I’m always looking for inspiration.  It keeps my designs fresh, my mind creative and my sketchbook full.

Enter my iPhone 4 in 2010, when the ability to take photos and video was clear, crisp and quick!  This meant that I always had a camera with me to capture my inspiration within seconds.  It became quite a hobby because of it’s convenience, and I found myself snapping up to 100 pictures a day.

I can hardly talk about my new hobby-turned-obsession without mentioning one of my favorite apps, Instagram.  Wow.  Filters, location tagging, direct upload functions to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, and other social media outlets.  Instagram holds the photos much like a gallery, showing thumbnails in rows and columns.  This is when I realized how much my iPhone was helping me to become a better designer.

One day while looking at a screen-full of my little creations, I realized how much my photos were progressing; Compositions were stronger, perspective was becoming more creative and my ability to crop in an interesting way (I must admit Instagram makes that easy by making the area square, but nonetheless I am forced to choose the area) was growing.  This prompted me to review the seven design components: the principles of design.

#1 Space

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#2 Unity and Gestalt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#3 Point, Line and Plane

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#4 Scale and Dominance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#5 Hierarchy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#6 Balance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#7 Color

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever your profession, look for inspiration in the world around you.  A new perspective is priceless.

If you want to try Instagram, follow me @Caldwild and I’ll follow back!

Thank you to Apple, Instagram and The Elements of Graphic Design, Second Edition By Alex W. White, Published by Allworth Press www.allworth.com