The following are my panel notes from SXSW. As I am not the fastest typer I have paraphrased what was said. Should you notice any mistakes please do point them out in the comments for corrections.
Dan Rubin Creative Dir, Webgraph Inc
Patrick Haney Not a Sausage
Anton Peck Web Designer, MultiAd Inc
Erik Sagen Erik Sagen Designs
Glenda Sims Sr Systems Analyst, UT Austin
Dave Shea mezzoblue.com
The Museum - Glenda Sims
I create museum interactives. I creating a way for you to fall into a a work of art. The art directly influences my design. The tools that I have a audio guides podcasts, location sensing or intelligent environments.
I need to mae sure that I don't get between you and the work of art. Is the technology enhancing your experience. Or is it distracting you?
One of the works of art is a set of panels that represent the skin colour of 20 UT students. Arranged in alphabetical order. So the curator camem up with an iedea for an interactive which allowed you to choose the panel that most closely matched your own skin colour and then you could submit it with your name and become part of a digital canvas.
Dave Shea
First Photograph ever taken - almost 200 years ago.
During the 20th Century photography started to be taken seriously as an art form.
There was art photography which was a struggle and then there was journalist photography.
During the 70s there was a snapshot aesthetic. There's no real demand for fine art photography.
Commercial photography is the form that we have the most exposure to. As digital cameras have become more popular traditional film is disappearing.
I can get a professional camera for less than $1000. The majority of photos on Flickr comes from Digital SLRs. Now instead of spending lots of money on stock photos I can offer someone fifty bucjs for a photo on flickr or use iStockphoto.
Erik Sagen - Pop Culture
The artist should never try to be popular. Rather the public should be more artistic - Oscar Wilde
Art & Film is an endless source of inspiration
1950s: Pop Art
Jasper Johns + Andy Warhol - former advertising illustrator
Roy Lichtenstein - emulated a comic book style. Used a Benday Screen a stencil that mimics a newsprint look.
The Drowning Girl - tells a story. Whaam, lots of action.
Tom Wilson. Better known as Biff from the back to the future movies. Evokes nostalgia.
Taking these things into account. Try a couple of things. If you don't have the source material in front of you. If you can't get people to dress a pirates! Pop in a DVD of pirates of the carribean I freeze framed it and started sketching. Or, go to an art museum. Take a notebook with you.
The next time you are staring at that blank canvas things will magically appear.
Inspiration - Anton Peck
I saw an Angel in the marble and carved until I set him free - Michelangelo
Medium - the materials and techniques used by an artist.
I look at photographs and I see different things. I saw this picture of a vulture and saw the wings in particular. It evolved into the Voodoo Design logo. Photoshop was my medium.
How Music Influences - Dan Rubin
Music can affect your productivity, evoke memories. Music has physical and physoclogical effects. If you want to relax you don't listen to high energy music.
Music and art a symbiotic relationship.
Impressionist painted when music like Debussy was around.
Jackson Pollock, listened to Jazz
Reverse that listen to Debussy and look a Jackson Pollock, they don't go together.
Anton listens to high energy music. If I forced Anton to listen to country music. AP: I would hurt you (laughter)
his style would change. And his mood too, though that's pretty clear.
If you hit a creative block, change your music, to set a different scene.
How Music affects you.
As an excercise. Switch the music that you listen to. Try some of the examples mix and match them see the dissonance. The next time you put your headphones on think about how appropriate the music is to the style that you are looking to create.
Design - Patrick Haney
I have a set on Flickr which is my inspiration.
Alex Dukal is an illustrator.
Rik Catlow incorporates his art into his site.
Joyent site. The site is built around the illustrations even though they have nothing to do with illustration.
National Gazette site. The typography ties it together. With a little bit of imagery.
Piece of a stained glass window. Department of Theology took the photograph and used the photopgraph to create the colour scheme.
Dave Shea's Mexxoblue.
Art on campus, I incorporated the imagery of the art work into the site.
Bruce Turckle? Anti drug poster.
I take inspiration from all over the place.
Refresh logo. I was influenced by my own work.
Starry night by Van Gogh. I look at it to calm me down. It sets the mood for me. I also look at it to get fired up. I can see his passion in the painting.
Inspirability - by Pash. 40 top designers speak out about what inspires. I read this front to back in a day. You can't go wrong it's green a fuzzy.