10 cool design links that inspire smart, talented design students

Here's the cool stuff that inspires my senior Graphic Design class at Humber. 

(Part One)

1. Debussy Arabesque animated

Almost works as an alternative form of musical notation; a gorgeous visual unspooling of a classic piano piece.

via Alain Pham

2. The joys of Flat Design

Enough of the phony 3-D and illogical frop-shadows!

via Keith Sample

3. Fully functional brand for sale: just add product

Really, it's all there, waiting for a product. Humber College, for example.

via Jean-Rene Legace

4. Lego Ball clock

More proof that you can build anything with Lego.

via Josh Jarrell

5. Cool use for those obsolete pennies

Now that we're really done with them as currency it's time to put them to good use.

via Keith Sample

6. Furniture Built to Look like Giant Versions of Everyday Items

A simple, awesome concept brought to life. You will want to own a few of these, guaranteed.

via Stephanie Lynn Halstead

7. Business cards that look like miniature paperbacks

If books are your business...

via Stacey Hughes

8. Sure, but can the calendar on your phone do THIS?

Gorgeous re-thinks of the traditional wall calendar.

via Adriana Mahalean

9. A cool compendium of internet creativity

All kinds of cool stuff: audio, video, HTML 5...

via Chantal Cronk

10. Motorhead's Ace of Spades played by robots

Listen carefully and you can hear, somewhere, Lemmy, crying with joy.

via Dave Woodger

What inspires you?

Some of you might have heard me talk about your 'other portfolio'. That thing in your life, other than advertising that gets you excited. All too often when people get in to school, or get into agency they loose it, or forget about it. At the time it seems like a worthwhile omission, but in the long term dismissing a creative outlet can have profound effects.

Westside Studio is a top photography studio in Toronto. Every so often they profile a Creative specifically to find out what inspires them outside of the agency. Today, they spoke with me:

As creatives we all seem to have creative outlets other than our professional craft. Some of us are painters, musicians or novelists – I’m a cook. I’m inspired by food and everything that surrounds it.

There are few foods out there that can match the amazingess that is bacon. Fried up on a Saturday morning, or mixed into a caesar salad – think sliced smokey bacon inspires me. My infatuation with the magical pork product really blossomed once I started making it myself. For my 30th birthday my wife, in her infinite wisdom, got me a smoker. After a quick pitstop at a local butcher shop I was well on my way to homemade beacon heaven. 

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