Following daily rituals of observation using practical tools allows for a heightened ability to capture things that otherwise might have gone unnoticed. When those items are aggregated over weeks and months, new unseen patterns emerge. Creating a visual library based on new themes and topics allows for a rich pattern of inspiration. Instead of waiting for the inspired moment to come, these processes allow for someone to create their own unknown inspiration.
2. Hi, I’m Michael Surtees
Publish the blog Design Notes
Principal & Creative Director of Gesture Theory
Spends a lot of time designing products, iPad apps
and social analytic tools
@MICHAELSURTEES | RE:DESIGN/Inspire | 09.24.12 | 2
3. Insanity: doing the same
thing over and over again
and expecting different
results.
—Albert Einstein
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4. Becoming inspired is
not about waiting for
the moment but to be
actively seeking it.
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5. Creating an environment
that allows for unexpect-
ed results that otherwise
wouldn’t be possible.
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6. Listening to internal
dialog is a challenge.
It’s a trick balancing the
subconscious that makes
you think and the dialog
that makes you stop.
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7. Observing is a two
way street. There’s the
unknown ahead and the
past to learn from.
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68. From Copyranter: If you know the show,
you smile at the inside joke. If you don’t
know the show, you Google “March 25
and maybe you guess what it is or maybe
you think March 25th is National Commit
Suicide Day and you start the search for
the perfect building to throw yourself off
of. Or, if you see it in NYC, you think of the
Fallen Man.
http://copyranter.blogspot.com/2012/01/mad-men-season-5-teaser-poster-is.html
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72. #walkingtoworktoday still continues
today. It can be found on Twitter,
Instagram and Flickr and is open to
anyone that want to share an image
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73. Taking a couple other people’s
process into consideration
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74. Daily Drop Cap
http://www.dailydropcap.com
Starting in September of 2009, Jessica Hische posted a
new illustrative initial cap daily (or at least regularly)
• Started project after leaving her day job
• Inspired to keep motivated and on a schedule
• Wanted to do something physical because she’s
on the computer all day
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76. Art In The Age Presents... Jessica Hische
https://vimeo.com/13683523
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77. Average Noah Kalina (A PHOTO A DAY FOR 12.5 YEARS)
http://thanland.com/articles/average-noah-kalina
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78. Noah takes a photo of himself every day for 12.5 years
http://everyday.noahkalina.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iPPzXlMdi7o
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79. SVA Dot Dot Dot Lectures: Brendan Dawes (Bits & Pieces
http://vimeo.com/3449834
Drawing tool Line & dot tool News API feed
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82. What did they all have in common?
• Worked on making something every day
(or almost every day)
• They all used their daily routine as part of
their process to explore and experiment
• Shared their results online
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83. Exercise
Part 1. Take the next 15 minutes to
go outside and shoot things that
interest you at a consistent interval.
This might be shooting something
every thirty steps, maybe it’s every
45 seconds. The key is to place a time
constraint with shooting.
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84. Exercise
Part 2. Take a few minutes to go
through the photos. Did you notice
any patterns or repeated visual
elements that reoccured with what
you shot?
Looking at the images through a
timeline, what kind of narrative
comes through?
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85. Starting your own project
A lot of times we see things and feel the impact for the moment but we
don’t always document them.
• Write down things or experiences that recently occurred and made
you stop and think.
• How would you use technology or not, would it be a simple sketch,
write, shooting a photo everyday, perhaps make a video?
• Think about when you are in a zone to be creative (early morning
before you turn on the computer, later in the day after lunch, maybe
at night before bed)
• How much time can you set aside easily (5 minutes, an hour)
• Would you do this by yourself, could it be a group activity?
• How would you track progress, how would it be shared?
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86. Thanks!
Please feel free to say hi
Blog: DesignNotes.info
Email: michael@michaelsurtees.com
Twitter: @michaelsurtees
Instagram: MichaelSurtees
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/michaelsurtees
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