Inspiration

Expand your personal library of references and get to know the work of creatives from various disciplines.

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  • Paula Scher: Insider Advice From the Trailblazing Designer
    Design

    Paula Scher: Insider Advice From the Trailblazing Designer

    The rock star of visual identity gives us her unique insight into the world of branding and design Paula Scher is no stranger to success. The designer, artist, and teacher, is the creative genius behind the visual identities of some of the most important brands in the world, with an enviable client list that includes Coca-Cola, Tiffany & Co, Microsoft, the New York City Ballet, and the Museum of Modern Art. In this episode of Domestika Maestros, we discover the challenges she has faced in the industry, the defining moments of her career, and a few insider tips for aspiring creatives.

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  • Basic Tools and Ingredients for Making Sugar Flowers
    Design

    Basic Tools and Ingredients for Making Sugar Flowers

    Learn cake design techniques for making sugar flowers with basic tools and ingredients and meet inspiring cake artists The world is full of beautiful flowers that grab our attention with their unique colors and petal shapes. Such flowers can also be found in the kitchens of cake designers, albeit, flowers that are made of sugar. Cake artists are masters in creating different types of leaves and petals to decorate cakes. These edible sculptures usually leave everyone onlookers salivating. Nasima Alam (@sweetdropsofheaven) is a cake artist, owner of a specialist cake store, and the founder of the Sweet Drops of Heaven brand. These projects, along with her incredible talents, have led her to collaborate with many companies and her flowers have been featured in various industry magazines.

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  • 13 Great Illustrated Horoscopes From the Sixties Onwards
    Illustration

    13 Great Illustrated Horoscopes From the Sixties Onwards

    Discover the mysteries of the zodiac and their power to inspire creativity with these original horoscope illustrations Mankind is on a permanent quest for meaning. Throughout history, we have searched for a way to understand the vast mystery we call life. To do so, we have often looked to the stars to tell us more about ourselves, our destiny, our character, and to make sense of an often chaotic world. It is this need for understanding that contributed to the emergence of Western astrology. The Western zodiac, whose signs make up the horoscope we still use to this day, was created in around 1,000 B.C. (some say even earlier, in Mesopotamia). From there it spread to Egypt, where it was taken up by the Greeks, and then the Romans.

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  • 10 Cake Design Accounts to Follow on Instagram
    Design

    10 Cake Design Accounts to Follow on Instagram

    Enjoy these incredibly creative cake designs by artists with large followings on social media Cake designing is a decorative baking technique that proves you can eat something with your eyes. Even the most greedy, those who never say no to trying something sweet, would probably be left speechless in front of such masterpieces and hold back for a minute. These artistic creations deserve time to appreciate their colorful look, rich in textures and endless details. Creative bakery is also perfect for a visual channel such as Instagram. By visiting the #cakedesign hashtag, you can get lost among the number of real masterpieces, in all styles and from all over the world.

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  • 7 Must-Read Branding Books for 2023
    Marketing

    7 Must-Read Branding Books for 2023

    Discover everything you need to know about creating a successful brand identity with this must-read booklist A strong and impactful brand identity makes you stand out from the crowd and is key to connecting with your audience, so getting it right is absolutely essential. Designer, Creative Director, and branding expert Michael Johnson (@michael_johnson) is the founder of Johnson Banks, a world-renowned design consultancy that specializes in branding and visual identity. He has spent over 30 years working on leading branding projects with top clients in the cultural, government, and charity sectors, including Action Against Hunger, the UN Climate Change Conference, and the Royal Academy of Music.

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  • Who Created the Iconic Yellow Smiley Face?
    Design

    Who Created the Iconic Yellow Smiley Face?

    Discover the story behind this pop culture icon originally designed by Harvey Ball to boost staff morale The oldest known example of a smiley face dates back to 1700 BC: a nearly-4000-year-old ceramic pot excavated near Turkey’s border with Syria features the faint markings of two dots and a curved line. Yet the ubiquitous yellow smiley face that is a pop culture icon around the world–and would become part of a digital language in the new millennium–is considered to have been created in 1963 in Worcester, Massachusetts by an artist called Harvey Ball.

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  • Top Tips for Mastering Night Photography
    Photography Teacher

    Top Tips for Mastering Night Photography

    Would you like to have the ultimate guide to night photography? Check out these essential professional tips If you have tried night photography you may have found it is a different process to photographing in daytime! The reason is that you don’t rely on your light meter in the camera. My Domestika course, Introduction to Digital Photography in Manual Mode, is on how to use your camera in manual mode and you need to understand this process to be able to use long shutter speeds for night time photographs or to make water look smooth.

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  • Character Designer Félicie Haymoz Illustrates Her Inner World in This Draw Yourself
    Illustration Teacher

    Character Designer Félicie Haymoz Illustrates Her Inner World in This Draw Yourself

    Félicie Haymoz answers and illustrates questions about herself and her creative inner world Félicie Haymoz (@feliciehaymoz) is a character designer and illustrator based in Switzerland who specializes in creating fantastical anthropomorphic characters. She’s applied these talents to movies like Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, where she worked as the lead character designer, as well as to his other animated feature “Isle of Dogs.” In this Draw Yourself, Haymoz answers questions about herself using anthropomorphic illustrations. From what happiness means to her, to the animal that best represents her, to her aspiration to be a witch, Haymoz uses these whimsical illustrations to give us a peek into her imaginative inner world.

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  • Yves Zimmermann: six decades at the forefront of design
    Design

    Yves Zimmermann: six decades at the forefront of design

    The Swiss designer was a key player in Spain for his inventive logos and graphic solutions Designer, teacher, editor. If he were just one of these things, Yves Zimmermann would have still left a mark on the early years of graphic design in Spain. However, he managed to be all three and his impact on the craft is still felt today. Zimmermann, who died on Sunday, July 4, 2021 at the age of 84, leaves us a legacy of corporate identities in Spain and wide international recognition. Arriving in Barcelona in 1961, at just 24, Zimmermann brought with him a new conception of design, influenced by his Swiss roots, that he applied to his works, classes and collection of books GG Diseño. Zimmermann has worked with Barcelona Airport, the Bank of Spain, Carolina Herrera and the Círculo de Lectores. He was a finalist in the competition to design the euro notes and won the Premio Nacional de Diseño in Spain. Join us to remember the extraordinary career of Zimmermann in this interview that he gave to Domestika - that became his last one - where he transmitted his passion for graphic solutions, talked about his legacy, the industry and current creativity.

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  • What Does Camp Mean in Fashion?
    Fashion

    What Does Camp Mean in Fashion?

    Learn about camp aesthetics and their significance for the LGTBQIA+ community It's May 6, 2019, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Diverse artists, creatives, and millionaires gather at the Metropolitan Museum to attend the prestigious Met Gala. The event's red carpet is packed with vibrant gowns and eye-catching shapes. The Met Gala is a fundraising event for the Costume Institute–a branch of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art that is responsible for documenting major achievements in fashion and trends. Organized by Vogue magazine, it is one of the most extravagant balls in the world. It is also one of the most important days of the year for fashion enthusiasts and internet users, who will analyze every outfit. In May 2019, the theme was "Camp: Notes on Fashion," inspired by American writer and philosopher Susan Sontag's 1964 essay Notes on Camp. In this essay, Sontag, now considered the leading expert on the subject, defined the camp aesthetic and its significance.

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  • 10 Free Online Watercolor Classes For improving Your Technique
    Illustration

    10 Free Online Watercolor Classes For improving Your Technique

    Discover the techniques used by watercolor experts that will help you achieve unexpected results Watercolor is one of the most ancient forms of painting, and although you don't need advanced tools and materials to start out in this technique, you will require a great deal of confidence and control to achieve the best results in this medium. Following a watercolor painting course can help you master it and explore the possibilities of this technique, which happen by combining water, pigment, and playing with transparency.

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  • 4 Inspiring Books for Starting Out in Weaving
    Craft

    4 Inspiring Books for Starting Out in Weaving

    Learn about this mindful craft, be inspired by popular hand weaving books and get your own projects going Hand weaving is a meditative art that allows you to unwind while creating something beautiful. Fiber artist Lucy Rowan (@peasandneedles) incorporates her love of playful colors and texture in her work as a specialist hand-weaver and punch needle embroiderer. After buying a lap loom off the internet and learning from books borrowed from the library, she began almost by chance and has so far been featured in magazines, opened an online shop, and even written two books about her craft.

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  • 10 Inspiring Interior Design and Lifestyle Bloggers You Should Check Out
    Architecture & Space

    10 Inspiring Interior Design and Lifestyle Bloggers You Should Check Out

    Explore the world of interior design and lifestyle blogging and be inspired to start your own projects Emma Jane Palin (@emmajanepalin) is a multi-award-winning blogger, digital marketing specialist, and interior stylist based in the seaside town of Margate in Kent in the UK. She has worked on interior design and lifestyle campaigns with major international brands such as John Lewis, Aperol Spritz, and Apple. After graduating with a degree in graphic design and illustration from the University of East London, Emma began interning at a PR agency and launched her blog as a creative outlet that kept her in touch with everything related to design and illustration.

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  • Photographer Claudia Andujar: a Life Dedicated to the Socially Invisible
    Photography

    Photographer Claudia Andujar: a Life Dedicated to the Socially Invisible

    Discover the work of this 90-year-old Swiss-Brazilian creator and activist, defender of the indigenous cause Half a century ago, when Claudia Andujar first visited the great land of the Yanomami, a territory larger than Portugal, situated on the extreme North of Brazil, and inhabited by around 30,000 souls, this ancient civilization was living in isolation, leading existences embedded in tradition. Over the next few decades, she was able to document what assimilation had meant to the villages of the forest—illegal mining of metals, land-grabbing, loss of traditions and landmarks, illness, and misery. During the most critical moments of the aggressive developmentalism by the military dictatorship and the failing democratization at the end of the 1980s, the Swiss photographer, with Brazilian naturalization, captured the accelerated transformation that impacted the surviving people who originally inhabited the country.

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  • The Pattern Library: The Home of Free Design Patterns
    Design

    The Pattern Library: The Home of Free Design Patterns

    Download pattern designs from this virtual library and take your illustrations and designs to a different level When a pattern design is good, it can be repeated to great effect. The samples included in The Pattern Library are precisely that: a handy tool for designers and creatives looking for patterns and inspiration. Furthermore, this virtual library allows you to download your favorite designs free of charge. Read on as we tell you how this website works and what you’ll be able to find in it. You will also find out about three artistic ways for applying pattern designs.

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  • 5 Contemporary Artists Who Color Photographs with Paint
    Art

    5 Contemporary Artists Who Color Photographs with Paint

    Discover this technique for coloring photos and be inspired by these innovative photographers and visual artists Painting and photography are two visual languages that can be combined to create surreal universes that awaken our creativity and imagination. For Brazilian documentary filmmaker, director of photography, photographer, and visual artist Carine Wallauer (@wallauercarine), combining photo records with watercolor painting techniques allows her to experiment with new emotions and play with different tones and textures in her art.

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  • 7 Books on Wabi-Sabi and Japanese Culture
    Craft

    7 Books on Wabi-Sabi and Japanese Culture

    Learn more about the japanese art of putting broken pottery back together that sees beauty in flaws and imperfections Clara Graziolino (@claragraziolino) is an Italian ceramic artist and kintsugi expert living in Madrid. She creates sculptures and installations for galleries and international interior designers and teaches ceramic restoration and kintsugi. Kintsugi is the centuries-old Japanese art of putting broken pottery back together using a special tree sap lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, which highlights the cracks. It results in one-of-a-kind pieces of pottery.

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  • 10 Female Geeks Who Changed History
    Design

    10 Female Geeks Who Changed History

    Celebrate the lives of ten women whose nerdy obsessions changed the world Those who show a lot of enthusiasm for niche subjects, solve problems quicker than everyone else, or prefer to spend their free time furthering passion projects instead of socializing, often get labeled "geeks". It is a word that has been used as an insult to banish a person or group of people to a particular corner of the school cafeteria and make them feel ashamed of their talents and achievements. However, being a geek is something to celebrate, which is exactly why Geek Pride Day was created in the late 90s/early 00s, held annually around the world on May 25. Geeks are usually gifted and unfazed by the idea of being different. Throughout history, their dedication to their specialist subjects has resulted in outstanding contributions being made to society. Today, we’re celebrating ten real-life women whose nerdy obsessions changed the world.

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  • How Ken Garland's Manifesto Impacted Generations of Designers
    Design

    How Ken Garland's Manifesto Impacted Generations of Designers

    We celebrate the British designer, writer, photographer, and teacher who wrote the legendary First Things First manifesto in 1964 As the world mourns the loss of Ken Garland (1929–May 20, 2021)–an influential talent who famously took a stand against consumerist culture–we look back on his legendary First Things First manifesto, which spoke about the importance of making a difference. Published in 1964, First Things First had 22 signatories and called for “a reversal of priorities in favour of the more useful and more lasting forms of communication”. The designer wrote that using one's talents to sell trivial things like cat food, slimming diets, and striped toothpaste, “which contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity”, was wasteful.

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  • Women Photograph: A World Catalog of 1300 Female Photographers
    Photography

    Women Photograph: A World Catalog of 1300 Female Photographers

    In a male-dominated industry, this website showcases female and non-binary talents in photojournalism Women Photograph is a non-profit organization launched in 2017 to give exposure to women and nonbinary individuals working in photojournalism. Its catalog includes more than 1300 independent photographers based in over 100 countries and serves media companies promoting equality and diversity within their workforce. Women Photograph offers financial support to various projects and tutoring programs and a yearly workshop for developing skills. It also provides a traveling fund to improve opportunities for professional development for underrepresented groups in the media industry. Read on to learn how this female photographers' organization came to be and how it is making an impact in photojournalism.

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  • Watch These 4 Animated Shorts By Belgian Filmmakers
    3D & Animation

    Watch These 4 Animated Shorts By Belgian Filmmakers

    These four stop-motion shorts are free to watch and present the magical world of animated storytelling One of Irish illustrator Kevin Waldron's (@kev_wally) favorite go-to sources of inspiration is a long list he has created of animated shorts from all over the world. These projects demonstrate a variety of styles and approaches and tell entertaining, moving, and inspiring stories–they are sure to spur your imagination, whatever format you usually work in. Today, Kevin spotlights four stop-motion shorts from his list, made in Belgium by director Guionne Leroy and directing and writing duo Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels. Watch below!

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  • 5 Bullet Journals Accounts that Will Inspire Your Work
    Illustration

    5 Bullet Journals Accounts that Will Inspire Your Work

    Discover some inspiring bullet journal approaches to help you organize your life creatively Bullet journaling is a simple and creative way to help you organize your life. They are also a powerful tool for mindfulness and help you channel your creativity while keeping you centered, grounded, and productive. Annie Weir (@_a_journal_by_annie) is a Scottish artist who specializes in bullet journaling, a craft she discovered by chance on Instagram. Her background is in graphic design, which is where she learned that you could combine words, lettering, and images together on a page to create something striking and meaningful. Bullet journaling turned out to be another happy space for her love of lettering, illustration, and art, so much that she decided to start sharing it online in 2017. She created her first Instagram account, @ajournalbyannie, and quickly became one of the leading voices in the bullet-journaling online community.

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  • 18 US and UK Museums You Can Visit Online in 2021
    Art

    18 US and UK Museums You Can Visit Online in 2021

    Take virtual tours of some of the best galleries the US and UK have to offer to celebrate International Museum Day Museums are slowly reopening their doors, and art lovers are all extremely thankful for it. However, it may still be difficult to book a visiting slot, and while we patiently wait for things to truly go back to normal, we may still want to access collections from the comfort of our homes. When the first lockdown happened a year ago, museum experts, historians, curators, and photographers around the world took it upon themselves to ensure we could go online and visit art and history collections while we were confined to our four walls. International Museum Day seems like a great opportunity to invite you for a virtual tour of our selection of British and American museums. Enjoy, anytime, anywhere! Science Museum, London This world-class museum has a collection of 325,000 objects and archives and ever-expanding digital resources. You can find all the stories behind the most fascinating, historically significant. and awe-inspiring objects that have shaped the world as we know it.

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