An Inspiring Afternoon Spent Wandering the Web

Today I spent over three hours wandering websites looking for inspiration. I’m creating new pages for work and I wanted something that shocked me. I also wanted something that made me feel safe, welcome, and motivated to take action. I came across some pretty great sites actually. In fact this site – TheBestDesigns led me into a worm hole that eventually defined my afternoon.

You know what I realized? People are doing some pretty epic things out there. I was reminded of my recent trip to Barcelona where when looking at Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia I couldn’t help but ask — where had all the crazy fucking big thinkers gone? Gaudi knew the conventions, he knew the accepted shapes of what a church should look like and instead he built this…

Now that I can appreciate. While wandering today I saw so many amazing sites that just reminded me how fun it can all be. I was truly inspired. I then started mocking up pictures to show my teammates, and although I haven’t shown them any yet, I know its likely these won’t be the final versions. That’s not how it works. Hybrids and collaborative efforts make more sense for pages that must reach the masses. I do think though that just the process of making yourself be open to inspiration was far more important than the pages I created after.

From there I was sharing some links with a friend who works for a start-up back on the East Coast, and she was inspired. From there she passed one on to her boss, who wrote back and said perhaps they too should revisit some of their pages. All of this from one or two sites that were nothing more than beautiful, fun, different…inspiring. Sites like these:

Logartis

 

 

 

 

 

 

DillyDeliTulsa

 

 

 

 

 

 

EmpireVintage

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean these were just a few that had me opening new windows, wandering through “About Us” tabs, and so on and so forth. I don’t spend enough time wandering the web. I wonder what Tolkien would have said about our time spent on the web? Are all who wander the web lost? Are we losing hours that should be spent more effectively? After all this medium never did stress the importance of organically consuming its fruits. Instead we aggressively bounce back and forth and around, hoping to see as much as we can, and be the first. Novelty is everything these days.

Just thought it was worth reflecting on an afternoon spent on seeking inspiration on the Web. I’m realizing these days it comes in all sorts of pixels.