3 Extremely Useful and Interesting Websites for Creatives
Inspiration rarely comes from thin air; it is ignited and fuelled by drawing on a wealth of ideas and experiences. Whether you are attempting to write, draw, or brainstorm, there is nothing worse than staring at a blank piece of paper, and realising that your mind is just as empty as the page in front of you. So, whether you work in a creative industry or just have a passion for all things artistic or illuminating, check out these three useful and interesting websites to help stimulate your mind and spark your creativity…
What they say:
Taking its name from Thomas Edison’s famous quote that “genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration,” the 99% includes a daily web magazine, an annual conference, and the best-selling book “Making Ideas Happen.” Through articles, tips, videos, and events, we share best practices that help creative professionals move beyond idea generation into idea execution.
What we say:
Full of interesting and useful articles, from ’10 laws of productivity’ to ’10 books to Gift the Geeky Creative in your life’, the 99% has a whole host of articles that can help you in both your work and personal life. The articles cover areas such as procrastination, how to learn from mistakes, how to focus your attention and many more, so they are definitely worth browsing for useful tips and inspiration to kick-start you into action. Just make sure that you don’t get too absorbed in discovering the ultimate tips, or you may forget what you were meant to be accomplishing in the first place!
What they say:
HowStuffWorks […] is the award-winning source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works. […] In addition to comprehensive articles, our helpful graphics and informative videos walk you through every topic clearly, simply and objectively. Our premise is simple: Demystify the world and do it in a simple, clear-cut way that anyone can understand.
What we say:
Creativity and curiosity go hand in hand: the more you explore, the more fresh ideas you can have. Any new discovery can be a source of inspiration, so whether you want to know how your digital camera functions, find out how glassblowing works, or browse quotes about creativity, How Stuff Works contains articles covering a wide variety of topics from the everyday to the bizarre- so you are guaranteed to find something of interest! If you want to broaden your mind, or simply find an answer to some of those niggling life questions, then check it out and see where your ideas take you.
What they say:
CreativeFan is a creative media network focusing on providing the highest quality resources, articles, roundups, tutorials and inspiration for creative fields. CreativeFan posts daily updates in fields such as graphic design, web design, audio, music, video, computer graphics, and photography.
What we say:
The Creative Fan is a great site for both creative professionals browsing for inspiration, and creative people looking for help in areas such as Photoshop or business card design. The website contains an abundance of image collections and articles, and endless links to helpful tutorials. Inspiration articles, which include great posts such such as ‘40 killer Photoshop effects’ and ‘30 Amazing Portrait Photographs,’ are always interesting whether you are looking for something specific, or just generally browsing in search of great ideas or a muse for your own creativity.
If you are looking for particular inspiration on blogging or infographics, check out some of our previous blogs. Or, if you have your own sources of inspiration, please comment and share your favourite useful websites with the team! Keep watching this space for more posts on all things creative, enlightening and generally just quite interesting…