Switching to a Healthy Creative Diet
Ever since the beginning of social media, mankind has spent countless hours scrolling through the “news feed” which had less of news and more of feed, a very low quality one. What started as a way to stay in touch with friends and family eventually has turned into a series of selfies, cat videos, mindless memes and branded contents desperately trying to be cool and sell useless stuffs (come on, who needs USB powered AC? seriously?).
Now I’m not saying that I am any different. I too am guilty of watching hours of a flying pop-tart cat with rainbow coming out of its butt and little kids falling flat on their faces with Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Sound of Silence’ playing in the background.
This had to stop.
So, I decided to do something about it. I decided to swap these time consuming social media sites for high quality creative ones. I call this a healthy creative diet. Here’s how I did it.
Swapped Facebook for Behance
Sure, Facebook is almost irreplaceable. But it’s more than possible to swap some of the time we browse Facebook with Behance. For those of you who don’t know, Behance is the largest site of creative professionals around the globe. And when I say creative professionals, I mean the best there is. The absolute top tier. The legends. From art directors to film directors, graphic designers to illustration artists, photographers to motion designers, this is the best place to be if you want to get inspired and grow as a creative professional. A neat interface let’s you browse through thousands of new works coming everyday.
Swap YouTube for Vimeo
If you’re at alllike me, you probably spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos or songs. A good alternative for YouTube is Vimeo. It is just like YouTube, but better in every conceivable way (okay. That might be an exaggeration. Viemo’s video player sucks). Vimeo contents are far more aesthetically driven. It’s a place where directors, cinematographers and animators show off their creations. The finest ones.
On top of that, a curated stream of brilliant contents by Vimeo’s staff makes this place even better. So next time you’re bored and wish to see something good, just pop into Vimeo and start playing something from the Staff Pick. It’s guaranteed to be inspiring.
Swap Instagram for umm… Instagram
Instagram is a gold mine if you’re up for some careful searching. There are countless creatives showcasing their works and hundreds of awe inspiring content at Instagram. My personal favorites are National Geographic and National Geographic Travel. These two channels post exceptional photos from around the world.
Beyond photography, there are hundreds of illustrator artists, VFX artists, concept artists and creative professionals who showcase their works at Instagram. Check out the works of Pascal Campion, rikoostenbroek, Gareth Daveis, Scott Robertson and many more for some amazing inspirations.
Abduzeedo for Dessert
Abduzeedo is one of those sights where you go to get your jaw dropped with every scroll. Amazing contents from designers around the world make this place a great indulgence. Moreover, Abduzeedo curates contents from all of the sites mentioned earlier to create a series of daily inspirations which is an absolute treat to see.
Internet is a crowded place. But with a bit of patience and careful searching, you can discover creative goldmines. Go on, check out these links, bookmark them, create a reminder for consuming these great treats every single day.
Bon Appétit.
