6 Creative Crushes Whose Work Will Inspire You
Creativity begets creativity. When you witness or consume brilliant work by someone you admire, it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to dive head-first into your own creative pursuits. IDEO designers surround themselves with creative people for exactly this reason—when you’re stuck in a rut, sometimes the best way to dig yourself out is to steep in other people’s genius for a while. Here are 6 people whose work inspires our own.
1. If your podcast library is overflowing…
Graphic designer, musician, podcaster: Hrishikesh Hirway is a creative jack of all trades. In this interview, Hrishikesh goes deep on how this versatility helps and hinders his creative process.
READ: Get to Know the Creator of Song Exploder
2. If coding is your form of art…
Matt Fargo is on a quest to make Japanese culture more fun for everyone. Learn how he draws from the coder’s toolkit to build unexpected weirdness into his digital projects.
READ: Code-Based Eye Candy from a Tokyo Renaissance Man
3. If Mother Nature is your muse…
When New Yorker art director Rina Kushnir's not designing layouts, she can be found painting leaves she collects in her Brooklyn neighborhood. Find out how this meticulous project helps her meditate and stay creative.
READ: How an Art Director at the New Yorker Unwinds
4. If you’re an art enthusiast…
Illustrator Cindy Derby creates imaginary worlds for children’s books, but her unique characters and experimental style capture the imagination of adults just as easily. Get to know Cindy and her made-up worlds in this interview with the artist.
READ: Why This Illustrator Makes Her Own Tools
5. If you’d rather be at a museum right now…
As curator of Architecture + Design for SFMOMA, Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher puts the world of design on display. Find out how she stays inspired by constantly considering the now, questioning the promise of future technology, and looking back on the designs that made history.
READ: Meet the Woman Who Spots Great Design for a Living
6. If you’re a film buff…
Nomadic filmmaker Brandon Li uses film to express the beautiful madness of urban life. See how his creative process adapts to whichever city he’s in.
READ: These Eye-Popping Videos Capture the Madness of Cities
Let’s keep the inspiration flowing! Tell us who’s inspiring you right now using the hashtag #CreativeCrushes on Twitter.
Saige Perry is a content strategist at IDEO, where she looks after the IDEO brand and its many digital homes. Her happy place is somewhere in the shadowy back-right corner of a hole-in-the-wall music venue.