What inspires you?

Artists need inspiration. No one can design or create in a vacuum. And while you can be inspired by just about anything in every day life, when it comes down to sitting down, staring at a blank screen often draws the same — a blank.

When you start a web design project, you have an endless supply of design inspiration at your fingertips, right? You’re already sitting at your computer. You just browse websites or agency portfolios or hit CoolHomePages.com. But when you start a print design project, you head over to the bookshelves and thumb through worn copies of design annuals — most of which you’ve looked through dozens of times before. Maybe through the years you’ve collected cool samples and set up your own design reference (kudos to you!), but that gets old too, especially as time goes on. Or, maybe you browse agency portfolios looking for print work, but it’s tough to find anything new. So where you do you find your inspiration?

Printspiration.

Printspiration is a site dedicated to inspiring print designers. It will allow designers to showcase the work they’re doing in a searchable database. It will allow you to browse samples instantly. Working on an annual report (lucky you!)? Simply browse annual reports for inspiration. Stuck for a direct mail campaign idea? Look around the category to see what other designers are doing.

Get printspired.

Years ago when the web began to take a real foothold in business and life, "they" said print would disappear. Well, we think it's safe to say that print isn't going anywhere. While the web has given us a multitude of new ways to reach people, the need for print has not diminished. Newspapers and magazines are still seling ad space, using the USPS to send out a direct mail campaign is still a valuable tool for reaching your audience, and printed brochures — while less of necessity as they were fifteen years ago — are still important at venues like trade shows and for handing out and mailing.

Of course, we'll never really give up our printed design annuals. That's part of the draw of print design — the tactile nature of interacting with the printed piece. But when you've thumbed through the same annuals a few hundred times, they become more comforting and less inspiring. The content on Printspriation is always changing and new. And when you've created something you're really proud of, submit it to printspire others! That's how it works.

Have a printspired day!

~ The Printspiration Team