Creative Sparks: An Index of 150+ Concepts, Images and Exercises to Ignite Your Design Ingenuity (Hardcover)

by Jim Krause (Author)
Key Phrases: commercial artists, Creative Sparks, Common Cause, Functional Form (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Look at buildings, old and new. Look at the whole of structures and look at their details. Look at the shapes, structures, colors and materials that are used today and compare them to those used in the past. Look!"

Product Description
This book is a playful collection of rock-solid advice, thought-provoking concepts, suggestions and exercises is sure to stimulate the creative, innovative thinking that designers need to do their jobs well. It will encourage readers to find inspiration in the world about them, spark new ideas and act as a guide to each designer's creative path. Each spread stands alone as a self-contained, thoughtfully designed creative primer, focusing not only on cleverly designed creativity tips or anecdotes, but also on practical advice and idea starters.

Designers will find a range of information and inspiration on the one topic they always want more of: creativity.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: How (August 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581804385
• ISBN-13: 978-1581804386
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #201,237 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, truly., September 22, 2003

By A Customer

I've never sent a review before, but this is an execptional book and I feel compelled to say something about it. Forgive me if this sounds corny, but I can only describe this book as an explosion of visual exuberance and I am still reveling in its aftershocks. I was unable to put this one down until well past midnight last night. Not everyone will understand this book (it is non-linear and filled with non-stop images, thoughts, exercises, practical advice, etc.), but i think that true designers and those who really, really love art will know exactly what it is all about. Every spread in this book presents a jewel of information and/or inspiration. I would, if i could give a copy of this book to every person I know who creates art (either for fun or professionally). It is absolutely unique, absolutely wonderful.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, especially for the creativity blocked, July 21, 2005

By	Design is Fun (NY) - See all my reviews

This book is phenomenal. It contains a lot of lessons, passages, and much more based on the art and design world. Whenever you are feeling uncreative, do yourself a big favor and buy this book. It is not a book meant to be read from page to page. It's a book meant to randomly pick pages and read and so forth. This book will motivate you, get you thinking creatively, bring you back from ur uncreative sense, and much more. It's a small book, but very handy.

My story was I was feeling very uncreative at one point where I couldn't execute my designs and art pieces well. I was desperately looking for a book that would help me find myself within and get back to working creatively. A friend recommended Creative sparks, and i listened. I was glad i did, took it while i was on my way to school, home, everywhere. Even now, that i don't feel uncreative, i still go back to the book and remind myself how great art truly is, and how geeat it is to produce it using your hands and your minds. I would add more, but you'll figure it out as you tune in to this book.

Oh, at first, it may not seem as a great book, but remember to allow yourself to not only know the concepts, but UNDERSTAND them. knowing and understanding are different things, so make sure you understand and let it be part of you. That's all i have to say.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a nice jump start to the creative thinking process, November 8, 2003

By	Kenneth G. Wilson (SC, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book in a search for something to help challenge and jump start my creative process. This book is a quirky way to challenge yourself and stimulate creative ideas. It is a small, pocket sized package that can be browsed one page at a time. You can literally turn to a random, new page (which is how I read it) and spend a minute or two learning a new lesson. Though it is directed at graphic designers, other disciplines can pull some really good ideas from it, too. I highly recommend this. It stays in my backpack all the time, and when I find myself with a few spare minutes, I'll thumb through a few pages.