i keep making very basic bland sites and i just feel very uninspired
could anyone post a link to any sites that showcase loads of cool sites:)
but, while we’re on the subject, why does everyone always look to other websites for inspiration?
this is one of the reasons why the web is so stagnant lately, because everyone runs around mimicking the work of others.
why not look to nature, philosophy, art, and literature for inspiration? try to capture the ideas that these mediums portray to you in your web design.
quoted from my good buddy josh davis, on the subject of inspiration:
You can’t get there by copying what you see on the web, however. I went to art school, and I realize much of art is taught this way: You are instructed to copy another picture or another method as a first step to finding you own artistic style.
But when I meet people who have great web sites, I always ask them where they came up with an idea for a particular kind of user interface. Ninety percent of the time they say, “Not on the Net.”
As I’ve said, I can get a lot of my own ideas from nature and the funny way things work in the real world. Good ideas for navigation can come from the way humans navigate the strange realities they live in. There are a lot of good sites out there, but we have to look beyond the Net if we want to create something that hasn’t been seen before.
i’ve tried to adapt this outlook in my design.
My opinion is that viewing other designer’s quality work may be one of the most inspiring thing for a “new” designer.
Let’s say when someone indeed does “mimic” other person’s work. It still takes time, effort and sweat to make it just like how they see it. I think, for a designer just getting started, it is a good thing to “mimic” one of their favourite site. When you’re new to designing most people don’t know where to start or what to do.
But if you have a site as a reference material, it’ll make it much easier to break-in to the designing field. As a person “mimics” someone else’s design, they start perceiving their own ideas and styles that can be used for their next project.
Like when I first saw 2advanced. It made me want to do something like that. That’s how I got into designing myself.
Of course nature,philosophy,art and literature are good sources of inspiration, but there should be no limit to what is a good source of not. You’re asking “why does everyone always look to other websites for inspiration?” If something inspires someone, you shouldn’t have to ask why… It just does. and that’s what matters…
You can’t get there by copying what you see on the web, however. I went to art school, and I realize much of art is taught this way: You are instructed to copy another picture or another method as a first step to finding you own artistic style.
But when I meet people who have great web sites, I always ask them where they came up with an idea for a particular kind of user interface. Ninety percent of the time they say, “Not on the Net.”
As I’ve said, I can get a lot of my own ideas from nature and the funny way things work in the real world. Good ideas for navigation can come from the way humans navigate the strange realities they live in. There are a lot of good sites out there, but we have to look beyond the Net if we want to create something that hasn’t been seen before.
A very inpiring quote.
Good post liam.
eny - what you said is true too, i was just bringing up that point.
and while it is good to learn off of someone else, stagnation will occur if everyone does this.
mix - the quote is from his book ‘flash to the core’ 
