The creative industry is always changing, and with so many creative channels out there, it can be hard to know where to look for creative inspiration. Here’s our guide on where to source the creative inspiration you need! We’ve chosen to focus on images, design and music in this blog, but many of the sources we talk about are helpful for most types of creative content.
1. Images
As always, Google Images is a great starting-point when you’re looking for images. Just select the ‘Images’ tab in Google and type your search term into the search bar – Google pulls in content from loads of sources on the internet, so you’ll be sure to find pages of images to give you inspiration.
Instagram can be a really good tool for checking what’s trending at the moment, and what people across the world are uploading. Clicking on the ‘search’ icon will automatically bring up a selection of the most recently uploaded images that you can easily scroll through for inspiration. You can also type either a place name or search term into the search bar, and select either ‘Tags’ or ‘Places’.
Selecting ‘Places’ will bring up a list of locations related to your search term, and selecting ‘Tags’ will generate a list of related hashtags. Simply select an option from either list to explore Instagram’s collection of photos that have been tagged with your selected term.
Pinterest is another great option to find creative images around a particular topic. You can add one or more search terms into the search bar, and all images related to your term will be displayed. What’s great is that as you discover a photo you like, you can ‘Pin’ it and it will save the image in the ‘Pins’ tab in your account so you don’t have to search for it again.
Another really handy tool on Pinterest is the ‘Boards’ tab – boards are collections of images that relate to a certain topic. You can simply type in your search term, select ‘Boards’ and all the photo collections relating to your topic will appear. Whether you’re looking for nature, architecture or an inspiring background, there’s probably a board for it! Check out to find inspiration now!
Of course, one of the best ways to find inspiration is on stock image sites like 17³Ô¹ÏÔÚÏß, where you can use the search bar, image categories and filters to find the perfect image for you! What’s more, when you find the perfect image on 17³Ô¹ÏÔÚÏß, you can legally own the image in just a few clicks… Start your search now!
2. Music
With a continuous stream of emerging artists, there’s a lot of new music to discover (provided you venture away from your favourite playlist or radio station). Luckily for us, technology has prevailed and given us apps and music sites that let us find and listen to the music we want to hear.
Music libraries such as iTunes are great for finding music by the artists you know you love and those you don’t know yet. Apple Music lets you add your favourite artists and genres to your profile, which helps Apple provide suggestions of music you might like.
Online streaming sites such as Spotify and apps such as Deezer make it much easier to find music, anytime, anywhere. Spotify has created a number of ways for its users to discover new music, by using information based on user activity, including what songs you listen to, skip or play on repeat. The ‘Discover Weekly’ playlist is one of the great ways that Spotify introduces its users to new music, by sending them a playlist of around 30 songs that are tailored to the user.
takes you through four of the ways Spotify generates unique playlists for you!
3. Design
Design inspiration can come from just about anywhere, whether you want to look at the latest trends, need a new idea or want to make some new contacts in the design world.
There are plenty of design blogs out there, so something as simple as making a search on Google can give you lots of material to choose from. From web design to interior design, blog posts are a really good way to get inspired and keep up to date with the latest design trends, they’re updated regularly so there should be a stream of fresh content.
As it’s the beginning of the year, it’s a popular time for people to share articles and whitepapers that look back on design trends from 2015, as well as introducing some of the upcoming trends for 2016. Finding this content early on could give you the insight you need to prepare for the creative year!
As a creative person, it can be useful to network with other like-minded people. From using social media to attending networking events, surrounding yourself with other creative people will help to keep you inspired. This article from Creative Bloq gives .
Twitter is a useful tool, not only for keeping updated with the creative content being shared by those you’re following, but it’s also great for some informal networking with the creative community. Here are our top picks for social media pages every creative should follow!
Experiencing a bit of creative block?
Why not take a look at the twitter feed for some examples of creatives to follow? Â Or check out our blog post for some tips on surviving creative block.
For help with buying images online, have a look at these blogs:
How to buy images and stock photos online
Buying images for your small business