Everybody knows the struggle when you hit a creative roadblock. Either you are in a creative mood but don't know what to make or you're in the middle of a project and need some inspirational guidance and don't know where to look. I know the feeling. There are a few places I'll go check out for inspiration or guidance.
Behance is a social platform owned by Adobe. It's essentially a hub for all things creative, for people to share their work, learn from each other and be used as a portfolio. It acts the same as other social platforms, you can follow creators, message, appreciate ("like") posts, and save files for inspiration to your mood board. I like that it also features what application was used for each piece of work - Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. There's also a handy little "Hire" button on each post so that if you are open to freelance work, that's immediately available. Something else that is appreciated on Behance is the available assets for designers. You can sort by free assets or ones you must purchase. You can find anything from typefaces to social media post templates.
Dribbble (no it's not a typo) is very similar to Behance. It also acts the same a social platform. You have the opportunity to hire designers or be open to freelance work. There is a premium plan if you opt to use the platform to land work opportunities and boost your profile. As well as on Behance, the site is organized into categories: Animation, Branding, Mobile, Typography, etc... So if you're working on a specific project and need inspiration you can sort through works with ease. A feature that I appreciate on Dribbble is their "Learn Design" tab, where they offer resources to continue learning and participate in online classes. You do have to pay tuition for the online courses, but occasionally you can find free online workshops to participate in. So keep a lookout! You never know what you'll learn.
This might be a no-brainer, like 'duh' why wouldn't you use Instagram? It was originally used for photography and videography sharing so artists have had a choke-hold on Instagram since it's birth. Anytime I run across any sort of designer or artist that I resonate with or just really admire their work, I go and follow them on Instagram. I do this so that when I'm doom-scrolling out of boredom, I'll still be influenced by the art-world. Inspiration came come out when we're least expecting it, so by filling my social media up with the potential to inspire... I'm setting myself up for success... when I'm bored scrolling for miles? At least that's the plan.
I recently followed several speakers that will be at the Adobe MAX conference this year on Instagram. Some of the accounts I admired are: @kristy.thepinkpony, @annamcnaughty, @wearecreamstudio, @dana_tanamachi, @printmysoul
I love Redbubble! They offer so much, but the first thing that always comes to my mind is - stickers! Redbubble is essentially a second party that offers their printing services for multiple different mediums for designers to sell their work. I know so many people who get custom or special stickers from Redbubble. However they do more than stickers - phone cases, wall art, mugs, mouse pads... you name it. It might be a kind of weird place to look for inspiration, but the illustrations are always so nice. I like to see what's trending or how others may have made artwork similar to what I'm trying to accomplish. It's also good to see how others are pricing their work so that you have an idea of how to price your own if you're doing freelance. It's a great source to shop for trending artwork.
I have definitely used Redbubble in the past to order my own stickers - no shame. I can say, great quality and timeliness!
This one sounds a little weird, because Adobe is software... but it's also more than that. Obviously the source for the most used creative software has sources for inspiration for those who use their software. Other than scrolling through Adobe Stock or Adobe Fonts, they have other resources available. Learning resources, the support community, Adobe Firefly (this one's fun) and Adobe Express. Although Firefly and Express are technically tools, I've primarily used them to initiate inspiration and then carry out the rest of my work elsewhere. I will use them for no reason whatsoever, like what I start making, and then carry into PS or AI and continue there. There's no doubt that Adobe Firefly has a long way to go, but it's still fun to play around with.
There are a million resources out there that are dedicated toward providing creative inspiration. A quick Google search will lead to a never ending rabbit hole of sites to explore. I feel like these sites allow high quality work and experienced artists to communicate and share their ideas and opinions, offer support and create a culture of influence.