Every finished project starts with an idea. Gathering inspiration and brainstorming are the first steps to developing a concept and creating visual communication. How do we get ideas? Where does our inspiration come from?

Perhaps a complete concept comes to us from something seen while walking down the street. The perfect color combination appears in a flower arrangement at a restaurant. A new shape jumps out at us from a scrap of paper found on the sidewalk. Listening to a song inspires a theme or particular words for a project.

In my little book, I focused on nine simple ways to generate ideas. This theme lent itself well to a scrapbook-style book. Using photos, journal entries, letters and scraps from a trip to Southwest Asia, I created collages illustrating how new ideas can be formed. Being observant and seeing art in our surroundings helps trigger our minds-connecting what influences us to the art we produce.

Naomi Murphy
Designer