I was recently asked about where I draw inspiration from for my design work, and as you can imagine, the answer was not easy to articulate. There are many sources of inspiration out there: art, science, music, people, books, history, nature… and the list goes on and on. It’s very difficult to pinpoint where and how influences find their way into anyone’s work, but I started thinking about some design-related movies and documentaries that have left me feeling spurred, and I thought I would share some of these titles with you. If you haven’t already seen these, I highly recommend you take the time to do so, even if you’re not an artist or a designer; they’re inclusive, informative, and inspiring. Here they are, in order of the year they came out:
- Perfect Home (2006): Here Alain De Botton, a contemporary writer and philosopher, offers a unique perspective on home style and explores the everlasting conflict between form and function. The three-part documentary talks about interior design, architecture, and how they affect our emotional and physical states.
- Helvetica (2007): This survey of the typeface that shaped contemporary typography is both exhaustive and entertaining. It is neither for nor against the use of Helvetica; it simply talks about its appeal and history. There are numerous interviews relating to typography and Helvetica with some of graphic design’s top-rated players.
- Died Young, Stayed Pretty (2008): This Canadian-made documentary is about the culture and history of rock posters, silk-screening, illustration, and doing-it-yourself. It’s gritty, striking, and downright inspiring.
- The Machine that Made Us (2008): This BBC documentary is full of useful information and historical tidbits, and is essentially about where print graphic design all started. The hilarious and loveable Stephen Fry presents the history of the Gutenburg printing press and its incredible effect on our civilization today.
- David Ogilvy: Original Mad Man (2008): The biography of Mr. Ogilvy is a success story of an eccentric, English advertising genius. If you like Mad Men (and let’s face it—who doesn’t?), you will appreciate the ‘Original Mad Man,’ though there’s a lot less sex and drinking.
- Visual Acoustics (2008): This film celebrates the life and work of the brilliant and quirky Julius Shulman, one of the world’s greatest architecture photographers. The documentary goes on to explore themes beyond architecture and photography; it talks about modernism, minimalism, space, lines, light, shade, and other design movements and elements.
- Art & Copy (2009): This inspiring documentary follows the careers of advertising virtuosos and highlights past campaigns that have shaped the world of consumerism as we know it. Sounds evil, doesn’t it? It is, but still, a success story is a success story, and Art & Copy is filled with those.
- Objectified (2009): Created by the guy behind Helvetica (2007), this documentary is about industrial design and how objects shape our world. The form and function theme is explored, as well as the relationship we have with the objects we buy, and by some extension their designers.
That’s about all the design-related documentaries I can think of right now, but I would love it if you pointed some out that I’ve missed. Oh, and that was just one small part of a really vague answer for ‘where do I draw inspiration from in my work?’ I’ll leave you with that for now… Toodles.
