Last time I was speaking at Seattle’s Art Institute, one of the students asked me something like this: “What do you do to keep your design fresh?” Another asked “Do your personal hobbies/projects ever factor into your work?”

I’ve thought about both questions ever since, coming up with some little bits and pieces here and there, but it can be hard to come up with examples. Well today the Mail carrier brought me a great one – to answer both questions.

Last week I ordered a 1915 copy of Vitalogy – no, it’s not an old Pearl Jam album. Actually the Pearl Jam album, or at least the cover and booklet design, were inspired by this book. This is an actual medical book, first printed in 1905. There are 971 pages of amazing, ludicrously out of date medical advice including diagnoses & remedies, morality, herbal cure-alls, illustrations, charts, tables and more. It’s fascinating, every page.

So what does this old book have to do with my design career? This is just the kind of thing that inspires me. I’ve wanted this book for at least 8 years, after first spotting a copy in a used book store in Seattle. But it wasn’t cheap. And it’s hard to justify spending $100 on this kind of thing, so I forgot about it and moved on. But that’s the problem. That kind of thinking is just too easy. Getting over my inhibitions and following my indulgences… that’s how I keep my self inspired and that’s how I bring my hobbies into my work. I usually call it “removing road blocks.” If something (like a price tag) is standing between you and what you think you can be… remove that road block at all costs. It’s always worth it.

This applies to buying fonts and photos, buying and learning new software or hardware, paying for classes, purchasing inspirational junk like this old book and a hundred other things. I follow my indulgences. I buy promotional stickers and pins for my own art projects. I print T-shirts in my garage. I buy expensive new software and learn how to use it – all the time. And I get crusty, stinky old books that interest me.

This book is a creative gold mine, whether you’re into writing period correct copy from a hundred years ago, looking for some classic typography examples, boning up on your 19th century diseases or looking to scan some fantastic old paper textures. I intend to use some of the antiquated language and admonishments regarding proper living to write some creative copy for some faux advertisements for a personal project. But I know I’ll get much more than that. I’ve already had quite a few belly laughs, and that’s worth the price all by itself.