Guest Post: Stephen Riley // @stephenriley

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A lot of things inspire me; an important part of being creative is being interested in the world around you.

But one inspiration really stood out for me today - the (too few) leaders who truly put design first, in the face of tremendous risk.

And this is not just aesthetic design, this is total experience, crafted to feel a certain way.  Not how something looks, but how it feels.

Naturally Jobs came to mind as an icon of this inspiration; and what struck me about his resignation last week was the eulogy-like tweets,
as if he died.  Normally, when someone quits, people fight over their stuff.  But the tributes to Jobs were heartfelt and touching, something I've never quite seen before in this context.

Why? Because he never compromised.  He took huge risks.  He failed sometimes but clearly learned from it.  And the end result are a brand
and products that went to the heart.  I was asked recently if I preferred PC or mac, and why I preferred mac.  It was an easy answer, "because I like how it feels."  It's like he took the individually-crafted deliciousness of a Specialtys cookie and turned it into a mass-produced Keebler cookie that everyone could access and enjoy.

And that, to me, pretty much perfectly captures what the intent of design should be.

Guest Post: Jackie Ng // @jacoutofthebox

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The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

— Think Different by Apple, TBWA\Chiat\Day, 1997

I am a visual addict and I love beautiful things. I can share with you the cool websites that I bookmark for inspiration or my current obsession, pinterest. By indulging in these visual stimuli, I have trained my brain to believe that they inspire me to be creative. But do they?

Truth be told, these things are simply information, snippets of data that are visually interesting but are passive by nature. How do they transform me? Do they drive me to action? As Albert Einstein said it perfectly, Information is NOT knowledge. And knowledge without action is NOT power.

So what truly inspires me? Not things but people who create things and actions that in turn inspire me to do something meaningful. People who are truly passionate about what they do and communicate this passion to their community and to the world. People who think and do things differently and inspire people around them to change things as well, to "move the human race forward".

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This Apple commercial inspires me each time I watch it. It perfectly sums up my admiration of inspiring people who are catalysts for change. This ad has certainly "inspired" me to change the direction of my career a few years ago.

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