5 Sites That Fuel Inspiration.

No matter what artistic background you come from at some point every creative hits a dead end wall when it comes to new ideas. And this is perfectly fine. Its how you push forward that determines if you have what it takes. One way is to take a break from your work and learn from what others are doing. How do they see the same world you live in? What forms of media do they express themselves in? Who or what inspires them? To add excitement back to your work, here are five sites to help you hop that wall.



Beautiful Life


Upon viewing the clean and sleek site design along with a few posts, it’s pretty obvious Beautiful Life cares about all aspects of design. Their top category menu seems particularly unusual. I mean how many times do you see the words automotive design and fashion design listed next to each other? Even cleverly designed lamps and stylish wooden toys are not excluded from their coverage. If you like quality coverage on unique and unusual designs then this site is for you.


Noupe


Many times has this site provided me with the tools and techniques to advance my Photoshop know-how with the latest being 60 Excellent Gadget Photoshop and Illustrator Tutorials. Who needs the latest and greatest from Apple when you can create your own? But besides that, Noupe.com is a wonderful resource for learning about new CSS tricks, graphic design tutorials, and budding artists. This is only enhanced by the loyal and enthusiastic community. Whether you’re an advanced web developer or a casual web surfer, Noupe.com should be in your bookmarks.


Abduzeedo


From their about us page “Abduzeedo is a collection of visual inspiration and useful tutorials.” Such a short tagline has never been truer. Each post is a lesson in how one can produce visually stunning works by taking the mundane and turning it into the extraordinary. Anyone who works in the visual arts field will hardly be bored by the diverse content. As for the site’s weird name, you’ll have to check it out for yourself to learn its origin.


Make Magazine


Let’s get physical. For those of you who are more inclined to get your hands dirty, Make Magazine’s official blog is a collection neat structures and gadgetry that inspires the inner crafty geeks in all of us. Most of what’s reported is created by your average Joes of the world with average salaries yet the fruits of their labor are anything but. These “Makers” are driven to create not because of potential fortune, but because it’s a hobby they truly love. The community has grown so fast that there’s even a “spinoff zine” by the name of Craft and a online TV show available through iTunes. So be a slave no more to mass produced merchandise and go forth and make!


TED


Last but not least we can’t talk about inspiration without bringing up the amazing talks hosted by TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design.) Each year the organization gathers all the big movers and shakers of the world into a conference to inspire people to think differently about their world. Though some speeches may not be of interest to everyone, there’s a common element that binds them all: to inspire change in humanity.



Bonus: Of course I can’t make a blog post like this without mentioning our talented users. The TalentTrove team is constantly being inspired at the quality work that has been uploaded especially for our recent photography contests. If you haven’t checked then you are missing out.


So tell us! Which sites inspire you?