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Coding Creativity

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Coding Creativity written Jul 3, 2018 12:49:36 GMT via mobile
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So, while I adore coding and learning to code I really struggle with coming up with creative ideas to code. Thought maybe this thread could shed some light/help people and/or lend some ideas or resources.

1. I'm sure everyone struggles with coming up with ideas but its always nice to hear it. So do you struggle? How often?

2. Where do you go to get or come up with ideas?



I struggle pretty much everytime I want to code to come up with a creative design. It sucks, especially since I really enjoy coding and it's a good way for me to chill.

As for ideas, I look to others for inspiration. and have amazing designs I can stare at all day. Or I tend to Google good web design ideas and kinda just browse around. Figure out what I like and don't with each. Sometimes toss the ideas around to make something new and sometimes I just end up flat lining in the creative department and staring at the designs wishing I was more creative LOL.
last edit on Jul 3, 2018 12:53:18 GMT by Deleted
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Coding Creativity written Jul 3, 2018 13:21:50 GMT
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rp is supposed to be fun, remember
designspiration.net & www.awwwards.com/websites/ mainly.

I am also staffing a coding resource board - jcink only so that it is constantly forcing me to be involved in looking at, coming across different designs. I think PP also has challenges to help out with that as well and I usually like a good ranking / critique system for motivation. I still need to get used to proboards but still.

On top of that, I also just code things I see in game UI's or movies etc as practice, sometimes they end up doing well, sometimes it's just a mess. Even if I rarely put things on display, I do a lot of practices though, which I always recommend people to do!

I require a base layout if I'm not skinning for myself though, just because my taste is not always same as someone else's and I tend to go experimental a lot when coding. 
last edit on Jul 3, 2018 13:23:05 GMT by flare
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Coding Creativity written Jul 3, 2018 13:43:50 GMT
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Jul 3, 2018 13:21:50 GMT said:
designspiration.net & www.awwwards.com/websites/ mainly.

I am also staffing a coding resource board - jcink only

omg where? i didnt know >:c mad @ myself

but also more on the topic, designs for me came right from the top of my head and feels like some angel went down from heavens above to give me idea during the dead of the night where i was supposed to be sleeping and not coding. Whenever i ve got no time, i would use photoshop or editing programs to imprint it so i can look at code them later on. Sometimes, commissions help me think of a design bc i think of them more as a 'prompt'. Although, admittedly, these are for times when i want to creative.

i basically have two seasons, it's lazy season (codes i usually let ppl see/share) and creative season ( codes like this w/c are highly personalized). for skins i have a lot of secret skins i dont think i can or anyone can use due to high personality (only applicable for certain sites) and like complex layouts (pain in the ass 2 transfer).

but also dribbble.com/ is also the moST popular site for site inspo that I underutilize heavily but it's a rly great site with a community of great designers!! (ive yet to make my account yet so i can only view few figures, but if u like it, u'd need an account to view them fully)
last edit on Jul 13, 2018 6:57:54 GMT by von
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Coding Creativity written Jul 3, 2018 14:32:52 GMT
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rp is supposed to be fun, remember
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Jul 3, 2018 13:43:50 GMT said:
flare Avatar
Jul 3, 2018 13:21:50 GMT said:
designspiration.net & www.awwwards.com/websites/ mainly.

I am also staffing a coding resource board - jcink only
omg where? i didnt know >:c mad @ myself

but also more on the topic, designs for me came right from the top of my head and feels like some angel went down from heavens above to give me idea during the dead of the night where i was supposed to be sleeping and not coding. Whenever i ve got no time, i would use photoshop or editing programs to imprint it so i can look at code them later on. Sometimes, commissions help me think of a design bc i think of them more as a 'prompt'. Although, admittedly, these are for times when i want to creative.

i basically have two seasons, it's lazy season (codes i usually let ppl see/share) and creative season (https://codepen.io/vdiesel/pen/xjvVKG codes like this w/c are highly personalized). for skins i have a lot of secret skins i dont think i can or anyone can use due to high personality (only applicable for certain sites) and like complex layouts (pain in the ass 2 transfer).

but also dribbble.com/ is also the moST popular site for site inspo that I underutilize heavily but it's a rly great site with a community of great designers!! (ive yet to make my account yet so i can only view few figures, but if u like it, u'd need an account to view them fully)
i'll dm you! i actually wish there was a good jcink animanga resource too but :shrugemoji: 

also, dribble is so good! i don't know how i didn't see it earlier but holy, that is a godsend.

also i will admit that i sometimes check out old sites like gangnam style / sonder just to see how trends are changing and what we used to do that we don't anymore. it's such a big help.
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Coding Creativity written Jul 3, 2018 14:34:02 GMT
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i've been having some pretty dark thoughts.
Wait, you mean you guys have... ideas going in? Unthinkable...

Okay, but no joke, my biggest sources of inspiration are: Dribbble, which Von linked; graphics like this guy here ( 78.media.tumblr.com/d2fffdf57a0b699fcaa5e1daa9c2cbdf/tumblr_oxvu1opuFe1tfp2aoo2_r1_540.gif ); and just staring at a lot of peoples' other skins. I wish I could draw inspiration from, like... music and junk? Art? But nah. I just can't.

My design process is probably very abnormal, though, since with skins, I'll about... 65% of the time have some very vague idea of what I want to do for the banner and go in to code that - which always ends up looking at least slightly different than what it was I pictured in my head - but for skinning areas beyond that banner, or for literally any template I've ever coded in my life, probably, I just go in absolutely blind. I design a lot by the seat of my pants; what you see is usually the first thing that's come to mind at the time when I coded it. Er - okay, that's not entirely accurate. If it's not looking up to standard, I'll scrap and re-code it until it looks nice or I just get sick of scrapping and recoding and settle, so if it's not the first thing, then it's probably the second or third. I can't do mock ups to save my life, though - mocking up designs with what tools I have available to me actually takes more time than just coding out the idea??? - so I have no way to "store" ideas other than just... getting them down in code. Y'all who can do fancy mocks are actually really impressive to me, sdkjfhldkjfh, they're such a pain? In the butt? How.
last edit on Jul 3, 2018 14:44:49 GMT by pharaoh leap
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Coding Creativity written Jul 5, 2018 3:19:13 GMT
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I'm not an avid coder by any means, but I have been "inspired" to make a few things. One time, Dunkin' Donuts inspired me because I worked at joint store (was a gas station employee) and sometimes my only entertainment was watching their ad TV. ._. Another time, a bookstore inspired me so I tried to make something like that. During my newb days, I went "whieow, everything is square... I should make circles! Circles everywhere!" And in my newbishness was dispointed to discover the text box stayed square within my round template. :| And so on...

In the end, I guess what I'm trying to say is... I try to capture the look/essence of my "theme," and go from there.
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Coding Creativity written Jul 13, 2018 5:28:48 GMT
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Most of my coding nowadays in geared towards a character or the use of something in particular and I build around it. I really like things like the challenge section here too though because it gives me something to start with and build off of as I go. It helps gives me a direction to move in which is usually what i struggle with the most.

I find that a huge help though is doing things on paper. I started out with traditional art so sketching out my designs and potential layouts helps get me started and the ball rolling.

Otherwise I try and find something I want to use be it a pattern, palette or an image and build off of it.
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Coding Creativity written Jul 13, 2018 6:52:16 GMT
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:aiya:
Mostly reiterating what everyone else said - here's how I go about inspiration.

Unless I'm skinning, I almost always wing it. Mostly because I'm lazy and it's fun to go in blind without expectations. Before I begin, I piece together a mockup in my head. If there's nothing at mind, I think of a key element or two (ex: a diamond image and a boxy-stitched layout/a collage of font icons for decoration) and ponder on interesting ways to incorporate it into a design. As I work, I stop to critique what could be changed to amplify the aesthetic.

As for where I pull inspiration from: A combination of analyzing my favorite codes and designs on sites like dribbble/pinterest/behance/instagram/tumblr/etc.

I have a lot to learn about design and I haven't actually studied the fundamentals yet. I just go with what looks nice. I'm planning to learn it soon, though!
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