inspiration

The ICEDIP model created by Geoffrey Petty describes the creative process, contributing to many different aspects from creative writing to creative design. The ICEDIP model was developed to make best of the creative process.

Petty’s creative process has six phases. The first letter of each word spells out ICEDIP. This will help to remember each of the phases:

Inspiration-research and generate ideas
Clarification-focus on your goals
Evaluation-review your work and learn from it
Distillation-decide which of your ideas to work on
Incubation-leave the work alone

Pets are a huge part of our lives, research has shown that having pets in the workplace reduces stress and increases the feeling of well-being. It seems that more and more companies are allowing dogs in the office and LevelTen Interactive happens to be one of them.

Well here it is my very first blog. My first thought, who came up with that name? My second thought, what in the world am I going to blog about? So I googled and googled in search of some ground breaking news to insure that my first blog would be inspiring. After a general consensus of internet searching, it occurred to me that I was not alone in my search for inspiration.

Every morning when you wake up there is a routine that you have become accustomed too. Alarm goes off, you hit the snooze, alarm goes off again, you hit the snooze a little harder this time, then again and harder the alarm clock gets hit till finally you grunt, groan and finally get out of bed and in to the shower..off to work, stop for coffee, wake up some more and then maybe muster up enough energy to start working on your emails or phone calls. ugggggghhhh.... well this may not be your personal routine but its what a lot of people do in one way or another to get their day started.

"Great leaders go forward without stopping, remain firm without tiring, and remain enthusiastic while growing." Reed Markham, American Educator

Sometimes I come across these quotes which will change the way I look at the day. I may scribble it down on my notepad and forget about it when I turn the page the next day. I like this one because it is simple and straightforward. No frills, no bullshit. It's honest. Without discipline you have nothing. Without drive you have nothing. What drives you?

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Is it not the challenge that keeps your mind sharp and refreshed?

Without the challenge, wouldn't your mind essentially become empty and aloof --stagnant and careless of the world around you?

Without the challenge, wouldn't your life be nothing more than what you already know?

It is the challenge that is the fire.

The shadow in front of you will be the one you begin to know and take form of, give names to, and define.

The shadow will guide you, reward you, and soon you will no longer be defining the shadow, but it will be defining you.

As a creative person, I'm always looking for different things to inspire me and my designs, such as museums, books, the internet, and my surroundings. When I can't get out of the office, I like to check out different designers websites for inspiration. There has been a recent trend in the web world of "web galleries", which showcase hundreds of websites with good design. I like to browse through these galleries, clicking from link to link to look for something, may it be a design element, color scheme, or interesting photo, that catches my creative eye and sparks the lightbulb in my brain.

Ever hear the phrase don't re-invent the wheel? Sure we all have and as a design company we understand the importance of inspiration, but when does "inspired by" cross the line into blatant theft of concept?