One of the great ways to foster creativity is to have some sources of inspiration. A bucket to pull from, so to speak. You may remember this as one of the ideas from the list by Stephen Brewster when we looked at how to Kick It Up a Notch.
Original Image via sxc.hu/Avariz
I hope that you have some sources for inspiration. I find it extremely valuable to refer to mine. It might be that there’s a need for a jumpstart because there’s nothing, or because something has to get done in a short amount of time. Inspiration sources are also good to keep tabs on trends.
I thought it would be helpful to share some of the sources of inspiration that I use. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Perhaps you already know of these, and perhaps some of these are new. These are primarily focused around graphic and video creation. The title of each site is also a link to that site.
Creattica
This is not a Christian site, but has a huge range of media types (print, screen, web, etc) and ideas with new content posted regularly.
CreationSwap
Formerly known as CreativeMYK, this is a resource of church creatives. On it you can find jpg and photoshop files that people have submitted. Some of it is for inspiration or critique, but there is a huge library of resources available to churches to download and use. It’s updated regularly and is awesome. This is one place I go frequently.
ChurchMediaDesign.tv
Brad Zimmerman offers a regular video podcast offering tips, tricks, and how-tos for church media people. There are also regularly posted freebies and inspirational content.
Church Media Pool
This is a Flickr group for church design people to upload work for inspiration and critique. There are a wide variety of styles and ideas that can be gleaned from here.
LogoPond
If you create logos as part of your design work and need some identity inspiration, this is a great site to keep bookmarked. It’s not just for church logos.
Church Media Hub
This is a Vimeo group where people can post videos they have created/produced in relation to ministry. There’s some great stuff on here, and there’s also some stuff that isn’t so inspiring in regards to creativity.
I’ve also drawn inspiration from print ads, TV commercials, or billboards.
I hope these sources are helpful to you.
Are there other places that you go to get inspired and fill your bucket? Let us know in the comments.
