and new, and then finding a really cool, crazy way of, like,  transforming it to whatever you’re working on. 

BrandiSea: [00:05:01] So we talked to Chris Heuertz , I think, Oh gosh, I think it’s maybe two years ago, now.

Enneagram expert, Chris Heuertz, he’s the author of The Sacred Enneagram. And when we were talking to him, I got, it got me thinking, like, what if I did, like, a word map–you know, the word map things that I do–of each Enneagram type and just see, like, some actions happen. Like, and it’s that same idea of, like, Oh, well these–you know, you would never in a million years put photography and the Enneagram next to each other, and not even word maps, maybe, or color theory or whatever.

But it’s–it’s, like, okay, so maybe there’s something really cool here, and I just, I was really inspired. 

Julie: [00:05:37] Yeah. That’s awesome. 

BrandiSea: [00:05:38] I was really inspired by that. 

Music: [00:05:43] No One Knows Us- Acoustic

BrandiSea: [00:06:11] That was “No One Knows Us” by BANNERS and Carly Paige. 

So, this song is inspiring to me in, sort of, an unusual way. I know it’s a relationship song, but for me, it’s more about the relationship I have with the world around me when I am trying to, sort of, be free. When I’m trying to interact with the world. Whether it’s capturing inspiration by laying down on the floor on my back looking straight up at something, or whether it’s crouching behind some weird area or climbing things, or even just wearing something. I feel like I have less of a apprehension of what people will think of me when I am where no one knows me.

There’s, there’s something that changes in my mindset when I think about, well, you know, I’m never going to see these people again, so what do I care if they see me taking pictures of what is possibly super weird and uninteresting to the average person, but is really cool and inspiring to me? I think that if you can really grasp that mindset while you’re traveling and, kind of, cultivate it there where no one does know you and bring that creative confidence back with you home where people do know you, it’s a really good exercise to keep yourself always changing and always growing. Because the more creative confidence we have, the better work we’ll make.

Part of something that I meant to talk about last week was, like, in finding inspiration, another little piece that I meant to talk about was how to actually, physically find it. Not just, like, being aware and looking around for it, but, like, how do you look for it? And a lot of these things you’ll recognize is, like, things that you do to get good photos.

It’s look up, look down, get low. 

Julie: [00:08:39] Yeah. 

BrandiSea: [00:08:40] Like, get really low. Get as low as you can to the ground. Um, get up high and look down at things. Um, you know, photographers all the time will, like, bring ladders. Or climb trees or rocks or whatever it is. Like, to get the right angle. 

Julie: [00:08:53] Get a different perspective. 

BrandiSea: [00:08:54] Yeah, exactly. And then, um, get really close to things too.

That’s something that they teach you when you’re first learning photography in school is, like, you can always tell an amateur photographer by how far away they are. 

Julie: [00:09:05] Right. And that they’re at eye level. 

BrandiSea: [00:09:07] It’s just right here and you’re, like, super far away. Like, as far away as you can get because you don’t want to be–make someone uncomfortable. 

Julie: [00:09:14] Right. 

BrandiSea: [00:09:14] You know, visit somewhere where you don’t care so much, like, what people think about what you’re doing. 

Julie: [00:09:19] Curiosity takes priority. 

BrandiSea: [00:09:21] Yeah. And it’s like, you know what? What if, what if I, like, got down so low with even your iPhone camera and, like, snapped this little dip in the pavement or something cause it might look really cool.

So yeah, that was just something that was a little bit more logistical and not just, like, being aware in your mind, but actually, like, physically changing your perspective will actually change your perspective on things. 

Julie: [00:09:44] Totally. 

So when you were talking about this Enneagraph thing, which sounds super, super cool, it kind of made me think; do we gain inspiration, look for inspiration, and process inspiration differently depending on our personality type or, like, our Enneagram type? Like, do you think that–cause we were talking so much last, um, episode about, your perspective of things–and so, where does your perspective come from? Does it come from, like, who you are and your personality?

Like, do 3’s look for inspiration a certain way? Do 7’s process inspiration in a certain way? Like, I don’t know. I’m super curious about this.

BrandiSea: [00:10:26] Man, we need to have Chris Heuertz on here again so we can ask him this. Um, I’m not sure I am really qualified to answer this question. I would say, ultimately I think that it’s almost, like, the nature versus nurture, like, thing. Like, are we are who we are because of how we were raised or because of like our genetics.

And I say yes. It is both.

Julie: [00:10:46] Exactly. 

BrandiSea: [00:10:48] So I would say of course, like, because the way I view the Enneagram is that it’s, it is not just a personality. It is, like, the core of who you are as a person. And so, of course, that’s going to affect how you see the world. And I think the fact that I recognize that not everybody sees the world the way I do is the reason that I’m even trying to teach this to people, because I know that you can be aware of the world around you and not be inspired by it. Or you can be inspired by things and not know what to do with it. And so, I do absolutely think that all of us, one, look at the world differently because 

Julie: [00:11:28] For sure.

BrandiSea: [00:11:29] Yeah, definitely. But that’s what’s so great about this, sort of, method is that we look at the world differently. 

Now, I don’t think that all 3’s see the world the way I do. I’m also a 3 wing 4, which adds this other level of complexity and that’s, like, more of, like, the artist. The more introspective, the more prone to be emotional about things or inspired and, like, that’s like–if I was a type 4. Type 4’s are, you know, caricatured at, sort of, like, the loaner with his notebook, writing poetry by the beach. You know, like Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo and Juliet. Like, that’s sort of what it is. But because I’m a 3 wing 4, 4’s also have, like, this intense desire to stand out. 

Julie: [00:12:12] Right. 

BrandiSea: [00:12:12] Um, which is also, like, where all this is coming from.

The fact that I look at the world the way I do, and that I have a desire to teach people how to make your work stand out, comes from inside of me being, like, the injustice of the design world is that no one stands out and I must fight it. And so, yeah, I think, I think that that would be a really interesting thing to talk about.

Julie: [00:12:33] Yeah. And I’m sure it wouldn’t be, like, you know, all 1’s always look at things this way. It would be more of a, like, they have a tendency to do this. But I also wonder, you know, if you put, like, one of every personality type in the same room, or at the same, like, location at a certain time, like, that they would maybe not just, like, see different things, but the reasons why they’re seeing the different things. Like you said, you’re okay with, like, getting on the ground to look at a different perspective. 

And I kinda think like, it takes a little bit of courage for me to do that because I’m an introvert and I don’t like to, like, stand out in that sort of way. So I might not even think to do that. Um, not–because I’m, like, I don’t care about inspiration, but because it’s like not part of my personality to be, like, Oh I’m the weirdo– 

BrandiSea: [00:13:22] Sure, I’ll just lay down and let everybody step all over me.  

Julie: [00:13:24] I’m the weirdo laying on the ground. Um, so yeah, that’s just the thought that I had that I think will be super interesting to, like, do a little bit of, um, I don’t know, testing on. 

BrandiSea: [00:13:32] I know. I’m gonna, I’m definitely gonna, like, send this upset to Chris Heuertz and be like, we can do a followup with our listeners if you have any insights or we can do, like, some scientific study. 

Julie: [00:13:43] Yes. We’ll be your test subjects 

BrandiSea: [00:13:46] That’s awesome. 

Julie: [00:13:48] Well, I’m really excited to hear what you have to say in this last part about uncommon inspiration. Um, to especially hear about, like, what to do once you have some inspiration.

Like, I was looking on Instagram yesterday and this, um, jewelry maker that I really love, uh, posted a picture of her studio that you can, like, come and buy stuff from. And I loved the way she decorated it. Um, but I was, like, okay, I’m inspired by this. But, like, how can I translate that into something that I do because I don’t have a jewelry shop and I don’t decorate shops. And it would be copying if I did. So, like, how can I take the things that I loved about what she did and translate them into the work that I’m doing. 

BrandiSea: [00:14:34] Okay, so now we get to talk about–well, I guess  it’s all fun– don’t say the fun stuff. But this whole thing is fun for me, if I’m being honest. So, uh, last time we talked about the uncommon inspiration stuff and being aware of it and finding it.

And today I want to talk about, sort of, the other half of this equation, which is capturing it and actually using it. I want to answer your ‘using it’ question now because you just asked it. Sort of. But got to go in order. 

So, so capturing it is, I don’t know, I feel like some of this is really obvious, but usually when I think it’s obvious, it’s inevitable that someone will go, Oh, I never thought of that.

Because what’s obvious to me, you know, just like we talked about, it’s probably not obvious to everybody. So, my number one way that I capture my inspiration is my iPhone. I have more folders than I care to count, and I take a ridiculous amount of photos. I think I’ve told you guys before, I took over 10,000 photos in Europe, and every time I go on a trip, if I get less than 500 photos, like, I must’ve been sleeping for a day or something. Like, something’s wrong. Because I also have this idea that, like, I don’t want to miss something. Maybe it’s, like, just ultimate FOMO. I’m not creative. Inspiration, FOMO. I’m going to miss something if I don’t take a picture of this entire thing. I wish I had photographic memory that would solve all my problems, but I use my camera and folders inside of my camera.

I have folders for specific things. So if I was–so for a little while, I was working on this album cover for Lawren, which I talked about a few episodes back. And I was–I had already worked through the process and knew that her colors were going to be, like, this lime-ish green and black primarily, but then also with, like, some bright neon yellows and neon reds.

And so, because I knew that these colors were going to be a thing, we went on this hike over to the ice caves in Banderas. And just, the nature of where we were, there was a ton of, like, moss on black rock and, like, white ice. And so it was, like, just these really natural combinations of these, this color scheme.

So I made–I took a bunch of photos and then when I got home I went back through my photos and, like, threw a bunch of that color scheme into a folder. So capturing, like, however you set–you might not be that hyper organized. I’m not always either. Half the time I’m, like, searching Banderas, New Mexico, cause I knew I took this one thing in the corner of this cave or something.

So, taking lots of pictures. There’s so many ways that, like, you can save them for free. So, like, Google photos gives you tons of space. If you don’t do full high-res you can have, like, unlimited storage. I pay a little bit extra to keep iCloud storage because that’s primarily what I use. You can use Dropbox. Like, you can dump them off your phone.

The idea is to, like, not worry, not have to worry about it. Cause it’s just, like, everyone always has their phones on them, 

Julie: [00:17:38] Yeah, it’s  always there, accessible. 

BrandiSea: [00:17:40] If I don’t–I’m like my kids are always like, like, it’s, like, my appendage. Which is funny cause, like, when we’re home and stuff, I’m not taking tons of pictures, but I do take pictures of the kids a lot too.

But just having it ready and being ready to take pictures on a whim. Like, the other thing is, if you are more, I would say artistic, I guess–I guess I’m artistic. I just don’t feel like I’m very, like, good at sketching really fast. Like, keep a sketchbook. 

Julie: [00:18:11] Yeah, that’s a great idea. 

BrandiSea: [00:18:11] I have–and that doesn’t even have to always be–depending on the kind of inspiration you’re capturing, and I’ll talk more about this in the using it phase.

I mean, it doesn’t always have to be like, an exact picture of something. Sometimes it can just be, like, saw this here and inspired me this way. So you can write, like, words. So I also have, like, an Evernote, or you can just use notes or whatever it is you take notes on your phone. Just, like, an ongoing inspirations board where I can just throw something on there so that I don’t forget about it later.

Especially if, like, maybe I don’t even have the opportunity to take a picture. And I just remember that thing, and so we sit down to dinner and I’m, like, okay, I’m going to type this in here. 

Julie: [00:18:50] That’s such a great idea. That’s something I was going to ask you about is, obviously being inspired visually is, like, a huge thing because we’re just visual creatures.

We love seeing things that look interesting. But what about, like, a feeling, a sound, a taste, a smell? Like, that sort of stuff. Like, how do you, um, record that so that you don’t totally forget it and you’re, like, Oh man, I had good inspiration, but I don’t quite remember, like, everything that was involved in it.

BrandiSea: [00:19:16] Yeah. So for, for things that are visual or auditory, I use my camera. So, if I can record– So, something that always takes me back to, like, New York and Paris is the sounds. Like, Paris has a very distinct sound about the city. And I knew that I was going to want to remember that. Not necessarily because it inspired me in any specific way, but just because it was something I knew that I would want to remember.

So I would just sit and, you know, just run the video or run a voice memo and then just write what it was. Sometimes just taking a voice memo, too, is good of yourself talking about something you see if it’s giving you a certain feeling, cause you can’t really document feelings. But you can, like, kind of talk through, like, I saw this thing and it made me feel this way.

And so, hearing your own voice talk about your own feelings is something that’s really helpful. If it’s, like, a smell or something about, like, you know, all your other senses, it’s harder to document. Again, just writing things down. Try it as best you can. Try and, like, put yourself in the place of, like, a novel writer, you know?

Julie: [00:20:27] Oh yeah. That’s great.

BrandiSea: [00:20:28] If I, if I were writing a book about this, how would I describe this to someone who’s not here? Cause it’s easy to go, Oh, if I just write these three words: green, soft, grass, like, I’ll totally get home and remember what I was talking about. You, you probably won’t. You will not. So putting yourself–and a lot, again, a lot of these literary devices, cause I love literature and I love writing, and a lot of this stuff really does coincide for me.

So sitting back and going, I had to describe this to my husband who doesn’t view things or he’s just not inspired the way I am. How would I expect to explain this to him if I was just talking to him about this grass that was, like, the most amazing grass in the world or whatever. So does that, does that help?

Julie: [00:21:10] Yeah, no, that’s great. 

BrandiSea: [00:21:11] The other thing is–uh, so, so Rae–I dunno if you know who Rae Dunn, R-A-E.

Julie: [00:21:17] Yes. 

BrandiSea: [00:21:17] So I got this book for Christmas a couple of years ago from Michelle that is basically her documenting her inspiration from Paris. And it’s basically, she took, uh, she took a little watercolor set with her and just basically did quick watercolor sketches of color palettes.

Julie: [00:21:38] That’s so cool.

BrandiSea: [00:21:39] And she thinks a lot like I do. She would, like, see pastries and go, like, Ooh, I liked that color combination. And just, like, put a picture of the, of the pastry that she took with her phone next to her sketchbook and, like, put the color palette down. So if you’re into stuff like that, that’s another way to do it.

If you’re quick at things, watercolor dries fast, so if you enjoy doing that–I think that I would be, me personally, I would be more distracted by making sure, like, my color was exactly right and, like, you lose all the inspiration. 

You can also sketch using an iPad. I generally use my iPad to use later, like, with the pictures I’ve already taken. And, like, sometimes what I’ll do, like, if it’s a specific thing, I’ll take a picture and then–I don’t know if this works on, on Android, you’d have to tell me. Well, I’m going to convert you someday.

On an iPhone–you probably can do this, you can do most things–you take a picture and then you can add text over it just over the photo directly. So if, like, it’s something really specific that I’m, like, if I take this picture, I’m not going to know what I was looking at right here. 

Put the text over it. Doesn’t have to look pretty, it just has to be something that you understand. Similar to, like, when you’re sketching and you do a thumbnail. Does it matter if it looks good?

As long as you know what it is. 

Julie: [00:22:55] Right. And will remember it later.

BrandiSea: [00:22:56] Like, this is just for you. So those are, those are some, some of the ways that you can capture things. I tend to use my camera, and folders, and note taking sort of things more than anything. 

Julie: [00:23:09] I have like 5,000 million billion, uh, screenshots on my phone of, like, things that I’ve seen. And I was just thinking the other day, I really need to organize these. Because I don’t go back and look at them. 

BrandiSea: [00:23:22] That’s like pinning on Pinterest. You just pin forever, but then you don’t go back to pinterest. 

Julie: [00:23:26] I lose, like, that inspiration opportunity. Um, and so I need to go in and make folders so that I will actually go back and look at them.

BrandiSea: [00:23:35] Yeah. And it does help to have a folder to throw it into. And I mean, I still do that because there’s, organizing takes so much time and sometimes it’s, like, all right, I’m just going to have to remember that I found something in this color scheme and this city somewhere. And then just spend a little time looking for it later.

But at least you know you have it. So. The point is to just make sure you’re capturing it because it’s not going to be any good if you’re just aware of it. And you just see it and that’s great and I’m happy that you’re aware of it. But then what? Like, you still have to grab it, hold onto it, and put it in your pocket.

So. The last little piece is, is, I don’t know, I could say all of these are the most important. But ultimately I would say this is the most important because if you don’t know what to do with it, you may as well be, you know? You’re Joe Schmo on the corner, like holding a cardboard sign just feeling inspired cause he’s not gonna do anything with that.

You know, maybe he will, I don’t know. No offense, Joe Schmoe. Um, basically, keeping these, keeping these lists of ideas is, like, the first step. Then thinking about what you will do with them and thinking about that in the moment. So for me, the thing that I find the most–um, and so here’s just, like, a little list of things that, like, you can, you can pull from, that’s, like, a simple list. And obviously you’re going to put you into these things eventually.

 Colors, or, like, a really good first exercise to start going out and trying to be aware of color schemes. So if you’re at a coffee shop, or if you’re at church, or at the mall, or anywhere that there is color, which is literally everywhere, just try and make yourself aware of the color scheme, and then try to think in your mind, okay, I really like this orange and pink on this mural.

But what can I do with that? And then go through your own list of either clients that you have that could, that this could work for, or maybe they, maybe you have, like, a list of, of ideas of things that you’ve been wanting to work on. Like, maybe you want to do a painting, but you don’t know what color scheme to use.

And all of  a sudden…you have a color scheme. Um, so colors are one thing. Like I said, I was looking, I was already, I already had in my mind this green, black, white thing going. And then I was able to find some in nature and see that, like, God as the ultimate designer put these colors together. So obviously they work. 

Julie: [00:25:56] Yeah. 

BrandiSea: [00:25:56] And so that’s, that’s also kind of, like, a fun exercise. It also, it’s also fun to look for colors and see things that, like, combinations that you might not have considered putting together. 

Julie: [00:26:07] Yeah. I feel like that happens a lot of times. You’re, like, Whoa, I wouldn’t have had these two together. Cause, like, on the color wheel it doesn’t make sense. But when you see it out, like, especially in nature, when it’s not even like a person put it together. You’re like, Whoa, these do go together. 

BrandiSea: [00:26:22] Yeah. And that’s, I think that’s the other thing too, is like, I don’t like to call it what I do with color, color theory.

Cause color theory is, very basically, mixing colors together to get another color. Or, you know, like you said, like, this is complimentary. This is, you know, those are obvious. Those are things that people all know. But color, psychology and color, you know, colorology is what I’ve started calling it. Cause I just always have to have my own name for things is, like, this whole, whole other level of, like, the feelings behind things.

The psychology, the subconscious meaning that we pull out of colors. And color combinations. And pink might mean this when it’s by itself, but it might mean this if it’s with orange, but it might be nice if it’s with white. And then if you butt two colors up against each other, they start to look like a different color just by being next to each other.

Julie: [00:27:18] So crazy. 

BrandiSea: [00:27:19] And so it’s, it’s like a whole other world. So, seeing that out in, like, use in the world is something that I really love capturing, is colors. 

Another thing that’s, that’s good is, like, textures. 

Julie: [00:27:30] I’ve been really inspired by textures lately.

BrandiSea: [00:27:32] Finding textures and, like particularly–I always find really interesting textures when I look at the ground that I’m standing on.

So, sometimes it’s, like, they just happened to need to fix this corner of the sidewalk, and so it’s, like, a different shade of gray. And maybe it’s a little bit, like, it has the texture of, like, the rake that they use to, like, flatten it out. But this other one doesn’t. And that’s how my mind works. It’s just, like, Oh, that’s really cool.

And then I have to think, okay, that’s really cool, but what can I use that on? Okay. I could put easily put that, like, as a background on a poster and, like, put part of the type on the dark part and part of the type on the light part. And so thinking through the really unusual things you find, but then actually asking yourself in that moment, what might I use this for?

And does that mean you’re going to use it? A lot of times, no, but there will be those times where you will need, like, a duo tone, gray background for something and then you go, I really liked the balance of, like, one third was this and two thirds was this on that picture I took of the sidewalk the other day.

Julie: [00:28:36] Yeah, like when you have that library, you just can always pull from it. 

BrandiSea: [00:28:40] Exactly, and I have said that it becomes your own, personal reference library instead of going on to whatever designspiration.com. Which is fine and there’s cool stuff to look at, but then it’s, like, okay, but that’s everybody else’s.

And if you have your own Rolodex–do people use Rolodexes anymore? Half our listeners probably don’t even know what a Rolodex is. Your own little–

Julie: [00:29:01] This is a fun idea. Get an old school Rolodex and start, like, actually, like, painting it or putting different textures. I don’t know. That would be so fun. Oh yeah. 

BrandiSea: [00:29:11] Okay. So what about a color Rolodex?

Julie: [00:29:13] Yeah.

BrandiSea: [00:29:14] Like, you can, you know, you can get, get pictures printed. Like, really tiny little squares. Have you seen those advertised? And you get, you can just, like, print all your pictures and little squares and put them in the Rolodex.

Julie: [00:29:23] Oh my gosh, this is such a fun idea. 

In college–so one of my design teachers, um, he like, sent us out to collect textures.

So we had to, like, make a visual, whatever. I don’t know.  It’s not a painting, it’s not a drawing, it’s a thing. A collage? I don’t know. 

We had to make that, like, we had to make a scene out of textures. So, we, like, took paper and rubbed over it with a pencil so that we were, like, collecting all these different textures. And then we had to, like, tear up the little pieces of paper and turn it into some sort of a scene. 

Um, and that, I dunno, that was kind of a hard project to actually do. But, like, collecting those textures makes you way more aware of things like that. So I feel like if you did want to be inspired, just like, go rub some paper on random things and see what it makes. 

BrandiSea: [00:30:13] Yeah. And even though we are, like, long past the days where it’s, like ,super cool to throw, like, a grunge texture over your design. 

Julie: [00:30:21] Oh, those were the days 

BrandiSea: [00:30:21] I know. Man. Just, like, grunge texture that thing. And it’s, all of a sudden, it’s, like, super rock and roll. Um, I mean, textures are always relevant.

Like, even if it’s a really subtle texture, something about adding texture to things makes it more human. And, you know, depending on the project that you’re doing, can make it more approachable and more interesting. So I love, I love that idea. The other things that are–these are both kind of related –s shadows and light can make really, really interesting things.

I love looking at shadows cast on, like, bridges on iron work. Like, shadows that are cast on the ground. I even love taking pictures of my own shadow sometimes, but it kind of creates this really eerie sort of creepy, weird thing. And I actually was inspired by that for a project. Cause I, I’ve always loved, like, just taking pictures of weird stuff.

But I had to do a poster for the Pagosa Springs theater company, and it was for this play called, I think it was The Pillow. It was The Pillow Man. And it was basically about this guy, this guy, killer that–I don’t remember exactly. This killer that, like, went after kids in their dreams or, I don’t remember exactly. But I had this–I had, sort of, this idea of, like, a kid standing in a doorway and his, the kid’s shadow being this long, weird, drawn out shadow of this guy.

Um, so it should be a kid’s shadow, but it’s his shadow. And so, I remember feeling, like, that inspiration. You know, knowing the story, knowing this concept, and looking back at my own ideas, it was, like, okay, this shadow thing has some, has some legs. So, um, those are just some, like, really practical ways to go out and find, find those things and how you use it really depends on what you’re working on.

Color is pretty easy to apply, but as you all know by now, you need to make sure to not just be inspired and think the color’s cool, and then take it into something. You need to look at the meaning behind all those colors, make sure it still works and all that stuff. But yeah, keeping lists and documenting is really important.

Another fun thing to do is, like, keep a list of your own ideas. Like, not necessarily these inspiration things, but if you’ve always wanted to make a band poster for, like, your favorite band or something. Make one and use some of these random inspiration things that you’re finding and put it together to make something just for fun, just to practice using this stuff.

How, how this inspiration thing works is going to ebb and flow into the process. Sometimes you’ll–like with the ink thing, sometimes you’ll just have something laying around and you won’t think about it until you have your concept. And sometimes it won’t apply to the concept as a shape, but maybe when you’re in the color phase of your process, you’ll think of a color thing that you saw.

So being aware while you’re working too. Not just when you’re searching for the inspiration, but being aware of that past inspiration. Yeah. Like is this circular? Being aware of what you were aware of really kind of helps. And if you can like figure out this process of incorporating this uncommon, common only to you, inspiration into your work, people are going to be, like, how in the world did you, like, where did you get that?

Julie: [00:33:55] Yeah, cause  they will. Cause your inspiration is so unique to you. 

Um, I have a question for you that I just have, kind of, thought about as we are talking and just knowing your process and everything. Have you ever done, like, so we were talking about taking, um, something that’s relevant currently from a very different industry than what you’re working in currently. Um, have you ever done, like, a word map kind of a thing to get, like, some–to find the connection between those two or, like, you know, the uh, what do they call it? Like, the six degrees of separation, or you try to connect things, like, I’m kind of thinking, like, a visual thing of that, of like, here’s, like, um, with Jeremy, like, here’s Enneagrams and here’s photography, and, like, let’s make a word map and then try to connect them somehow. Like, have you ever done something like that? 

BrandiSea: [00:34:44] I’ve never intentionally tried to connect things because I sort of feel like if you’re trying to connect two things, you will.

So whether they are supposed to be, like, work together or not, you can easily–especially through a word map process–meet somewhere along the way. It’s like the seven degrees or six degrees of Kevin Bacon thing. It’s, like, everyone is seven steps, seven steps away from Kevin Bacon. It’s sort of like, if you try hard enough to make something connect, it probably will. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it works.

So, so I usually, I usually just, you know, with the word map thing, I start with just the client as the center of the word map, not even the concept because the concept comes after that from the word map. So, when I’m, when I’m doing the word map, it almost always ends up working out that I will have some sort of connecting inspiration that comes out of things that I found in the word map.

So, if some of the visuals I found were–we’re just going to go back to the sidewalk, cause, why not? If some of the things that I found were grays, and texture, and shadows, maybe some of these things were things that came out of the word map is pertaining to this particular client job. Then I can go, then I’ll go, okay, I have something in that realm.

And go that way. Instead of going, I really want to use sidewalk textures, so I’m going to figure out how I can find, like– they will meet in here somewhere. If I do a word map that’s long enough, they’ll find each other. And that’s something that, that does sometimes happen inadvertently. It’s like, I already sort of, at this point in my career, there are definitely times where I can already see where this is going without doing the word map.

And so some–I’ve, I’ve found myself at times starting the word map over because I’m like, okay, I’m totally just directing this word map where I already have an idea to go. And that’s going against everything I believe in and I’m going to have to start over. Because this needs to be organic and it needs to come from a place of true wordsmithing, and letting this come from where it needs to and not just whatever I have in my head that’s already a preconceived notion that may or may not be the best execution for this client. I think that you can. And I think that word maps are incredible for all sorts of problem solving, and I think that, for certain things.

 Like, maybe for what you’re working on to try and find a meeting of some things. I think that a word map could be really useful for that, for the kind of thing that I do and for the kind of design style that I teach, um, which is obviously not photography for elopement weddings. I think that it needs to kind of stay true to using the map to lead to a certain place.

Julie: [00:37:33] Yeah. And that totally makes sense in that context, for sure. 

BrandiSea: [00:37:35] Yeah, so I was really excited. I think this is the first time I’ve really gone this deep into, like, the steps in how to use this uncommon inspiration thing. So I’m really excited that I was able to, to share that. And thanks for all your questions too.

I, I love that. I love your ideas. We’re going to definitely just, like, make a Rolodex. We’re going to bring back the Rolodex. Go to all the thrift stores and buy up all the old Rolodexes. 

Julie: [00:38:00] We’re going to make Rolodexes cool and new. 

BrandiSea: [00:38:04] The colordex. 

Julie: [00:38:06] Yes. 

BrandiSea: [00:38:06] I don’t know, but it can’t, it doesn’t have to just be color, I guess.

Julie: [00:38:09] Yeah. I think, like, textures and, I don’t know. I think that would just be so fun. How many little, like, things can you put in a Rolodex? I’ve never used one, so I don’t know.

BrandiSea: [00:38:20] I mean, they were–I used–I definitely had an address book. But I don’t know that I–my dad had a Rolodex cause he has a business, so. 

Julie: [00:38:27] Right. Yeah. When I was a kid I had an address book. It just had, like, three people in it. 

BrandiSea: [00:38:32] Well, I am a little older than you, so I, I used it. We’ve established, I’m old.

Again, that was, “No One Knows Us” by BANNERS and Carly Paige. You can find this song and all the inspiring music we share on our music from Design Speaks playlist on Spotify. 

All right, everybody, that’s our episode for today. If you’d like to support Design Speaks, you can do so by sharing this podcast with a friend or head over to our Patrion Page at patrion.com/designspeaks.

Design Speaks is produced by Kenneth Kniffin and Dakota Cook and me, Brandi Sea. Audio production by Kenneth Kniffin. Thanks to Colin from Vesperteen for our theme music. You  can find Vesperteen on Apple music and Spotify. Design Speaks is a project of Brandi Sea Designs. It is recorded and produced in the shadow of the watermelon pink, Sandia mountains near Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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 Thanks again for listening. Until next time.