Friday Design: Autumnal Inspiration

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope that the second week of October has gone well for you and if you are in the Northern Hemisphere you are getting into the autumnal spirit. To that end, I wanted to share some autumnal-themed inspiration with you today.

One of the best things for getting inspired–whether you need inspiration for your next library graphic design project, your next lesson plan, or just life in general–is to get out of your routine and travel somewhere. Luckily, in terms of both time and money, you don’t need to travel far to get inspired–you just need to move.

This week I happily met up with one of my best friends and we explored a pumpkin patch together. It was a wonderful time to catch up and be enveloped by the sights and smells of autumn in the country. (Totally makes me want to live in a small town, again, too, but that’s a post for another day.) And the great thing about doing even a small trip is that I come back refreshed, energized, and with new ideas of how I want to incorporate autumnal things that inspire me in my next design projects. This doesn’t mean I’m going to design only with pumpkins or have scarecrow themes, but I did get inspired to change up some color schemes based on my day out. Check out some of this great autumnal color!

photograph of blue pumpkins

Gorgeous blue pumpkins that I’d never seen before. What a classy color to use in a design project!

photograph of mini gourds

There were piles of gourds in crates that had beautiful colors and shapes. What a great way to break out of a grid pattern using organic shapes. Awesome colors to sample for fall flyers and web graphics.

photograph of three sunflowers

Gorgeous sunflowers with their own highlights! And check out that sky! What a wonderful, deep blue color to use in a design with the accent colors taken from the sunflowers!

So I hope–and encourage–you to take advantage of the autumnal festivities and pumpkin patches in your area where you might just get inspired for your next design project.

If you need even more inspiration, check out this amazing photo of a view from Bag End featuring a pumpkin. What an amazing way to greet the morning.

Plus we are getting into holiday travel season, so while not exactly design inspiration, it’s still important to share: six pre-flight stretches to prevent blood clots. Thanks, Lifehacker!

Finally, for fun, and because you never know when you could do a library-event to tie in: check out this calendar of all the National Food Days. It’s fun and well-designed.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of fun, inspiration, and relaxation. I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!