Facebook Cookbook

Finding Inspiration

—Alistair Morton (see his bio in Contributors)

Problem

Sometimes it’s hard to find a source of inspiration. I don’t even know where to start looking!

Solution

Creativity isn’t a system that can be learned easily. I’ve been told it’s much like writing: the more you do it, the easier (and clearer) it gets. A great boss once told me that to be a good writer, you need to “flex” your writing muscles often. Creativity is much the same.

Discussion

Where you find elements of creativity will be quite different for different people. Let’s begin with your immediate surroundings, as they will hold the keys for you to begin to visualize and associate differently. An average person, during an average day, is bombarded with television ads, art, architecture, print ads, billboards, and the like. Design and creativity simply surround us, but most of us have built up a resistance to the constant onslaught and become partially (if not fully) immune. While marketing companies fight to keep your attention, our built-in defense systems can really begin to neutralize the effect of these messages. To find a creative edge, we simply need to figure out how to turn it back on.

For some, this is something as simple as a sketchbook or a camera. Others can take in a great deal of their surroundings and process the things that speak to their creativity with ease. For the rest of us, keeping a keen eye on seeing past the messages to what might speak to people’s interest is tougher, but it’s possible ...