On Collecting Visual Inspiration.
Monday, April 26th, 2010
Like many designers out there I like collecting images of good graphic design, but I have a problem with current image bookmarking services. So I decided to set up my own system.
Who doesn’t love looking at clean, simple, beautiful graphic design? I’m obsessed with discovering great talent and great design. Ever since I can remember wanting to be a designer I’ve collected and/or cataloged bits of designs I find inspiring and useful. Like many of you however, I’ve struggled to find the perfect solution for my image bookmarking needs.
Over the last few years I’ve been using web based services for my design bookmarking, and while there are some good solutions out there, non are perfect for me.
The Problem with Current Solutions
My biggest issue with current image bookmarking services is their lack of simplicity, both from a design perspective and the features they offer. All of these services ffffound, imgspark, vi.sualize, emberapp, while good solutions for most, are just not what I’m looking for.
I want a service that let’s me focus on the images themselves and not it’s related content/metadata. I don’t want to see how many people liked a specific image, or if it has other related images, or how many tags it has etc. I’m there to consume the visuals, the image!.
A Note on Dropular
Dropular is an image bookmarking service that showed promise, it had a simple interface and a very elegant solution for bookmarking images via a simple bookmarklet. I started using the service last year and I finally felt I had found the perfect solution. That is, until they destroyed any confidence I had in them. Not only did they shut down for several months promising a new and improved service, but ended up launching a completely useless website. I respect the people behind dropular, but they really let me down.
After the dropular fiasco, I figured it was time to find my own solution.
Enter Visual Bits
Visual Bits is my own personal image bookmarking website. I had one goal in mind when setting it up, it needed to be simple, it needed to feel simple.
The site is powered by tumblr and it’s using a custom tumblr theme I designed that basically eliminates any other piece of data associated with the image and leaves the image and source intact. No related images, no tags, no followers, no “likes”, etc.
It’s perfect.
17 Comments
Looks good Alex. But how do you easily find an image you are searching for?
@DI I do it the old school way. I follow links! I also browse sites like the behance network, krop, flickr, etc.
Finding the images for me at least is not the issue, I come across good stuff during my daily reading/browsing.
Fucking sold!
1.) Brilliant idea
2.) Clean Layout with creditable links to source. (another problem with other design image repositories)
3.) not least of all, beautiful collection.
I would love to collaborate on a wordpress plugin for this in the future. Maybe even harness some of the multi-site capabilities of wp3.0 Until then, keep up the insightful posts!
Looks great Alex. I love Tumblr. I have a similar one but it’s a mix of visual inspiration and internet LOLs.
I couldn’t agree more; it’s the focus on the inspiration that matters!
I have also made myself a stripped down version of ffffound on my localhost, to use personally.
But the problem for me now is finding what I saved later on which I think is what Design Informer was trying to get at.
How would you address this without adding bloated features?!!
@Joan tumblr automatically creates a very useful and easy to scan archive page. Take a look at:
http://visual.neography.com/archive
In this case, because everything is an image, it’s pretty simple to go down the list and find what you are looking for.
If you’re interested, you should apply to the service we’re building at lookwork.org. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on it.
Wonderful!
I tried to use jquery.masonry on my tumblr theme just the other night, but I failed to make it all click together. Images loaded on top of each other—something to do with image sizes having to be encoded in the –tag. You seem to have managed somehow though. Looks great!
Get some infinite scroll on there and you’re golden :)
Oops—just found out what I was doing wrong.
Should’ve used “$(window).load”!
Sorry for the comment-mess I’ve made ;)
I miss sources though.
@eugene The source is there. I make sure I display the source URL or link the image to the actual source.
Alex,
This IS a great solution, I’ll definitely go try it out. You’re totally right about the design pieces being the focus.
Thanks for the tip!
you way of collecting visual inspiration is simple and to the point :)
thanks for sharing the link
Wow, this would be great to collect images that I use in my class lectures. I’m brand new to tumblr, is Visual Bits just for you or is it a theme that others could use?
@Anne
The Visual Bits theme is something I created specifically for my needs. There are however tons of tumblr themes you could choose from, some are even similar to the one I use.
Check: http://www.tumblr.com/themes/
Awesome idea and really digging the simplicity.
I have collected so many files and graphic items that I like. It is nice to have the real thing to look at but this has given me the inspiration to have ago and to only keep the best bits to hand. By showing the images in this way to you can record where you have sourced the design from to. If you find a design you like then you can go back to that brand a few years later. So simple…great idea!
Got something on your mind?