Creativity and Inspiration
How To Improve Your Creativity
- Coping
with Daily Distractions
Great article from Creativity Web.
- Creative
Notions
by Lance Arthur for A List Apart. Excellent article that helps
feed the creative fuel when it's low with tips on what to do when
you're burned out, hit a creative block, and much more. Great
reading.
[Thanks to Nick Finck's May 10
entry at Digital Web for mentioning this article again.]
- Creativity
Web, Resources for Creativity and Innovation
by Charles Cave, Sydney, Australia. An entire website devoted to
creativity. Lots of articles, tips, resources. Excellent, helpful
site.
- Drawing on the
Right Side of the Brain
Website of Betty Edwards, author. The site is all about how to
improve your creativity by learning how to draw or improve your
drawing. By understanding more about creativity, your web design
projects may also be more creative, even if you're not an artist.
Check out the sections on theory, the exercises, and anywhere
else. Fascinating exploring here.
- Enchanted
Mind
by J.L. Read. Fascinating site exploring the mind, creativity,
humor to stimulate creative thinking habits. Creativity is
an attitude that can be cultivated and expanded.
- Mind
Maps
An insightful article about how to creatively map out ideas as an
aid in brainstorming, organizing thoughts, building on ideas, and
more. The article has links to more information and resources,
too. Fascinating. By Charles Cave, Creativity Web.
- Ten
Creativity Kick Starts
Great ideas to build or boost your creative skills from Creativity
Web.
- What A
Great Idea
Articles and tips on creating new ideas, breaking out of negative
thoughts, expanding and removing limitations, much more.
Successful book available of same title, "What A Great
Idea!"
Brainstorming and Creativity Tools
In this section is a listing of books, cues, music, software, and
other tools to help with brainstorming, project planning, outlining,
creativity, and related. See also the Reviews
section.
- Axon
Idea Processor
Described as “a visualization tool for thinkers,” this
software program has rave reviews as a helpful tool for mind
mapping, generating and organizing ideas, creative writing,
brainstorming tool, and more. This software has sophisticated,
advanced features in addition to easy access for brainstorming.
Download a free Lite Version, the full trial version, or purchase
from the site.
- Buzan
Software - Mindmapping
Home of Ygnius Mindmapping, MindManager, and related software for
PC, Palm, Pocket PC. Tony Buzan also has much more at the site
related to creativity, memory, thought processes and the
mechanisms of thinking, and promoting how to learn and use your
brain well.
- EyeWire:
Instant Inspiration: Creativity Cards
EyeWire's downloadable “creativity cards” can be a terrific
boost to getting you out of your rut. Simple reminders can be all
we need, and these creativity cards give a gentle nudge to help.
Print them out and use them when you need to get out of your rut.
- How
to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day
Michael Gelb's books, workbooks, and accompanying music CDs to
help you use your creative mind, empower your thinking and
abilities to have more free-flowing thought and creative
abilities. Fascinating approaches here.
- Inspiration
Software, Inc.
Popular software to help with brainstorming ideas, mapping
possibilities, graphical outlining, hyperlinking, storyboarding,
diagramming, mind mapping, idea mapping, and more.
- MindMapper
Software
Mind mapping software by SimTech USA based on Tony
Buzan's mind mapping.
- MindMapper
for Palm, PDA
Mind mapping for your Palm device -- note making, reports,
planning, organizing, problem analyzing, projects, meetings,
learning, exam preparation, time management, presentations,
brainstorming, review, summarising readings. Export and import
between other Windows and Palm applications, including MindMapper
for Windows, too.
- The
New Mind Map
An informational guidebook by Michael Gelb about how to utilize
mind-mapping for creativity, improved thinking, and more.
Reviews of Brainstorming and Creativity Tools
In this section is a listing of tools, software, and reviews to
help with brainstorming, project planning, outlining, creativity, and
related.
Brainstorming and Creativity Tools Resource Links
Others have put together valuable resources of links to helpful
tools, many with descriptions of the tools listed, too.
- Software
for Creativity & Idea Generation
More than 60 creativity, brainstorming, and idea generation
products are listed here with links to the sites. Links also
include short descriptions. Some also link to reviews and further
details. Very helpful resource by Creativity Web (Charles Cave).
Inspirational Websites and Portals
Websites to Inspire and Cure Creative Blocks
- CoolHomePages.com
An entire website devoted to help cure creative blocks. Hundreds
of sites listed by categories. Sites are voted on and ranked, too.
Excellent site.
- Color
Gallery
About.com's Graphic Design Guide, Judy Litt, has put together a
wonderful color gallery for web
colors, spot
colors, and process
colors. You'll find so many interesting color combinations
(primarily from people submitting them, and Judy encourages that).
By clicking on a link with each one: for web colors you'll find
the RGB and hex codes; for process colors you'll find CMYK
information; and for spot colors you'll find the PMS information.
Great source of inspiration for color combinations and ideas. See
also WebsiteTips.com's
Color section for more sites related to color, color
psychology, and more.
[Thanks to for suggesting the Color Gallery!]
- Featured
Web Designer Sites
About.com's Guide to Web Design, Jean Kaiser, selects a 'Today's
Featured Web Designer Site,' with archives to all previous
winners, too. Fun browsing.
- HOW
Now: Top Links, Design Inspiration/Education
HOW Design's current top 10 sites for design and inspiration.
Annotated links that change regularly. Fun to visit what they're
currently linking.
- Lynda.com
Inspiration Sites
Categorized: color, rollovers, background tiles, frames,
navigation, simplicity, animation, flash, experimental,
typography, illustration, photography.
- media
inspiration
Another site at which hours could go by checking it all out with
all its wonderfully creative, inspirational sites, articles,
message boards, book of the month, site of the month, artist of
the month (and more). Categorized navigation includes new
additions, what's cool, top rated, favorites, more. They also have
categorized listings of resources, too -- fonts, flash, stock
photos, software, web building resources, links to tutorials, much
more.
- NetDiver
Design Forte
by Carole Guevin of soulmedia.com. Many inspirational sites listed
here by category with reviews given and screenshots. This is one
of my favorite sites to explore and is created by one of the most
talented individuals on the Web.
- Project
Cool Sightings
Each day a new website is reviewed. Check out what they consider
some of the best and why. Archives go back several years. Sign up
for their newsletter here, too.
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