Think about some of the most important skills you need to be a designer. You probably listed things like layout, concepts, or proofing, and you would be right, but I actually would place “watching other people” at the top of my list, and in particular, watching what others have made and designed. This goes beyond advertisements, into the realm of movies, books, and more.
Gathering Inspiration from Everywhere
I like to watch a lot of movies and shows, and view the work of other artists. Oftentimes, this helps me get inspired and use some aspects in my art and design work. The more you consume, the more you understand. The more creative you are when you consume media.
It’s especially important to get out of your bubble and explore other genres. You can’t learn something if you watch the same movie twenty times. Funnily enough, I think it’s also good to watch or read “bad” material on occasions. I can’t say you should keep reading and watching bad material, because then you won’t recognize good design when you see it. However, bad material can be instructive because it helps you know what not to do, or helps you learn what you don’t like and shouldn’t incorporate into your creative output.
On the flip side of that, you have good content to consume, too! Media with an incredible, unique art style, such as stop motion, most animated films, comics, etc — all these can be used as inspiration in design. I have seen plenty of people use comic books as inspiration, take the Spiderverse movies, for example. They leaned heavily on the comic style, and it really worked for them. All the material used to promote the movie has design elements you would see in a comic book.
Don’t just limit yourself to animated media, either. Live action can also come into play! Look at the film musical La La Land for an example. Color is used to tell the story throughout the movie, but even in the posters, trailers, and marketing campaign, it relied on a palette of yellow, blue, red, and purple, evoking a nostalgic feel that was perfect for the plot and setting.
Looking at other media usually helps a lot to gather information, and especially looking at other designers. Eric Rosenberg is a film designer who designs flyers, cans, windows, background shots, and anything design-related for a film set. All of these are typically used in the background for filmmaking to make the world feel more realistic and lively. He’s worked on incredible movies, and each design is so dramatically different, and clearly pulls inspiration from other sources, too. For example, if he were designing something for a period piece set in the 1950s, he might look at newspapers and flyers that were made for that time — another form of media!
In my design work, I often make fictional logos, and Eric’s process resonates with me. The point is to use what’s around you and use other media to inspire you. You need diversity in order to make diversity. If you do gravitate toward familiar favorites, make it a point to rewatch some of your favorite shows and pay extra attention to the objects the actors use.
Get Outside Your Comfort Zone
In the end, I wholeheartedly recommend trying out new media, especially things outside your norm! At least give it a try. Who knows what can inspire you? It’s always best to keep your mind open to new ideas. Sometimes, the source inspiration may result in something entirely new.
This post was written by our 2025 The Modern extern, Jackie Tinoco. Thanks for sharing a glimpse into your inspiration-gathering process! We thoroughly enjoyed having you as part of our team.