Inspirability: 40 Top Designers Speak Out About What Inspires

by PASH, Matt Pashkow

What Inspires You?

This was the question asked of forty of the world's top designers. The resulting interviews are thought-provoking, poignant, irreverent, hilarious, philosophical - and above all, inspiring.

Just as these great designers have the ability to get - and stay - inspired, so will you, as you read their interviews, see their self-portraits, experience examples of their best work, and peruse personal questionnaires that each one filled out by hand.

Here's a sampling of what the designers are talking

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Creative

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2005

Reviews

[Madeline Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover is a tactile experience and it's fun to hold. The font size was my least favorite part about this book. Unfortunately it kept me from getting through this one as quickly as I would have liked too. The content done as the same interview, repeated with different people. Reading about inspirability wasn't inspiring in itself, so much as providing an honest glimpse into what designers find or don't find inspiring. Some responses were more interesting than others. Some takeaways:

"Remember that the solution usually lies in the problem."

"Be honest with yourself and other people."

"Listen to and encourage others."

"Take breaks. Time to reflect."

"Make something beautiful once in a while."

"Keep some kind of notebook."

"Stand up for what you believe in."

"Fall off a skateboard once in a while."

"Don't panic when the pressure's on-- use it."

"Be conscious of your sub-conscious."

[F.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interviews are generally interesting - you can learn so much from other people's stories. These really are top designers, and it's neat to see where people come from and how they got to where they are, and find out a bit about their process too. Some things in the book you can take to heart, like one designer's comments: "As I've gotten older, I've found that the more I pay attention to the things that just truly make me happy, the more success I have."

[Ramon de Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interviews were interesting; the highlight of the book is the collection of photographs/drawings by each designer showing their desks. Also enjoyed reading about how the interviewed designers describe how they focus their intuition/creativity into their design process.

[Stephanie Plenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The humility and humor found in the interviews and questionnaires are just outstanding.

[Troy · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an aspiring creative, I thought it cool to see what others do for inspiration.

Some of these people are absolute DICKS. Excuse my English.