Some inspiration -- don't freak out!

All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work … It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions … It’s gonna take awhile … You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

-Ira Glass

http://quotesondesign.com/ira-glass-2/

When in Doubt, I Use Metaphors

I guess the title of my post sums of the gist of my creative process. I could go on and on about research, looking at different examples, looking at peer's work, and on and on. But, at the end of the day, my interpretation or approach to a project begins from a metaphorical viewpoint. How can I convey the idea indirectly, but in a relevant manner. How can I hint at but still keep the major theme at the forefront. I think this is at the heart of my creative process.

For this reason, I love illustration and fine art. Great illustration is riddled with double and triple meanings, and I love pulling ideas and concepts out of an illustration. One of my fav new finds is the 3X3 Illustration Annual....a showcase of illusrations by current professionals and student. It is so so so rich in concept, that I cannot help but be inspired.

I'm also a BIG believer in staying current and relevant by reading the trendiest new magazine. Esquire and GQ for me are the epitome of ultra-cool, that translate well to men and women. Nylon in likewise another great one. Creatively, I draw from the typographic elements and folio elements. Nylon in particular using hand-drawn type treatments in their folio elements that are quite lovely. Check out this cover of Esquire with Daniel Craig. It actually was printed exactly as is, and was absolutely gorgeous! And totally conceptual!

And when all else fails, and I am panicked, I turn to children's books. Somehow, they are some of the most clever sources of design inspiration for me. Probably because the distill the idea to the essence in the most unnoticeable of ways. Curious George is always a good choice. But so are stories like Babar the Elephant, Goodnight Moon, and Where the Wild Things Are... a few of my faves.

Creative Process (or lack thereof).

I thought about this for a while, and I couldn't peg one. The closest I could come was what I'll refer to the Denoument Method.

I'll get my assignment, get all excited, start researching. I will look at AIGA, Google results, get an idea, excecute it. I tend to go with the imagery first, then I crawl my way to a place where I am comfortable with the text. Text is a BIG challenge for me, and I suspect it will always be.

It looks like crap. I have a critique that I take too hard ( of course).  I have a panic attack about how I'll NEVER figure it out (this is the Denoument, or the height of my process), and then I calm down, and bang out an idea I didn't even know whats in my head. Naturally, having the panic attack is the key to unlocking my creativity. The process is far too emotional, and extremely stressful for me. I feel an ulcer coming on, and I may or may not need a drink just THINKING about it.

Anyways, Here are some covers I think are lovely.

My Creative Process

Initially, my approach to designing a book cover is always literally tied to the title. My mind, unfortunately, just works that way, but I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing. To me, it's just getting those ideas out of my system. Then, I begin to really think outside of the box. Knowing the content definitely helps with ideas of where I can go. Sketching then comes into play, and the result is a bunch different scenarios that could work. Most of the time, I just combine different elements of different sketches until I get the idea that works best.

Researching cool book covers is always interesting to me because I think about what could have possibly motivated the designer to settle with their ideas. I know in my case, I would probably never initially come up with a crazy, conceptual cover. It would definitely take time to mold my ideas until I get what I think works best.

Creative Process

Great question, Brandi.

For more creative projects, my process usually begins with word association. When I think of this book/assignment/article/image, what does it make me think of? I write all of the words down then consider what sort of mood I want the finished piece to have. I try to figure out which word associations go best with the mood I want and try to come up with a design from there. Then, I sketch. I don't draw well at all, but I like to give myself a sense of what the layout will be, where the text will go, etc.

I've browsed a lot of book covers since the start of this class and I have to say, it doesn't always help. When it comes to looking at book covers, I feel like there are only horrific examples or award-winning, breathtakingly clever examples. I love looking at all of the amazing book cover designs out there, but man, they set the bar high.

Here a few from my inspiration folder that I like for their images, typography and overall concepts:

Inspiration & Process

This week's question:

Where do you draw your inspiration? What is the process? And please post 3 creatively designed book covers and why you chose them.

Perhaps it's because I work in marketing/communications, but the very first thing I do in my "creative process" is to identify my audience and how they will be interacting with my design piece.

• Are they young, old, female, male, where do they live? 

• What colors, shapes, or symbols have particular meaning (or unintentional meaning) for this particular subset of the population? 

• Where will they see this piece and how long do I have to get their attention with it? (e.g. is it a billboard? a magazine cover? an ad? a book cover?)

The second thing (and equally as important) is to familiarize myself with my design piece, or "client." For example, reading the articles/books you are laying out, or, at the very least, reading a detailed synopsis and read about the author. If you're designing for a company, or a group of people, be familiar with their history, their mission, what is important, and what they are trying to accomplish.

Know your competition. What will my design piece be competing with? How do I make it stand out? Ensuring that your design piece doesn't end up looking like a poor copy of your client's rival, or perhaps it resembles a rival design that conjures up the wrong message.

Get out all of your ideas, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and develop them as far as they will go... and then let them go. It doesn't mean that this isn't an awesome idea, it just doesn't fit this particular project. Know when to throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Don't be afraid to ask people their opinion -- Facebook is great for this. Someone might point out a hidden meaning in your design that didn't even occur to you. "Um, yea this is great, but did you realize that the negative space on your design looks like a huge penis?" You'd of never known if you didn't ask!

It's ok to copy, er um, borrow. There is nothing new under the sun. In design, we "borrow" from other designers. It is what it is. Don't outright plagiarize, and always makes your design unique and different, but definitely draw your inspiration from other designers.

RESIST ALL URGES TO DECORATE. It's hard...but as Amy says, if there isn't a reason for it, don't do it.

I haven't read this series of books, but I'm in love with the design for several reasons -- the colorful color palette, the consistency of "Will Self's name" -- the playful typgraphy used for the titles, and how the titles interact with the limited graphics. http://will-self.com/category/books

Cree -aye- Tiv- Vi-Tee (Creativity) + Cover Design

So I've been struggling trying to come up with a topic for this week's blog discussion. Similarly I've also had a tough time coming up with creative design concepts for book covers. In my opinion it's a lot easier designing a magazine, flyer or newsletter layout. Magazine layouts can combine so many other elements -so in my opinion you don't have to settle on one strict concept. Books have to rely heavily on the cover to bait the audience and provide insight without revealing the entire story. Ahhhhhh THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT!

A designer looking to design a cover has to chose from so many different elements:
typography vs images
photos vs illustrations
color vs black & white
conceptual vs literal
contemporary vs….. well I don't quite know what the opposite would be

So, this week I would like us to discuss our creative designing methods. Where do you draw your inspiration? What is the process? And please post 3 creatively designed book covers and why you chose them.

My three are…


Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli
Very simple, bold color, basic yet eye-catching illustration


John Dies @ the End by David Wong
Gross concept, very literal, but memorable


Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me by various contributors
Conceptual, muted colors, but memorable (I would have never thought to create a cover like this one)

Here are a few others I thought were cool!



How To Speak At Public Events

I just did a google search for creative book covers and came across this blog http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/creative-book-cover-story/

The Secret

The Secret, a widely popular self-help book from 2006 is based on the law of attraction and claims that positive thinking can create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness.

I agree with the premise of visualization and focusing on goals to make them happen. However, there are some things about The Secret that I don't agree with; specifically the belief that you attract and cause all the bad things that happen to you.

Most of the people that I have known have always said they were never expecting or thinking about the negative things that happened to them.

Unfortunately, the mindset The Secret promotes may make people stop helping others or having compassion for others because they think that the other person's mindset must have caused whatever bad has happened them.

Instead, I think people should apply The Secret's principles with a worldview and appropriate action.

Self-Help for a Middle Child? Why Not?

First of all, let me tell you why I enjoyed this week's post: Crystal's comment that " "self help" genre of books have never really caught my interest, simply because I am perfect..." I die!

But back to business, on the topic of self-help books that drew me in.....I have to admit I had the hardest time thinking of anything to post. Truly because I have never read any self-help books.

But if I had to, I think I would look into self-help books to help me deal with the relationships between me and my 4 other siblings, and my nagging middle child sensibilities. I did a quick Amazon search and came across these 2 that jumped out at me.The second one in particular is quite funny to me...how clever to use a classical statue and adapt it conceptually to this subject matter.

Personally, at the end of the day, I think I would have a better therapy session by browsing the labels of Middle Sister Wine bottles. But I (begrudginly) accept there is something to these books, after all they keep making them, and people keep buying them.

Ok I Spoke Too Soon!

I picked up this book in Barnes & Noble last week. Don't judge me...it was on sale. There's not much text, maybe 10 pages worth. The book is about 300 pages long. What I like most is that you are the author and creator of content. You can simply list the situations that always make you cry, or the ways you have changed for the better, or even the idiotic things you have done for love. I prefer this method because it's no one coaching me on how to live my life. I simply chronicle my thoughts and feelings according to the list topic all while further discovering more about myself. It may sound lame to you guys, but this is the self help I'm open to receiving.

Self Help: Power and Seduction

I'm not sure if these books qualify as "self help" but I've heard so many people reference 48 Laws of Power. I've heard it's a pretty good source for learning how to deal with people and do business. I'm not necessarily a fan of self help books but if something will help me to better deal with the people I work with…bring it! I kinda chuckled when I saw, "From the author of 48 Laws of Power comes The Art of Seduction." Not only do we need help learning how to be powerful, but we also need help learning how to be seductive.

Self Help book that changed my mind about self help books

Until recently, I was firmly in the camp that disparagingly referred to self-help books as complete and utter bullshit. And I flat out refused to read something if it made Oprah's booklist. Then my Mom and my sister kept harping on me to give this one book a chance and I resisted at first. They kept telling me anecdotal stories, advice, how it had helped them, and little by little, like squirrel furtively grabbing an acorn from an outstretched hand, I finally read the book, and I read it again, and again, and again.

It's Eckhard Tolle's   "The Power of Now."

It's changed the way I live my life. It's hard to sum up this book in a nutshell but I'll try. It's basically a summary of many different threads of Eastern cultures: (think "A Course in Miracles" or Buddhism, Yoga)

1) Live in the present. There is no past, there is not future, only the now. (obvious, there are some practical issues to adhering to this strictly, but you get the idea) Don't obsess over that which you can't change (past) and that which you have no control over (future).
2) Stop negative energy cycles, they serve no purpose. (don't get sucked in to drama, gossip, petty arguments, road rage, etc)
3) Everything is connected.
4) Turn off your brain. (again, there are a few practicality issues here but don't obsess over that which you can't control)

This summary is a great oversimplification, but for someone who is a recovering control freak, this was like a total awakening!

The book certainly has its issues, it's a bit repetitive and some of the advice causes dangerous eye rolling, but I like the overall message and its completely non-denominational. I've only read the Power of Now, I haven't read any other ones yet.

Self-Help Titles

Even though self-help books are 90% poppycock, I've definitely read a few. Even worse, the majority were diet-related (for shame!). What always astounds me about self-help books are their titles. Overly encouraging, pitying, sappy, just plain mean - self-help books run the gamut. Here are the titles of some I've read and some I discovered online:

• Have a New You by Friday
• Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man
• You Can Create An Exceptional Life
• This Is Why You're Fat
• and my personal favorites: Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a SmartMouth Goddess and You Say I'm a Bitch Like It's a Bad Thing

Help Your Own Self

Seriously, I think self help books are 90% poppycock. While I know there are a few books that can be helpful, I think that most of them are published editions of the "shit i should already know" type of information. I think its easier for people to seek help outside of themselves (nothing wrong with that), and so these books don't teach you anything NEW, they just remind you of what you could already be doing.

This, for example, is a book that could probably help with some stuff if you happen to be someone who is in the process of embracing minimalism (i.e., ME).

 This one is more fluff (Sorry, Bethenny).

Self Help Books!

So, I was having a little difficulty selecting a topic for this post. I just happened to come across a book my mom gave me when I was 15 years old called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. I don't think I ever read the entire book. I wasn't really interested in reading it then, but obviously my mom thought it would inspire me to be "highly effective".

The whole "self help" genre of books have never really caught my interest, simply because I am perfect.  However, there are hundreds of thousands of these books out here, so people must be reading them. I want to know if you all read self help books, and if so, what influences your purchase of them? When I say this, I mean are you drawn in by a famous/credible author, the title/topic of the book, the design, etc.?

Alright, alright

First off, let me say that the cover that Brandi posted, Nancy's Theory of Style, might be one of my favorite covers ever. I want to read that book and figure out: why toilet paper?

And Trudy, you articulate that point much better than I could have. I knew that books with Fabio or not by Jane Austin could be considered romance, but my discomfort was preventing me from seeing clearly I think.

I guess my issue is that for a lot of these books, simply calling them a "romance" or "love story" seems to really oversimplify. But here's one of my favorite books, The Sun Also Rises, and as Wikipedia says, "On the surface the novel is a love story between the protagonist Jake Barnes—a man whose war wound has made him impotent—and the promiscuous divorcée Lady Brett Ashley.

What? This is a GREAT Topic!

Hey you guys.....why the over-whelming outrage over this week's discussion? I actually think it is quite and interesting subject to post about. I gives way for us to be creative in what we consider a romantic love story.....Certainly Crystal's choices for me are spot on....Love in the Time of Cholera and Pride and Prejudice being not just "love" stories, but rather poignant stories regardless of the genre.

There are a few more books like these that come to mind for me. Certainly....Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is one of them. Despite the rather depressing story of Jane's life, how could you not want her and Mr Rochester to be together besides his eccentricities?


 


















And Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, a Caribbean writer who tell the story of Mr Rochester's mad wife (yes! a prequel to Jane Eyre!), and why she was driven to madness. Writing from the wife's point of view, it is one of my favorite tragic stories ever. Still, you feel for her when she falls in love with him. Spoiler alert....lots of references to island life, voodoo and more! Great look at what it meant to be born of European descent in a Caribbean country during colonial times. This book was wildly successful and one of the only instances of follow-ups to classic stories that I can think of that did the original story justice. Read if you can for sure!

 


















And what about The Great Gatsby?! When Gatsby has created an incredibly decadent lifestyle to win back Daisy. Such a relevant and tragic love story. Iconic today as it ever was. Just a rad love story!


 


















And what about the effervescent Oscar Wilde play, The Importance and Being Earnest? Excellent comedic writing with overlapping love-stories interwoven. Hilarious and highly recommended! Such an easy read!


 














And lastly, Like Chocolate for Water by Mexican writer Laura Esquivel is just so good. Loaded with symbolism and magical elements blending into this story.....it is a little comparable to Love in the Time of Cholera.....but very different. If you guys cannot read, watch the movie....which was extremely well made. Spoiler alert....great parallelisms between passion for food and lust...written in such a lovely way. 

  

Contemporary Romance Novels

I had to google "unique romance novel covers" and "contemporary romance novels" to find a cover that didn't have the stereotypical half naked man holding a woman...Here are a few I found!

Hater gonna hate

Really guys? REALLY? Romance novels?

I hate romance novels. Not that I ever read them, but still. My grandmother had them stashed all over her house while I was growing up and the shirtless, long-haired men on the cover always made me uncomfortable. I guess I should talk to my shrink about this, but that's when my avoidance of romance novels began.

I'm trying to think about what defines a romance. I mean, there are love stories in some of my favorite books. That doesn't make them a "love story." That's probably why I like them. I like having something more than a mushy romance going for a character.

I'll happily let my nerd flag fly here though: I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. Take this as a spoiler alert, but if you haven't read them already, I don't want to be your friend and I'm glad I ruined something for you.

Some other mega-fans nearly died when, in the last book, Snape admits that he's loved Lily the WHOLE time. While this doesn't change the genre of the 6 previous books, it really does change the events of the story. Still, I firmly maintain that Harry Potter is not a romance.

No Romance for Me

Just like Crystal, I don't think I've ever read a romance novel. In order to participate in the discussion I had to do a bit of research. So, I took to google and looked for "best selling romance novels in 2011" and ended up coming across Eat, Pray, Love. I read up on the author Elizabeth Gilbert a bit and came across an interview from 2011. During the interview she said Eat, Pray, Love is very much a novel about romance. Maybe not typical romance, but romance none-the-less. The front cover of this novel is quite different than "a strapping man with a buxom woman being held in his arms in some sort of passionate embrace." So I thought this was kinda different. Thoughts?

My Guilty Pleasure That I'll Deny With My Last Dying Breath

Man, I was hoping no one would bring up the subject of romance novels, lest I be inclined to admit that I read them! It was embarrassing enough to admit I'd read the Twilight series...

Ok, so here goes. The series I've been reading (well, listening to on audible.com) is the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. But, as the title of this blog suggests, I'd deny that I've read them if someone asks...

In a nutshell? It's about a woman named Claire who time travels from 1945 to the 18th century Scottish Highlands and falls in love with a Scottish clansman named Jamie Fraser. They live during the time of the Jacobite rebellion. Gabaldon's novels are hard to classify -- they are romance novels for sure, but they are also historical fiction, with detailed accounts of 18th century Scottish clan life, and they also have time travel, so there is a bit of fantasy involved. And boy, are they long... like 500-800 pages long, which is why I listen to them when I'm commuting to Baltimore, running on the treadmill, or cleaning the house.

The book covers are thoroughly uninspiring, although thankfully, avoid the usual romance cover cliches... I would NEVER have picked them up off a book shelf. In fact, the only reason I downloaded the first book was because it was only $5. I've read reviews, and people either love them or hate them. I love them! Although I've only made it through the first novel, and 1/3 of the second one...

Here they are in all their tragic, uninspired glory: