July Ad Inspiration : Be Inspired!!!

So, you wanna know the truth? I can't stand Ad Inspirations.

They are not easy for me! I like to avoid them. I don't know what it is but I have a hard time taking an advertisement intended for print in a newspaper, magazine, or website, and translating it into a scrapbook page. Ads are often very graphic and make use of lots of text or lots and lots of blank space. Eeek! Sometimes the photo in an Ad takes up the entire page! Yikes! Or maybe the ad isn't shaped like a square! Oh no! :)

So, I decided to challenge myself this month and, instead of doing a sketch, find an Ad that I could use as inspiration. Crazy me. I didn't find anything! LOL. But! I did find a website that could pass as an Ad. Then I stared at it for a few days until something came to me.

I took it pretty literally (which I am realizing might be part of my problem) but I just LOVE how our Guest Designers this month took elements of the Ad and created stunning pages that are not at all ad-like. ;)

Here's the Ad (er... website):


Here's my page:
I focused on the bones of the inspiration and went with a very similar layout. I also thought it would be fun to mimic the fine lines, brackets, and the style of text inside of the brackets.

Here's Amy Coose's:
Amy took the brackets in the inspiration piece to a whole new level. She made it a bold statement where her title takes the center stage. Her photo placement is within a square with rounded corners... very similar to the ad.

And here's Sarah Nolan's:
Sarah also took the inspiration to help plot her layout and photo placement. She also used monochromatic colors and simple square shapes which are found in the ad.

So, I am learning how to be inspired by outside sources. It seems the key to working with an Advertisement (or website) as inspiration is to take parts of it and make them work for your page. Don't get overwhelmed or feel like you have to mimic the entire thing! Even if it's one small idea, like the placement of your title or photo, using an ad can really spark ideas for a page that's 100% you!