Just posted this over at my CreativeCox blog…

There are a ton of sites out there where you can find creative design inspiration. There are galleries galore, tutorials a-plenty, and freebies all around. But what happens when all of this inspiration fails to inspire you? What do you do when it all becomes monotonous and routine?

According to Niki Brown – you roll the chair away from the computer and get out! I wanted to pass along a link to her really inspiring post about getting out to get inspired. Real inspiration isn’t always found on a monitor, it’s found all around us…

Inspiration Is Everywhere – Just Get Off Your Computer

Now… I’m heading out…

My friend Jojo Toth, over at Mogdesign, has written an excellent post about “11 ways to get inspired” and has even included some feedback from some of what he calls “Rockstars” at the bottom of the post. Somehow, I made the list, and I didn’t even pay for it this time… Check it out!

11 Ways to Get Inspired – See What Best Designers Do

I love designing logos. Of all the creative tasks I take on, it’s the most fun and rewarding. I’ve learned to find inspiration in the work of others who are respected within the field, and who show an obvious knack for identity and branding. I’ve collected together some information and inspiration from six of my own logo design heroes.

Jeff Chadd | Cre8ive Solutions

Main Website: Cre8ive-Solutions.net
Twitter

You may not know Jeff. This is, in part, because he won’t blog. Why not? Because he’s extremely busy overseeing a team of creatives for a marketing company, but it was Jeff who inspired me to think about design and branding differently. Jeff gets to participate on the upper end of everything from structural display design to the creation and printing of circulars for some of America’s largest companies. He’s really one of the most inspiring guys I’ve ever been around.

Portfolio Samples…

Graham Smith | ImJustCreative

Main Website: ImJustCreative.com
FriendFeed
Twitter

As Graham’s site header puts it…

Graham is a ‘For Hire’ UK Freelance Logo & Brand Identity Designer. Over 20 years commercial experience in: Print Design, Branding, Identity, Typography & Photography

I first became familiar with Graham’s work via Twitter, where Graham regularly engages with people about the world of design, particularly in relation to typography. I’ve become an admirer of his work as well as of the resources he collects and provides for the design world.

Portfolio Samples…

The rest of Graham’s portfolio…

Jeff Fisher | LogoMotives

JFisherLogoMotives.com
Jeff’s Blog
Twitter
Facebook Fan Page

According to Jeff’s About page…

Jeff Fisher, author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands, is the Engineer of Creative Identity for Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. He has received nearly 600 regional, national and international design awards for his logo design efforts. His work is featured in over 100 books about logos, the design business, and small business marketing… His first book, The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success, was released in 2004. Fisher lives in Portland with his partner of 18 years, Ed Cunningham.

Jeff is inspiring and creative, but he’s also friendly. I’ve learned from Jeff via Facebook and Twitter, as well as perusing his books and design work. He’s been consulted by a lot of recognizable brands.

Portfolio Samples…

Jacob Cass | Just Creative Design

Main Website: JustCreativeDesign.com
LogoOftheDay.com
LogoDesignerBlog.com
Twitter

According to Jacob’s site,

I am self-employed as a graphic designer, specialising in the fields of corporate identity (logo) design, web design, print design and branding with the majority of my time spent designing and implementing marketing promotions for small businesses such as logos, websites, brochures, letterhead, business cards and more… I am 21 years old and I am in my 3rd year at Newcastle University studying Visual Communication (Majoring in Graphic Design) based in Newcastle, Sydney, Australia. Even though I am in my 3rd year at University I have had multitude of experience, gaining my first freelance design job at the age of 16. Since then I have never turned back…

Jacob seems, from a distance, to be an extremely hard worker. He’s one of those guys who just produces a ton of great stuff. He blogs, writes, and designs. He’s been featured in magazines I’ve read and interviewed oodles of times. And in the midst of it all, Jacob is very friendly, helpful, and encouraging.

Portfolio Samples…

View Jacob’s Online Portfolio

David Airey

DavidAirey.com
LogoDesignLove.com
Twitter

Who Is David?

My name’s David Airey, and I’m a self-employed graphic designer. I first became interested in design during my early teens, and started my formal design education in 1995. My college and university years took me from Northern Ireland to Scotland, and eventually to the USA. In 2003 I took up full-time employment as a designer in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, and in 2005 I launched my personal brand.

David’s work inspires be because there is a creative excellence to it. I surmise that he has high standards when it comes to what is defined as good design, and I think his own logo shows off this clean, sheen taste.

Portfolio Samples…

(David explains every logo in detail – click to see…)

View all of David’s portfolio

Want to nominate a hero of your own? Provide a link in the comments, but please don’t spam, don’t link to any spec-work sites, and don’t even think about linking to a “get your brand identity for $50″ sites.

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Nathan Sarlow at Cobalt Cow Creative had a pretty great idea for a blogging project. Allow logo designers to design logos for each other anonymously to see how they interpret the other designer’s vision and work. Nathan included 11 different designers in the project, including me. Below is how Trish Schaefer of Contemporary Native interpreted “eGrace Creative.” And definitely click here or on the image below to read the whole project post.

By the way, Trish’s brief (explanation) of her design is on the post too.

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Disclaimer: I’m not a photographer. I have great respect for those who have the amazing talent of spotting the right scene and capturing it with amazing style. I do, however, have a strange obsession with snapping photos of what I think would make a great photo, especially as textures and backgrounds for presentations and designs. So here are a few of the things I’ve snapped in my amateurish obsession, and my cheap 3.0 megapixel Sony (and 3 of them with my iphone!)…

By the way, on the (way) off chance you’d like to use something here (like the way I used the brick wall for this site’s background), go right ahead. No restrictions and no credits necessary (I say chuckling to myself).

My last post of 25 creatives to follow was a hit, and from the comments I learned of some others that I wanted to feature in another post, in addition to some more that I learn from often. Also, Someone pointed out that there were only a few ladies among the entire list, so I’m giving top spots and props in this post to some twomen (I made that twerm up).

I’ve tried to collect artists from various disciplines but most will be web and graphic designers. Enjoy.

@redheaddesign

@MadysonDesigns

@gracesmith

@creativecurio

@antonea

@KrisColvin

@katjrobertson

@iamtiff

@mistygirlph

@blellow

@bluewavemedia

@goffgrafix

@modbird

@abbyharenberg

@Mandy_Vavrinak

@thrivegraphics

@idesignstudios

And now for some creative dudes…

@iamkhayyam

@human3rror

@_enzo

@Farrhad

@patternhead

@chadengle

@robbmajor

@thedayafter

@mikeconaty

Those previous four were must includes in part because of the awesome work they do for other creatives via…

@dcth

@inspiks

@imjustcreative

@chriscoyier

@kristofcreative

@BCassidyDesign

@designosophy

@svgrob

@styletime

@benek

@BrandenSilva

@behoff

@deakaz

@snncore

@brianking

@davidairey

@cobaltcow

@brewern

Hey what do you know, I’m adding some more as I go, so it’s kind of 44+…

@straightalk

@delaneygates

If you got to the bottom of this list and were disappointed you weren’t on it, and you feel you ought to be, feel free to add your Twitter link in the profile (the whole thing, with the href and everything). I’ve had that feeling a time or two…, which reminds me, you can follow me personally as @brandonacox (my most active account), professionally as @egracecreative (fairly inactive), or even covertly as @creativecox (where I primarily observe the stream quietl

That’s right – great design work can sometimes be counterproductive to effective storytelling. Seth Godin addresses this point in his blog on The first question every web site designer must ask. His basic conclusion is that some organizations need for the public to stand in awe of the design, but some don’t. The design can distract people from the story. How do you feature the right stuff?

• Begin with the content in mind.
• Consider the end user at every turn.
• Focus on ease of navigation before style.
• Trust the client / organization when it comes to their story.
• Choose your style wisely: loud, elegant, clean, techie, etc.
• Strip the design down to that which is necessary to the brand story.
• Respond to user feedback, but get a large sampling before making major changes.

Your portfolio is actually the last of all factors to consider, so don’t fall to the temptation to use someone else’s project to feature your own genius. But don’t forget to entertain your inner genius either. Be great, but be humble.

The online reading habits of a designer often consists of inspirational design galleries, how-to articles, and free downloads. Occasionally, however, an article rises above them all and connects the ancient with the modern, the sophisticated with the simple. Such is the case with Design Pepper’s recent article, 6 Web Design Tips from Leonardo da Vinci. This is the kind of article that really inspires me. Check it out. (by the way, this was referred by @Minervity)

There are different approaches to using Twitter. Some just tweet their status, others try to use it for spammy purposes. My own favorite people to follow are those who pass on resources, and not necessarily their own resources. They are the creative types who retweet often when they find a great and useful link. Here are some of the Twitter users I’ve had the most fun following because they provide resources for others. They are creative givers, mostly designers and branding specialists…

Cristian Vasile

Minervity (Richard Darell)

Cameron Olivier

Mayhem Studios (Calvin Lee)

Michael Nobbs

Randy Jaegers (Just An Anomaly)

Lawrence Anderson

Jeremy James

Graham Smith

Adelle Charles

Creattica

Chris Taylor

Zion Eye Media

Amelie Husson

Jeff Andrews

Andy Sowards

Jhay Gamba

DEF Graphics

Frank Da Silva

Jeff Fisher‘

Brian Cray

Josh Hemsley

Amit Singh

Ahmed Naguib

Krum Nay

Plus… (shameless self-promotion)

Brandon Cox

And as for the comments, feel free to nominate, even yourself, but remember that I moderate – I’ll glance at the profile to make sure the person is a resource-providing creative and not just someone who tweets, “I’m going to take a shower.”

If you haven’t visited LogoPond, you should, and you should bookmark it and subscribe to their feed. This goes for potential clients too, so that you can understand why your logo designer doesn’t want a 3d rotating rainbow in your logo. Here are some of my recent favorites…

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Danny Kirk, Pastor of Lindsay Lane Baptist Church in Florissant, Missouri needed a graphic to represent his upcoming sermon series based on the seven letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor in the Revelation. I started with an image of a fragment of ancient Greek architecture, overlaid it with a transparent grunge image, placed the number “7″ around the title in various fonts, sizes, and transparencies, and added the sermon titles and series graphics. The idea is to build a bridge between first century Asia Minor and Florissant, Missouri today. Below is the powerpoint background.

Here is a link to the zip file containing both the series graphic and a powerpoint background in a layered png format. Feel free to use without attribution.

Click to Download (22.5mb)