Where do you get your inspiration?

Ok.. I want to know the different areas where every one of you who codes, or does graphic design, or any type of design get your inspiriation! Do you ever get so excited about something, or think about it so deeply that you end up sleeping and dreaming about it? And in your dream you find the perfect solution for your problem that you were having? Personally.. that happens quite a bit Especially since I am so new at PHP.. sometimes I outhink myself and the logic of programming gets the better of me... lol


So what about everyone else? Music? TV? Drinking?! Whatever

And share an experience.. like, I was at this resteraunt and couldn't figure out what kind of content I wanted to base a project in school on, when the waitress said something it hit me like a ton of bricks..

Or.. Another one from my personal life : I was working on how to draw out a spreadsheet with a database <For a reporting project> and the logic I was using was out of there.. Until I fell asleep, then it hit me that I was doing it backwards... lol..

My dad always told me to believe in and practice the K.I.S.S. Method....


Keep it simple, stupid

Many times I've woken up from a sound sleep with the preverbial "light bulb" over my head regarding some coding problem I'd been working on. Out of bed, downstairs to my office, and voila... genius appears at 3:00am!

I guess it really does help to "sleep on it" sometimes.

I believe in the *KISS* method as well. But I look for inspiration in nature. (Ever notice that colors that appear in nature never seem to clash?) Many times, I've gotten ideas for page layouts by just looking outside or walking in the park. People have an inherant comfort with what they see every day, so unless I'm trying to shock their senses, I try to use that comfort level.

To sleep... perchance to code...
I have those lightbulb moments too - usually when i've been hitting a brick wall for awhile, finally give up, lay down and snap! it all comes together. Then i get all excited and can't wait to show the client in the morning...
I also tend to figure stuff out in the shower... um, perhaps that was too much info!

As for finding inspiration - for logic/programming things, i often take a piece of blank paper and scribble out words, tables, draw lines - basically scribble for awhile, going from the big picture to how each little part would talk to another part.

When in doubt - i see what amazon's changed recently!

I tend to listen to alot of music when im programming or designing. I also like to have a few drinks, as this gets those juices flowing. Once i get a good idea, theres no stoping me. I usually get all my ideas, just before i go to bed, by this time ive hyped myself up i cant sleep. This hypness goes for a few days, and ill go 3-4 days without sleep just to get my idea up and running. (luckly ive got a understanding boss... looks at mytch)

My music affects the way i work. I'll usually listen to anything, but when im in a rush, or hyped up, ill listen to something fast, as it helps me work faster. (and keeps my parents away)

Ben, how old are you?

I normally listen to Metal...

Gets me going, and I seem to have the same problem as Ben..

I get ideas just as I lay down to go to bed, or while im sleeping.. then i'll wake up and work non-stop for days to get a prototype ;P

When I first started making my gaming site I worked for about 1 week 10+ hours everyday. That finally got the backend & frontend done and ready for the world to come and enjoy my site. However, if Ben wasn't around to debug the dozens of lines of code I copy & pasted into ICQ & MSN it would've been much longer .

Whenever there is something I really want to get done I can work days & days with little to no sleep .

hahah,...after reading all the replies,.....I can safely say that I am the same way

hey War-Angel,....you like southpark? I just released my gaming site the other day as well www.southparkcs.com

Sounds like I have the same problem as most of you - i.e. Getting a sudden burst of inspiration and can't sleep for a few days cos I'm so hyped. I usually end up working till 2am as a result. The same thing happens when i get in the "coding zone" - that is, the coding comes so easily it just flows outta me. Time flys that way.

Personally, I'm in a "one-man-band" role. I do database design, coding, and graphic design. It's a great job as there's always something new and exciting to do - that in itself keeps me inspired.

I listen to music almost all day (it helps when u work from home) which while I don't think it inspires me, it creates some background noise to keep the mind alert. Mostly house, deep house and breaks.

Okay, I thought I was the only one who dreams about coding solutions!

I had that exact thing happen to me a few times... I actually had a dream where I was at my computer coding the problem... I woke up that next morning, and NO LIE, I remembered EXACTLY what was on the screen (in my dream)... I went downstairs and tried it out, and I was blown away... It actually worked.

Another time I was ****WARNING**** ****WARNING**** in the bathroom, standing and thinking at the same time!! And it hit me... Luckily enough, I didn't miss anything (in every sense of the word) LOL!

As for inspiration, as was pointed out, I like to look at other things (magazines, fashion and media television shows, outside, etc...).

And I'm with Stumpy and Ben on the music aspect... I love listening to music when working... It's either House, Funky Disco, or even HipHop... I've been listening to a lot of trancy music lately... A lot from "TelepopMusik"... Anyone heard of them? They have their song in one of the Mitsubishi commercials...

Ill be 20 this thursday.

I also get inspired by other good web sites i visit. i love to visit "new age" web sites, and get inspired.

One thing that gets me is when i loose inspiration. I have about 10 unfinished web sites because i loose my inspiration.

Music is big, big inspirational thing for me. Strangely enough, I enjoy listening to comedical music when coding (any Aussies ever heard of Tripod? Hehe...).

However, I'm also a fan of dance/trance type music, so it's not uncommon to see me with my head buried in the screen with headphones on.

If I can't get inspiration through music, I go and talk to the people the project would affect: the end-user. I ask my folks what they would find helpful, I ask other forum members from various places, etc. 9/10 times you'll get a good project.

luckly im eclectic (i think thats right), so ill listen to basically anything, apart from boy bands, and teenie booper music

For me... I listen to whatever my mood shows.. if im in a good mood, sometimes metal or something with a fast beat, mellow mood some house or electronica or other techno.. depressed, country or sad music :b

but music does help me too with my inspiration