Never Run Out of Creative Design Ideas: How to Find Inspiration Without Copying
Updated: Aug 30
I sometimes get people asking me how I come up with so many ideas.
And the truth is, it’s just practice and experience.
Creativity isn’t just something you’re either born with or not.
It’s a muscle you can exercise.
Creativity is the combination of two disconnected things into a new whole. So, really, all you need is to have a vast mental library of random things to then connect together in new and interesting ways.
How do you build that mental library?
Through life experiences. Noticing the things around you. Observing what other creatives and marketers are doing. Even visiting nature or museums - if that’s what inspires you, like it does me - or finding what experiences inspire you.
But when it comes to gathering inspo online from other designs, how do you ensure you’re being creative and not just copying?
Below are some guidelines on how to properly gather inspo for your next project so you never run out of interesting ideas.
Logo Inspo
When gathering inspo for a logo (the logo/icon/wordmark itself, not just the overall brand vibe), it’s all in the details.
Look at the techniques each logo is using, such as:
Rotating an object symmetrically
Cutting off a corner
Overlapping shapes
Replacing a letter with a shape/icon/object
Pointing one corner while rounding the others
Combining letters through ligatures
Adding a shape within a letter’s negative space
Making a letter outlined
Monograms using a letter in your client’s name
Think about what message or attribute each technique or logo you see is conveying. That message might match perfectly with your client’s brand values. Such as:
Transformation or growth (shapes evolving during repetition)
Community or connection (circles, overlapping shapes)
Confidence (bold or tall and narrow fonts)
Child-friendly (rounded edges, muted or primary colors)
Healthy (organic shapes, green or brown colors)
Luxury or high-end (increased tracking, all caps, thin letters)
Now you can try out each of these on your client’s name to convey the message that makes sense for them.
Always try everything out even if it doesn’t make sense. Because when playing around designing, one idea leads to another, and to another, and another.
Keep playing, experimenting, and trying out new things. You never know where it might lead you.
My favorite sites to look for logo inspo:
Pinterest - search terms such as “letter N logos” or “confident logo design” referencing a specific attribute of your client rather than the industry so that you don’t get cliche designs for inspo
Behance
LogoLounge
Layout Inspo
When it comes to designing heavy layout like a newsletter, brochure, website, or even an ad or flyer, it’s all in the underlying structure.
A layout is essentially a grid of boxes - where the boxes represent the overall shape your text or image takes up.
When I was in college, we practiced layout by looking at brochures on Pinterest and sketching the underlying grid (because it was college, it was more like 20-30 grid sketches for homework 😆) to get a feel for seeing beyond the fonts and colors to the foundation. Those foundations are not unique.
Once you start noticing them you’ll realize that everyone is using similar structures - because they work.
When I’m starting design on a layout piece, I first sketch out rough outlines of the structures I’m going to try. I aim to sketch 2-3 options for every page/spread so that I have backups in case some ideas don’t work, and so that I know I explored every option.
Sometimes your first idea isn’t the best one, so it pays to keep thinking. This will also stretch and train your mind to strengthen your design and ideation skills.
For a website, I like to sketch the full page layout all the way down so that I can make sure the sections balance each other out: I don’t want layouts to repeat too close together. If one section is very full I try to make the next one emptier to give the reader breathing space.
(The same is true for print layout - you don’t want multiple spreads in a row to use the same layout structure. Layout is all about “theme and variation.” Stick to your branding theme, but vary up the layouts and color balance to keep the piece visually interesting and engaging.)
When looking for inspo focus on these details:
Hierarchy and overall structure
The way content is split up (columns, lists, rows, boxes/backgrounds, dividers, etc.)
Image placement
I will usually sketch the layout for the footer on an ad separately, trying to gather at least 4-5 ideas that fit the amount of content I have, because that section can easily get messy without a good structure
My favorite sites to look for layout inspo:
Pinterest - search terms such as “brochure layout design” or “high end brochure design”
Online Jewish publications - The Monsey View, Lakewood Shopper, etc.
Concept/Themes Inspo
This one is a biggie.
Coming up with a theme or concept for a full campaign is a difficult job.
And a fun one.
I would actually recommend NOT looking for inspo when starting to brainstorm.
First go through everything you know about the client and this campaign:
The Product / Service / Organization - what’s unique about it, why do/should people love it, what pain point does it solve, what keywords would you associate with it (so you can later search them up in an idiom dictionary or AI)
The Target Audience - what are their interests, what do they read, where do they frequent, what platforms are they on, what brands do they use, what’s trendy in their circles
The Campaign - what’s the goal for the campaign, what’s the main message you want people to take away
Have all of those elements laid out clearly before you?
Now try to combine them in interesting ways. This will give you direction and keep you grounded when you start looking for inspo elsewhere so you don’t get distracted by ideas that don’t make sense for this project.
Now you’re ready for brainstorming online inspo.
For themes, I usually search these places:
Pinterest - search more general terms like “creative marketing” or get more specific based on your ideas from the previous phase, such as “interactive tree installations” or “winter campaign design”
Unsplash or other unique stock photo sites with visually-interesting images are great at sparking ideas
Idiom dictionaries, puns, and wordplay. You can also prompt AI to generate some for you by inputting your project background from phase one so that it has enough data to work with.
I would avoid searching for inspo on Jewish sites if your target audience will be reading those as well. That way you don’t come up with ideas that are too similar to things your audience has already seen before.
Remember, when brainstorming - no idea is a bad idea. Everything gets saved, sketched, or written down. Only once you’re done brainstorming do you start whittling them down to the best options.
You can learn more about how to Steal Like an Artist in Austin Kleon’s classic book.
This article took you just 5 minutes to read, but it took me 2 hours and 30 minutes to put together. If you found it useful, please consider sharing it with others.
