I recently signed up for Corbis Brain Bran and ordered their deck of inspiration cards.
It's a limited-edition collection of 24 cards printed with an eclectic assortment of images from the Corbis Image Library. Each card has a statement on the back designed to juice up the creative process when your mojo is running dry.
Like:
Go Commando
Create a Manifesto
Hire an existential detective (what a fabulous idea!)
The images range from shocking to mundane (the tribal figure above is one of my favorites: yow!) You can also subscribe to their RSS feed, which offers a steady stream of images + ideas.
It's a fun concept. I wish I could make my own deck. I'd love to assemble my own collection of images on thick, sturdy cards like these. Hmm. Maybe I could order a postcard deck from Moo - but they're glossy and snapshot-like, and I love the matte, cardboard feel of these, and the way that you can play around with them and make a sculpture of sorts when you're feeling bored or thinking through something.
I occurs to me that a custom deck like this would be a great branding piece for design agencies and copywriters to give as a gift to clients + prospects - a way to say: we think groovy thoughts and you should hire our brilliant selves, pronto-like.
Oh, the wheels :: they are turning.