What inspires me?

Traveling for Inspiration!

Where, as a freelancer working mostly alone, do I turn for inspiration? Where do I draw it from?

Sure enough there are my daily surroundings, the city, the landscape and nature, people, local culture, shops, malls, books, newspaper and magazine publications. It all inspires me in what I do. But what really gets me going is traveling the world.

I am in a lucky situation. I left my home country years back and have since lived in 10 countries and traveled to over 40. Some of them repeatedly.

Being immersed in different cultures, interacting with people of different ethnicities and heritage and learning about the history of a country / city / destination is an experience not to be missed.

This year alone I was able to travel to many places. Amongst them Japan and Sri Lanka (for the first time) Paris for a long overdue encore and coming up soon Jordan.

Whether you look at historic palaces, temples and shrines, visit world renowned sites and museums or simply indulge in the vast nature of a country, it truly opens up your mind to new things, different approaches to design and creativity.

Japan was for me the most incredible destination this year. The attention to detail in design paired with traditions such as meticulous executed calligraphy is highly inspirational. Spending time with local artisans who, to this day, manufacture everyday things such as paper or tea whisks by hand, has left a lasting impression.

When traveling, take your time to take all, a destination has to offer, in. Speak to the locals, visit book stores and engage in conversations. I try to visit unique places that inspire me in my daily design work, and not follow the crowds to the tried and highly frequented areas.

Traveling truly helps me to stay relevant and working on being a better designer every day.