Design Inspiration from Music Videos: Sick Muse by Metric

As a web designer it is sometimes hard to get inspired. When a client asks for a specific design and has some concrete ideas, it can be much easier than inventing something from scratch, something unique and new. Of course, we always have the one best source for inspiration which is the vast collection of websites already created.

But inspiration is a complicated concept – it is the “stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity”. So, where does inspiration come from? Certainly it is very helpful to stimulate all our senses in the process of inspiration and to do so we need to put our senses out there.

In this article I want to share one of my inspiration sources: music videos. Watching a good music video is like looking at a a piece of art. The director of the video certainly got inspired by the music and if he could transmit his inspiration to the video, then you can pull a lot out of it. Of course, only if you like the music 🙂 If not, it might actually be very destructive to your inspirational process!

So, here is one of my favorite music videos and the inspiration for colors, patterns and shapes it gives me – Sick Muse by Metric:

Sick Muse – Metric

Watch the HD version here.

There is a lot of playing with light, shadow and sparkle. The sequins dress of Emily Haines is with no doubt one of the center pieces of this video. There are a lot of small details that catch your eye for a moment, like the black little heart, the Polaroid picture. Also, the textures of the clothes and items shown in the video are very interesting. There are the golden letters, the golden tiger or puma statue that is briefly shown, the details on the 80ies sparlke shirt (maple leaves) and the sparkler. And not to forget the leather texture of the singer’s pants.

So here is my collection of Photoshop resources and tutorials that relate to the theme of this video:

The color scheme:

Dark Sequins Photoshop Brushes and Pattern by Raymond Dukes:
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&extid=1044927

Gold text effects in Photoshop by psdGraphics
http://www.psdgraphics.com/psd/gold-text-effects-in-photoshop/

Lace Photoshop Patters on Obsidian Dawn:
http://www.obsidiandawn.com/lace-photoshop-patterns

Sparkler Brushes by bruised-rainbows on deviantART:
http://bruised-rainbows.deviantart.com/art/Sparkler-Brushes-26611186

Polaroid Frames Vector Set by DragonArtz Designs:
http://dragonartz.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/polaroid-frames-vector-set/

Blank Polaroid frame background by psdGraphics:
http://www.psdgraphics.com/backgrounds/blank-polaroid-frame-background/

iLove Polaroids Photoshop Brushes by Titelfe on Brusheezy:
http://www.brusheezy.com/brush/235-I-Love-Polaroids-3

Digea Film Brushes for Photoshop by Jelena Jovovic on GetBrushes.com:
http://getbrushes.com/misc-photoshop-brushes/film-brushes.php

Vector Hearts Shapes at all-silhouettes.com:
http://all-silhouettes.com/vector-hearts-shapes/

Stitching (Sewing) Photoshop Brushes by Obsidian Dawn:
http://www.obsidiandawn.com/stitching-sewing-photoshop-gimp-brushes

Janita’s Teuterumomiji Brushes for Photoshop (Maple Leaf):
http://getbrushes.com/decorative-ornaments-photoshop-brushes/janitas-teruterumomiji-brushes.php

Black Leather from 2textured:
http://www.2textured.com/main.php?g2_itemId=8197

Font: Gill Sans Ultra Bold Condensed (paid):
http://www.fonts.com/findfonts/detail.asp?pid=205316&download=Download+Font

More Brushes: 200+ Photoshop Brushes for Light, Sparkles, Glows and Glitter on Vandalay Design:
http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/photoshop-brushes-light-sparkles/

I hope you get inspired! Enjoy!