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What inspires you? What motivates you to create, or to think differently? Each of us has different sources of inspiration, and recently I’ve been thinking a lot about what inspires me and why.
For me, the answer is in the navigation bar of this blog—just look up! I created The Curator’s Lab to explore four categories that inspire me: Design, Beauty, Lifestyle, and Travel. I have a degree in Design, but a year and a half ago I transitioned out of that field to work in international relations. It was a fantastic career decision, one that has opened so many doors and has allowed me to travel the world, but I started missing the creative side of things. During the next few months I began to think about how to express my creativity and stay inspired. Distilling what inspires me was a great creative exercise!
The four categories are very broad, but there are elements of each one that really motivate me. I love discovering new things that make me question what I know, that teach me about new cultures, and that make me think differently. All four of those do that!
Design
The design world has always been captivating to me, ever since I was little. Even when I didn’t really know what design was, or that it was a truly valid career path and industry, I understood that it permeated everything around us. When I was little, I wanted to be an architect because that’s the only profession I knew for people who wanted to directly affect the way in which we live and interact with our environments.
Over the years I discovered design, studied its history, changed majors in college and have never looked back! You know those “this is what I didn’t know I was waiting for” moments? For me, that’s when it all made sense.
Many people mistakenly think design is limited to interior decorating, which could not be more false. The truth is that design affects everything—all the objects we use and the spaces we inhabit implement some kind of design—be it good or bad. The philosophy of design (or design thinking) is starting with a question or challenge and, along with the users of the final product/space, create, test, and refine iterations of possible solutions.
Two things that really inspire me about design are its user-centric approach and the acceptance (and even encouragement!) of “mistakes” or failures as part of the creative process. After all, if you don’t create a solution that’s really based on the needs of those who will use it, why go through the process in the first place? Design is a bottom up process: the need should emerge from the user, and not imposed on him or her. In this sense, design is always a collaborative process, which I love. Nothing gives me more energy than a group of people with diverse backgrounds and experiences generating ideas and creating new products, spaces, or experiences!
Design really is in everything—and that’s why it wields incredible power. That’s why, when I travel, I try to interview designers who are using design for social good in the Café Creative series. I want to show the different dimensions of this fascinating industry, and talk about design within a cultural context. Design is so much more than just decoration. It helps us interpret and implement our cultural, physical, and emotional priorities.
Design Inspiration
Want to find some inspiration? Here are some websites, books, accounts, and podcasts I’ve been into lately.
“The Design of Everyday Things” (book)
Design of Business | The Business of Design Podcast
“Design Thinking Your Life” (book)
Where do you find inspiration? What hobbies, activities, or interests motivate you?
Stay curious,
Nati