Inspirational Quotes For Designers & Freelancers
Published on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 – 12:00 am
I sent out a Twitter (follow me) message to my followers asking what their favourite inspirational quote was. Below you will find the first 40+ responses. Hope this inspires your day!
It was also interesting to note, that not one person had the same favourite quote.
“An artist cannot fail. It is a success to be one.”
Via @riddlebrothers
“Unless you move, the place where you are is the place where you will always be.” ~Ashleigh Brilliant
Via @vintom
“The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”
Via @nguyenbk
“Do what you love to do, but don’t do it to the point where you don’t love it anymore.”
Via @DEFgraphics
“Tough times never last, but tough people do!”
Via @LBOI
“I don’t want to be one of those who say ‘I wish I had’. I want to be one of those who say ‘I’m glad I did’.”
Via @Maine_iac
“With time, and saliva, the ant will devour the elephant.”
Via @colinismyname
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Via @mehmetcihangir
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. ~ John Quincy Adams
Via @brandonacox
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ~ Thomas Edison
Via @dambold
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
Via @paperdoll
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce
Via @designbutt
“Art disturbs, science reassures.” ~ Georges Braque
Via @cory1975
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~Chinese Proverb
Via @suzillazilla
“Be a fountain, not a drain.” ~Rex Hudler
Via @Krus_Design
“Graphic design is the spit and polish but not the shoe.” ~Ellen Lupton
Via @Pxls2prnt
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” ~Thomas Edison
Via @LearningNerd
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” ~Mark Twain
Via @andy17null
“I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” ~Thomas Edison
Via @designshard
“Any designer can do SOMETHING. A great designer does the RIGHT thing.”
Via @theconstruct
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo Da Vinci
Via @bwoodsdesign
“Imagination is more important that knowledge.” ~Albert Einstein
Via @multimichel
“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water.” ~Li Zhènfan
Via @artesupreme
“…use what talent you possess…the woods would be very silent if no birds sang, but those that sang best…” ~Henry Van Dyke
Via @GBglass
“Don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never get out alive.” ~Elbert Hubbard
Via @cshold
“…a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention…” ~Herbert A. Simon
Via @hupernikomen
“Success is falling down 7 times but getting up 8.”
Via @mike_baxter
“The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it.” ~ Banksy
Via @thatdesigner
“Imagination without knowledge may create beautiful things, knowledge without imagination can create only perfect ones.” ~Albert Einstein
Via @igorstawiarski
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.” ~Jim Jarmush
Via @AshleySimko
“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.” ~Paul Rand
Via @nikibrown
“Keep her lit” ~Anyone from Northern Ireland
Via @leemunroe
“Art is creativity, creativity is passion, passion is love.” ~Andrew Brynjulson.
Via @brennifresh
“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” ~Confucius
Via @petranoid
“Design that doesn’t take a chance doesn’t stand a chance”
Via Stephanie Floyd (Facebook)
“The perception of beauty is a moral test.” ~Thoreau
Via Johnny Lewis (Facebook)
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain
Via Jenny Leonard (Facebook)
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” ~Mark Twain
Via Christina Adkin (Facebook)
“In order to know what is right, you’ve got to know what is wrong.”
Via Lemuel Asibal (Facebook)
“Don’t pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches.” ~Andy Warhol
Via Amanda Dandy (Facebook)
“Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find who we already are and become it.” The War of Art – Steven Pressfield
Via Elaine Wong (Facebook)
“You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.”
Via Melissa Rogers Ek (Facebook)
“It’s not how good you are, its how good you want to be.” ~Paul Arden
Via Joy Lym (Facebook)
And my personal favourite is:
“You only get out, what you put in.”
And if I were to be quoted I would say:
“There are no bad ideas, just bad decisions.”
And for those feeling a little too inspired, check out these demotivators (bit of a laugh) or check out these inspirational quotes from actual designers or these inspiring quotes about design.
What is your favourite inspirational quote? Please share with us in the comments below.
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46 Responses
to “Inspirational Quotes For Designers & Freelancers”
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Stefan on Jul 21, 2009 said:
Decided to review it on Twitter since it’s such a great list.
Stefan on Jul 21, 2009 said:
* StumbleUpon of course.. Remember to always read your comment before publishing it.
Paul on Jul 21, 2009 said:
awesome list. just the other day, i was looking for some inspirational designer quotes to display on my site … thx
paul
BebopDesigner on Jul 21, 2009 said:
This is one brilliant post! Thanks for sharing. My favourite quote so far, read it in a recent post at Freelance Folder
“Underpromise. Overdeliver.” – Bojan Stefanovic, http://logoholik.com/
Simko on Jul 21, 2009 said:
These are wonderful. Thanks for including my quote!
NBK on Jul 21, 2009 said:
Awesome inspirational quotes here. I also like the idea of “you get what you give. ” Ultimately it all comes down to the blood, sweat and tears that you put in to your work to see your goals come into fruition.
Love it!
Ken Reynolds on Jul 21, 2009 said:
This has always been a favourite of mine:
“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work… I want to achieve it through not dying.”
- Woody Allen
It always reminds me that work isn’t the only thing in my life, while it is important I don’t want it to define me. Chances are people won’t remember you for your work, they will remember you for who you were.
Plus it always makes me smile.
Mandy on Jul 21, 2009 said:
Thanks for this – its a great list. One of my favorites is… “I don’t want to be one of those who say ‘I wish I had’. I want to be one of those who say ‘I’m glad I did’.†Life is short you need to make sure you live it and achieve your dreams!
Marc Swarbrick on Jul 21, 2009 said:
I thought I’d share my 2 faves here -
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
- Douglas Adams
“Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?”
- Chico Marx
(largely attributed to Groucho but was actually Chico dressed up as him in the film Duck Soup…or so Google tells me…)
Mark Bowley on Jul 21, 2009 said:
These are great Jacob – some nice ones.
I’m compiling all my favourite quotes on a Posterous blog http://marksquotes.posterous.com
Snow C. on Jul 21, 2009 said:
Wow, great list!
One of my favorite quotes is simple (and from an unlikely source):
“Don’t Dream it, be it” – Rocky Horror Picture Show
Vicki M on Jul 22, 2009 said:
What a great collection! There are quite a few original quotes on here that I’ve never heard before! Here are a couple that I love:
* Art is the lie that reveals the truth.
~Pablo Picasso
* Life beats down and imprisons the soul and art reminds you that you have one.
~ Stella Adler
* Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Design is knowing which ones to keep.
~ Scott Adams
* I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables me to laugh at life’s realities.
~ Dr Theadore Geisel aka Dr Seuss
LucasA on Jul 22, 2009 said:
“Just do it.” Brilliant.
Carina on Jul 22, 2009 said:
What an inspiring blog post!
One of my favourite quotes is:
“Who fights may lose, who doesn’t fight has already lost.”
Andrew Kelsall on Jul 22, 2009 said:
My moto is this:
Simple, but it works for me
Jukes on Jul 23, 2009 said:
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” -Yogi Berra
That one always gets me going.
Zee Zee on Jul 24, 2009 said:
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of one small candle.”
Joshua on Jul 25, 2009 said:
Great list of quotes here. I don’t know if it would be “inspirational” or not, but it always makes me try harder:
“I saw an angel in the marble: so I carved ’til I set him free.”
-Michelangelo
Jacob Cass on Jul 27, 2009 said:
Thank you all for your contributions! Sorry for the delayed reply, I was on vacation.
Promoteware on Jul 28, 2009 said:
I like:
“If you hang out with turkey’s you will never fly with eagles.”
Sam on Jul 29, 2009 said:
Inspirational collection of quotes, thanks for posting them.
Mark on Aug 1, 2009 said:
Here is one of my favorite
You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. — James Allen
Top-Quotes-Sayings.com
Sudi on Aug 11, 2009 said:
One of my favourite quotes: “Who fights may loose, who doesn’t, has already lost.” Thanks for the inspiration.
Laurent on Aug 19, 2009 said:
“Creativity is an act of rebellion.â€
Professor Allan Snyder, Centre for the mind,University of Sidney
Remy Francis on Aug 24, 2009 said:
Great post…
My favourite one …
“Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there”. Reading this quote everyday at my desk gave me the strength to keep myself assertive, pro-active and fit as an artist & designer.
David on Aug 25, 2009 said:
“all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” Edmund Burke
and of course the ever present:
“Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes, then, when you criticize them, you’ll be a mile away, and will have their shoes.”
Samuel on Aug 25, 2009 said:
Don’t steal, be inspired – Made by Elephant
Remy Francis on Aug 25, 2009 said:
This is a good one for perseverence in your goals…
“Just when you’re beginning to get bored with what you have done is probably the time it is beginning to be noticed by your audience”
Janee on Oct 25, 2009 said:
Thank you for a great article!
one of my favorites:
“It’s not our abilities that determine our greatness, but rather our choices.”
(by Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movie; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
Frederick on May 15, 2010 said:
Excellent Post! As always, a great read!
Heeda on May 20, 2010 said:
Better late than never!
jj on May 30, 2010 said:
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”
silex on May 31, 2010 said:
I supposed that have certainly receive many free traffics from others promoting your artile in the process.
hermes kelly bag on Jul 4, 2010 said:
“all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” Edmund Burke
and of course the ever present:
“Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes, then, when you criticize them, you’ll be a mile away, and will have their shoes.”
Pepechulo on Jul 14, 2010 said:
Excelente art?culo, supongo que te habr? llevado alg?n tiempo llevarlo a cabo. Ahora solo toca promocionarlo ?no crees?.
servicii web on Jul 20, 2010 said:
Thank you very much! So interesting! Good Job!
Get Your Ex Back on Aug 4, 2010 said:
One of the finest blogs I have come across for material throughout this particular niche. I will often be checking back regularly for brand new content.
biobritesunrisealarmclock on Aug 30, 2010 said:
Indeed! Very Nice Article
Iqbal@QuotesMotivation on Nov 24, 2010 said:
Creativity is the ability to see relationships where none exist. (THOMAS DISCH)
Bruno Garcia on May 21, 2011 said:
“Your success: It’s up to others to believe it’s possible. It’s up to you to make it happen.”
- Brent Dmitruk
Anna Green on May 27, 2011 said:
I loves these quotes, Im going to take my favorites, design them each in to posters and display them in our studio for some genital inspiration.
Alicia on Nov 12, 2011 said:
I can’t hear what you’re saying as who you are is so loud. ~Goethe
Adam White on Dec 5, 2011 said:
Inspirational quotes. Impressed