How Inspiration Boards Can Fuel Your Creativity

In 2015, for the entire month of February, Chick-fil-A offered free coffee to introduce customers to their new brew made from specialty beans. This generous promotion caught my attention and I found my way to their restaurant several times in those 28 days.

So, what does this have to do with inspiration boards? 

Well, the sleeve on one of those coffee cups caught my eye, told me a story, and now reminds me that inspiration can be found just about anywhere, as it hangs out with other creative pieces on my office corkboard.

What Are Inspiration Boards?

Some use this creative tool as a place to gather pieces to inform their work on a particular project. Others keep an ongoing collection of clippings, swatches, and such to spark creativity.

Typically, I find myself drawn to and collecting ideas related to fonts, layout and design, writing style (both content and structure), storytelling, photography, and unexpected details.

As I already mentioned, I tend to stumble across creative inspiration when it’s least expected.

For this very reason, it’s helpful for those who work in church communications, or any field really, to have a way of organizing these fun findings! Then, when you find yourself staring a blank screen or piece of paper, you have a resource bank from which to draw.

Pinterest

Being that this is 2016, no piece discussing inspiration boards would be complete without a nod to Pinterest. When it comes to this digital pin board, you can both find and organize inspiration.

A good friend of mine says Pinterest has “revolutionized” the way she plans things, allowing for customized board categories and the ability to easily organize and reorganize her findings. She suggests classifying boards in the following ways:

• Brainstorming—If something catches your eye, pin it and tag it. Cast a wide net and refine later. You might also stumble across something you appreciate, but don’t have an immediate use for. Pin that kind of stuff too.
• Sharing—This is helpful if you are looking to pass an idea or instructions on to someone else, desire feedback, or simply want to share the inspiration you’ve found.
• Doing—These are the ideas that become reality, the “must get done” list, if you will.

Physical Boards

If a physical board is more your style, the sky’s the limit on how you display your inspiration pieces. If you’re looking for, well, inspiration, take a look at these inspiration boards:

• 10 Inspiration Boards…Oh My! by Everything Etsy
• Tips for Creating an Inspiration Board That's Actually Inspirational by Studio McGee
• Inspiration Boards by Pinterest (Pinterest always finds a way into the conversation)

Don’t feel limited by corkboards and thumbtacks. Magnets, canvas, twine or ribbons, clips . . . the list goes on and on when it comes to structure and fasteners. (Maybe even consider a jazzed-up tomato cage for a 3D option!)

If you’re gathering ideas for a specific project, here’s a nice outline to help as you create a more focused board.

As you can see, these creative experts recommend including not only items directly related to your work but also family photos, quotes, and things that might help you to consider a different perspective.

Feeling inspired to be inspired? We’d love to hear your ideas for cultivating a creative communication space both digitally and in “real life”!

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