3 Great tools for Inspiration
Inspiration, inspiration, inspiration — Being a creative in the church world can be an incredibly fulfilling thing, but it can also be incredibly draining. Think about it, we are asked to pour out creative genius on a weekly basis with no end in sight— social media, flyers, handouts, sermon support,— the list goes on and on. Yet, often, we feel like we can’t. There have been so many times I finished a great design just to turn around and have 19 more things to do. It can be EXHAUSTING.
This is where inspiration kicks in. I like to put it this way, inspiration is the gasoline that powers our creative engines. As creatives, we live and die by the inspiration that we get. So if we neglect our inspirational juices then we are bound to go empty at some point.
It’s also important to note that there is more to burnout than inspiration. There is time off, positive feedback, work environments, and so much more that can’t be neglected. However, today I’m focusing on the inspiration aspect.
What is inspiration?
Wow, that’s a big question. The definition of inspiration varies from person to person and situation to situation. But, I like to think of inspiration as the things that I see or experience that get me excited to create. It can be anything from a concert, to a video, to something on the Hillsong Channel. The substance itself doesn’t matter, the only thing that matters is my reaction.
If I see something and get a fire lit inside me—i.e. the light programming of a Kanye concert — then it’s inspiration. If I look at something and feel drained — i.e. taxes — then it’s not inspiration.
How Do I harness inspiration?
Harnessing inspiration is an incredible process that will take a lifetime to master. It doesn’t happen overnight, nor will it be easy. Think of it like working out. You never reach a point in life where you’re done. There’s a maintaining process that needs to take place in order to stay at your current level. At the same time, if you want to grow you have to flex those muscles even more. Needless to say, there’s no specific process that will work for everyone, but there are a few great tools that can help. Below I’ve listed 3 of my favorite places to look for inspiration.
But before you dive into those I should point out how to use these in your creative process. It’s important that you don’t just copy something and claim it as your creation. That’s incredibly wrong (not to mention illegal). Instead, you should take elements, put a spin or a twist on them, and create something unique to you. A great tool on how to do this is a book called Steal Like an Artist. It’s a fantastic book that guides you on what to do.
1. Bēhance
Bēhance is a fantastic collection of designs from creatives all over the planet. It acts as a gallery, portfolio, job hunter, and so much more. It is a must for all creatives. I would go as far as to say that if you’re a creative (especially anything to do with graphic design) you have to be on Bēhance. It has a fantastic search feature that allows you to find almost anything your heart desires.
It’s sort of like Instagram, Pinterest, and Adobe came together to create a wonderland for creatives. Speaking of Adobe — Bēhance is integrated with Adobe so all of your wonderful creations can sync up on this platform that might just land you a graphic design job.
Oh Pinterest, the central hub of scrapbookers, wedding planners, and moms everywhere how we love you so.
All joking aside, Pinterest is a wonderful tool for church creatives. It serves as a source of inspiration in every area of ministry. I often will go on to look for social media trends, stage designs, creative fonts, and so much more. What’s great about Pinterest is that it is almost an unlimited source of content. There are thousands upon thousands of items added every day. It’s for that reason, that I check it weekly to gain fresh, new ideas for everything I’m doing.
3. Live Events
Live events are another great source of inspiration in so many ways. Let’s be honest, there is nothing better than the start of a concert when the bass booms through your chest. But as creatives, concerts can serve a deeper purpose than simply a good time. They can be sources of great inspiration. Think about it, what was the last concert you went to? What did you see and experience there?
Mine was a live recording of the worship album “Hallelujah Here Below” at Elevation (and yes, I consider that a concert). That was such an impactful experience in so many was, but especially for my inspiration. Afterwords, I was oozing inspiration and went on a creative binge that resulted in some awesome lyric videos, graphics, and so much more.
All of that to say, next time you’re at a concert take a second and look around. Look at the lights, the cameras, the assets, the stage design, the programming flow and allow yourself to be inspired.
The Hillsong Channel is such a tremendous blessing to the Church as a whole, but I didn’t realize this until I had the opportunity to create content for the platform. If you don’t know, the Hillsong Channel is a 24/7 live channel (available online and through cable providers) that presents the best that the Church World has to offer. This includes preaching, worship, creative elements, and so much more.
As a creative in the Church, it opens the door to see what other people are doing. It allows me to fine tune what I’m doing as well as give me encouragement that we as a community are doing some great things. I highly encourage you to drop in and take a look for an hour or so. You won’t regret it.
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