We share some of our favourite sources of creative inspiration. Learn which creative books, websites and thought leaders we find particularly inspiring. Read this to get some creative inspiration.
Creative inspiration is a very personal thing. What inspires you creatively may do nothing for someone else.
However, understanding what inspires other people’s creativity is always interesting.
With that in mind, we thought we’d share a selection of our most inspiring books, websites and thought leaders about creativity. Some of the sources of creative inspiration we’ve found most helpful in bringing the creative vision of our brand to life.
It’s not a comprehensive list by any means. However, these books, websites and creative icons have been a regular source of creative inspiration for us. We hope you can use them for a bit of creative inspiration yourself next time you feel you need it.
Creativity comes from sharing ideas. Ever since Gutenberg’s printing press first allowed people to put their ideas down on paper, reading has been a source of creative inspiration.
Of course, you can find creative inspiration in all sorts of books. Maybe it’s a story that stirs your emotions. A writing technique that makes you smile and want to emulate it. Maybe even just a turn of phrase that expresses an idea you think you can use elsewhere.
But the books we chose as creative inspiration here all cover the act of creativity itself. They’re a great mix of inspiring ideas, practical advice and delight in the joy of creativity.
This book attracted lots of positive comments from creative types when it came out. Despite having a slightly hippy, woo-woo vibe at times, it’s packed full of eureka moments and observations about creativity.
It’s written in short chapters exploring various aspects of being creative e.g. the creative process, how to source ideas, how to craft them and how creativity works. In between most chapters, you get short bursts of the author’s poetry around relevant creative topics.
The author’s creative observations are mostly helpful and perceptive. His suggestions provoke many new thoughts and ideas. These high points carry the book and are delightful and joyous.
Be warned that you have to put up with the odd Big Lebowski style ramble on the meaning of life. However, these are thankfully kept short and are few and far between.
If you want a more spiritual, thoughtful take on creativity with lots of short, insightful prompts about what being creative means, it’s well worth a go. It’ll give your creative brain lots to think about.
For example, Rubin starts the book with a chapter called Everyone is a Creator.
He argues that many people see creativity as something other people do. That it’s some sort of extraordinary ability that’s only for a special few.
He strongly disagrees with this (as do we, such as we argue in our creativity’s for everyone article).
Rubin argues that creativity is a “fundamental aspect of being human”. That’s it’s an ability we all use every day. It’s our birthright, he says.
He defines creativity as bringing “something into existence that wasn’t there before”. Examples he gives include starting conversations, finding solutions to problems, sending a note to a friend, rearranging the furniture in a room, or even just finding a new route home to avoid a traffic jam. All are creative acts, he argues.
This open-minded, open-source view of creativity is inspiring. Creativity should be inclusive, rather than exclusive. It should be open to all. Yes, you have to master your craft if you want to do it professionally, but there’s also a joy in the humanity of everyday creativity that’s open to everyone and makes the world a better place.
This book is part company history of Pixar and part ode to the joy of the creative process. Written by one of the co-founders, it tells a great story. Unsurprising from a company known for being world-class at storytelling. It takes a more logical and practical approach to creativity than Rubin’s more instinctive musings.
It’s a deeply honest account of how Pixar started and grew. For example, how they developed the creative processes and technology that led to breakthrough movies like Toy Story and Finding Memo. Steve Jobs’s influence on their development. And the ins and outs of their eventual acquisition by Disney.
It’s interesting to compare what Disney wanted to achieve when buying Pixar to what’s actually happened since.
A key creative lesson that stands out in the book is that they’re honest about how much they learned from what didn’t work as well as from what did.
They learned from their mistakes. This book is worth reading for anyone who wants to introduce a more creative culture to their workplace.
While Creativity Inc. is packed with creative inspiration, there’s one story in it that we keep coming back to again and again.
In a chapter called Protecting the New, Catmull explains that the Pixar team recognises great ideas rarely start perfectly formed and ready to go. They evolve and take time to craft and polish to perfection.
So, they call all new ideas “ugly babies”.
These baby ideas are protected from being killed until they’ve had time to grow.
Owners of these baby story ideas are encouraged to meet regularly with a small expert team called “The Brains Trust”. The people in this team have all led previous ugly baby ideas to creative success. The Brains Trust work with the idea leader, offering constructive questions, thoughts and ideas. But importantly, that’s all that they do at that point. They have no power of veto over these ideas. Their only goal is to help creators grow their ideas.
Compare this to how most businesses manage their ideas, particularly in innovation. Most ideas get grilled far too early by leadership teams, who are more focused on operational efficiency than creative effectiveness. This means lots of potentially amazing ideas get killed way too early.
We take creative inspiration from this idea of “nurturing” ugly baby ideas. Of recognising that great ideas take time to develop. And that the more care and craft you put into developing them, the better they’ll turn out once they’re grown up enough to stand on their own two feet.
This book compiles lessons and essays from the d.school creative faculty team at Stanford University.
There are 81 small creative “tasks” broken into clear sections for you to test and train your creative skills. These are interspersed with essays on relevant creative topics. At the end, you get some longer exercises to put it all into practice. It’s an inspiring and action-focused read for anyone interested in creativity and design.
Though not every section hits the mark, there are more than enough interesting, insightful and impactful ideas here to make it a highly worthwhile read. Lots of thought clearly went into crafting this book, and it caters for all levels of experience. From those completely new to the subject of creativity to those looking for more advanced-level thought-starters.
Overall, it’s a fun read with lots to think about. Definitely worth a read for anyone looking for creative inspiration.
For example, one of the tasks towards the end is called I Like, I Wish.
It’s a way of gathering constructive feedback that helps people reflect on and learn more about their creativity and how to improve it.
How it works is that after a workshop, you gather the team in a circle and ask them to think about the creative session they’ve just had. You then ask them to say out loud either what they liked (I like) about the session or what they wished (I wish) could have gone differently.
You have someone note down all the feedback.
This structure means the feedback stays positive and constructive. “I like” clearly helps capture positives. What worked. What people enjoyed. And “I wish” forces people to try to come up with better options if there were any issues. It forces people to stop complaining and be more constructive.
We like how this exercise helps build a more creative culture by encouraging and recognising creativity. And we wish more people used this approach as it would help more companies be more creative.
Probably the next biggest impact on creative thinking after printing was the creation of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee back in 1989.
Going online gives you access to huge amounts of creative inspiration, particularly around design. For example, we’ve covered elsewhere the many uses of online graphic design resource sites like Adobe Education Exchange and sites where you can be inspired by other creative designers, such as Behance and Dribbble.
However, the websites we share here go broader. They cover all sorts of inspiring creative thinking and ideas.
Deck of Brilliance is a website we first heard about from advertising creative types we follow online.
It was written by two leading creative designers, Juggi Ramakrishnan and Todd McCracken, as a free online resource for those who need to come up with advertising ideas.
However, though it has an advertising focus, the prompts it gives transfer easily to other creative challenges you might have. You could use these as creative inspiration for innovation workshops, for example. Or for trying to find the right idea to tell your brand’s story.
The site’s 52 “cards” prompt you to think more creatively about the creative challenge in front of you.
For example, prompt 26 is “Make an Enemy”. Sometimes, it’s hard to work out what you stand for. What your brand’s purpose is. But if you’ve got a block on this, this idea suggests you flip it and work out what you’re against. This is often easier to articulate. Working out what you aren’t often helps you unlock what you are. There are 15 examples to show you what the result of this thinking could lead to, including ads from Apple, Dove and Burger King.
It’s a great site for challenger brands. A great creative inspiration for pushing your brain in unexpected creative directions. Those are often where you find the best and most distinctive ideas.
Digital Synopsis is another excellent online creative inspiration source.
It posts regularly on social with a wealth of articles, guides and tools sharing ideas on design, advertising and visual communications.
It covers many of the topics we’ve featured on our own site, such as Photoshop, logo design and photography.
However, it goes into these topics in much more detail than we do. So, it’s a helpful creative inspiration research tool in those areas.
It’s particularly good at sharing examples and case studies so you can follow how other people’s creative minds and creative processes work. We also like that it has a whole section on humour, which is a whole creative skill on its own. Being creative means you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously.
It also shares regular trend updates, so it’s a great way to keep up with what’s the best of what’s going on in the creative world. We often find ourselves browsing this site when our creative energy is running low, and we want to see what other creative people have been up to.
Bored Panda sets itself up as a more creative way to waste time on the internet.
It aims to spread good news and showcase top artists from around the world. It has fewer “how to” content style articles than Digital Synopsis but leans more into being funny, entertaining and quirky.
It’s a great site (and social channel) to follow if you need a break from intense creative thinking. Though it’s occasionally a little click-baitey, and not every article hits the mark, its randomness and general good nature make it a fun, creative distraction to visit.
The most helpful creative content is usually around art / design and less directly around humour and storytelling. It captures content from all over the world and is great creative inspiration if you’re ever feeling low on creativity.
There are many creative people in the world, from artists to writers, musicians to filmmakers.
Who creatively inspires you is a matter of personal taste.
However, we chose these creative people as good examples of creative leaders who are good at sharing their ideas and inspirations about creativity.
First, there’s Sir John Hegarty, the UK advertising guru behind many classic adverts, including Levi’s 501’s Launderette and Audi’s Vorsprung Durch Technik.
His book Hegarty on Advertising is a cracking read on using creativity in advertising, and he posts regularly on LinkedIn about creativity. His ideas will give you great creative inspiration with many examples and lots of provocative and irreverent thinking.
Then, there’s Tom Fishburne, otherwise known as The Marketoonist. His cartoons and funny takes on marketing life have been a mainstay of marketing magazines and social posts for years. However, on LinkedIn, he’s also good at sharing the thinking behind his sharp observations on the truths that should underpin marketing. Great creative inspiration on how to cut to the truth of an idea while still keeping it light and funny.
Lastly, from outside the marketing world this time, there’s author Joanne Harris. She’s best known for her Chocolat series and is well worth checking out online. Her book Ten Things About Writing is jam-packed with creative ideas. (See our 5 lessons from books about writing article for examples). She regularly shares writing tips and advice on her site and socials. She’s a great creative inspiration for anyone who writes as part of their creative process.
As we said at the start, creative inspiration is personal.
If you’re already creative, you probably have your own creative inspiration list in mind.
And if you’re just wanting to become more creative, building your own list is a great way to do so.
We have many more creative inspiration sources we could have added to this list.
However, every one we included here has served us well again and again.
When we’ve got stuck or run out of creative energy, these books, websites and people have always been great catalysts to get our creative juices flowing again.
Check out our creative opportunity guide if you need some more positive thinking on the joys of creativity. Or get in touch if anything we’ve covered here has prompted a creative idea for you.
The Three-Brains team know a lot about creative skills. We can help you use creative thinking to come up with clever, brand-building ideas. We then help turn those ideas into action with creative advice and support in areas like writing, graphic design and brand storytelling.
Check out our coaching and consulting services to learn how we can help you. Or get in touch if you need help with a specific creative thinking challenge.
We explore why marketers need to have an open mind. Learn where and when openness to new ideas can be used most effectively. Read this to open your mind to more open-minded marketing.
We explore the unexpected power of surprise in marketing. Learn how to find the surprise sweet spot to supercharge your brand. Read this for ideas about marketing surprise.
We explore where to start with marketing psychology. Learn the key marketing areas where psychology gives you a head start. Read this to learn how psychology can smarten up your marketing.
To hear our latest ideas first, enter your email details below to receive email updates. Be among the first to hear our new marketing, creative and e-Commerce ideas.
Brands that consistently bring the brightest ideas to life build great creative habits and processes.
Check how bright your brand’s creative habits are with our free Creative habits and ideas Quotient (ChiQ) test.
10 questions to learn whether your brand’s ideas are more likely to be “no” or more likely to be “woah”.
Take the test to find out more.
Our mission is to build better brands with brighter ideas.
Get in touch to discover how we can help you create, craft and commercialise better ideas.
