The leaves are turning a rusty shade of green and there’s very definitely a chill in the air which can only mean one thing: Autumn’s here. And so, after a summer of veritable freedom, we’re all heading back to our desks, ready to knuckle down and get creative as the autumnal evenings take hold and we try to find ways to make pumpkin a component part of every meal.
We felt we needed some motivation to embrace this change fully, so we turned to The Top 25 and asked them to inspire us with things they can’t live without in their creative lives at the moment. Here’s what they recommended, life-goals list at the ready....
Rory McLoughlin, Director
Interrotron interview set up
I really like to use the Interrotron interview set-up for direct-to-camera pieces. The subject looks at an image of the interviewer projected onto a two-way mirror and vice versa - like a teleprompter. This makes the interviewee feel much more comfortable as they get to make eye contact with the interviewer. This also means that they're making eye contact with the viewers which is much more powerful as they are being addressed directly. As a viewer, you can feel the emotions and are engaged more.
Here's an example where I used it recently:
Dan Lawrence, Designer
Podcasts
I like to listen to a podcast when I'm in the rough idea or crafting stage of a project - when I'm sketching or photoshopping for client presentations it somehow switches my brain into auto-pilot. I could be redrawing an ampersand for the fifth time whilst simultaneously listening to the how a lighthouse works or learning about Genghis Khan. I’ll be seen with my head tilted to the side, eyes continuously squinting, then slowly the design process comes together for me and I've not been over-thinking anything.
Here are some of my favourites: Stuff You Should Know, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, Planet Money, Radiolab and Serial.
James Burton, Graphic Designer
600mm Silverline Easy Angle Protractor
I’m purposely overlooking some of the more obvious choices of software/hardware/stationary which are just as (if not more) important to my work. This ruler was given to me as a present and it’s been sat on my desk for the past two years. It’s a cheap carpenter’s ruler and actually pretty impractical for most of the stuff I do, but it has come in handy on so many occasions and has sentimental value. It’s great for scalpel work when doing packaging mockups, or finding an angle. It’s a meter long when folded out but if you undo the screw it’s also two sturdy 30mm rulers. There are a multitude of better-suited instruments I could be using, but I’ve got use to adapting this ruler to my needs. It’s quite a hench piece of kit and not the easiest to lug around which means it’s impossible to misplace, it’s always right there on my desk, just when I need it.
Sharmelan Murugiah, Illustrator
Sketchbook & Pen
It’s the most obvious choice in an illustrator's life, but having a sketchbook and pen with you at all times is, and will always be, the most important thing that I could not live without. If you want to be a good illustrator there is only one bit of advice I would give and that’s to practice! Practicing drawing every day means you will get better over time. It’s important to produce drawings that may not be for anything specific like a paid project or a personal piece, but just for the hell of it.
I try and produce one hand-drawn illustration a day, either testing out an editorial idea that I have made up for myself, or just drawing things that come to mind. You never know when these illustrations may come back to you in projects that you will be paid for. I draw a lot of characters and when the time came earlier this month for a job that was paid, I was ready. One element of the job involved me drawing a crowd of people and so I had a lot of reference drawings to work from.
I do also work with a digital pen and tablet purely to make things quicker when working to tight deadlines but I will never forget to put physical pen to paper!
Karolina Sajetaité, Art Director
Duolingo & Luminosity
My back to school thing would be two apps that I have on my phone and use religiously every morning with my cup of tea, they’re Duolingo and Luminosity. Duolingo is an app for language learning - it helps me to improve my French, and Luminosity makes you exercise your brain by playing different games each day. It's such a good way to get thinking first thing in the morning and improves problem-solving skills which are crucial to design processes!
Katerina Radvanska, Interior Designer
Travelling
Nothing inspires more and gives power more than travelling. It makes your imagination grow so much wider when you see new places, meet new people and live in different environments. And the more deeply you can dive into a different culture, the better. Live in a tree-house somewhere in Asia with no English speaking people around for a month. Go to the Arab countries and ride a camel instead of driving - that's a great idea! Take your backpack and spend a couple of weeks in the mountains on your own, watching the best starry sky you've ever seen. What can be more inspiring? It's an amazing opportunity that our generation is able to work remotely and travel the world. So I take my camera, all my essentials (a couple of suitcases) and go for new adventures. This is my best tool of getting the limitless inspiration which we creatives need so much.
Jesse Boyce, Creative Lead
A clean start
When Creativepool asked me “what’s essential to my creative work?” I took the question with me to my first port of call on almost all new briefs and projects - the shower. The shower represents my in-tray. It’s where a mental filing system kicks in and the splash and hum oil the wheels of creativity. On a good day, that is. On those good days, seeds of ideas leave the bathroom with me, and I try to keep them at the front of mind. Then, as the train doors slide shut, it’s earphones on as I note those thoughts down on my phone and embellish on them a little. When I get to my desk, I write them up into something a little more coherent. And like most new briefs or projects, that’s how I answered Creativepool’s question today.