The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
i am a hoarder, so here is a collection of some of the things that inspire me to create everyday...
featuring a few of my favourite albums and films, a collection of receipts and some other random images that i love.
what would be in your scrapbook?
absolutely obsessed with the before trilogy, it's SUCH a versatile & meaningful source for inspiration!
Great work
Nice one 👍
Albums, old cinema tickets, screenshots of color palettes I saved, and at least three photos of light coming through windows. Scrapbooks tell you a lot about a person.
Landscapes, impeccable architeture, jazz artist, ben 10
Ooh, such a beautiful scrapbook Cara, love it. A fun insight into what gets you excited!
Including receipts alongside albums and films is a useful reminder that design references do not have to come from polished design work. Everyday type, spacing and accidental colour combinations can be great starting points for an identity. Do you organise your references by mood or let the connections emerge later?
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Related posts
Three blogs, a cover for every post.
I design and run the blogs for TasteOS, pirch and tab, and each one looks like its own product. TasteOS paints its mascot into every scene. pirch gives each post one small object and publishes original research with its sources. tab pairs practical notes for freelancers with art that never repeats a medium.
Case study: https://bradyux.com/portfolio/blogs/
54 Shades of Whimsy 🃏♠️
What if a simple deck of playing cards could feel like a little piece of art history?
That thought became the starting point for 54 Shades of Whimsy - a playing card collection inspired by the elegance of Art Nouveau, vintage illustrations, ornamental patterns, and the beauty of nature.
I wanted each card to feel like it belonged to the same little universe, yet carry its own personality. From delicate florals and colourful birds to royal characters, intricate details, and playful expressions, every card was an opportunity to explore a different shade of whimsy.
I spent time gathering inspiration from historical artworks, decorative motifs, and vintage illustrations, then brought those visual elements together to create a custom style in Recraft. The goal was to keep the collection cohesive while allowing every card to tell its own story.
Soft colours, aged paper textures, ornamental borders, and hand-painted details became the visual language of this deck.
And that's how 54 Shades of Whimsy came to life - a little world where every card has a character, every detail has a story, and even a game of cards can feel magical.
