Design

24 Design-Focused Videos to Spark Your Imagination

4 min read
Margaret Kelsey
  •  Aug 14, 2014
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Design inspiration can come from just about anywhere. Here at InVision, we love how videos blend typography, static images, movement, and sound together to create visceral experiences.

We asked some of our favorite creative professionals to share their picks of the best design-focused videos with us. Then, we sorted them into three categories: Thought Leaders, Illustration and Animation, and Marketing and Advertising. Check out 24 inspiring videos below and those who recommended them.

Inspired by Thought Leaders

John Maeda: How art, technology and design inform creative leaders

In this TED talk, President of the Rhode Island School of Design, John Maeda, shares a lifetime of work in art, design and technology, concluding with a picture of creative leadership in the future.

It isn’t about old or new. It’s about something in between. It’s about what is good.Twitter Logo

Vibor Cipan

CEO and founder of UX Passion

Saul Bass: On Making Money vs Quality Work

American graphic designer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Saul Bass, candidly speaks in his studio about making money versus making quality work.

Simon Manchipp

Executive Strategic Creative Director & Founder, SomeOne

Philippe Starck: Design and Destiny

French creator, designer and architect Philippe Stark speaks, sans slides, about his design, art, and its place and purpose in our history.

Ana Andjelic

Group Strategy Director at Spring Studios

John McFaul BLAB 16

Designer and Creative Director John McFaul speaks at a BLAB event by Northern Digitals about his creative process and what happens when you crash.

What we pretend to be is ultimately what we become.Twitter Logo

Tom Actman

Creative Director of Mat Dolphin

Ramit Sethi | Chase Jarvis LIVE | ChaseJarvis

Award-winning photographer Chase Jarvis welcomes business guru Ramit Sethi to The Garage to share his advice for what it takes to be successful as an artist.

Lea Alcantara

Lead Designer for Bright Umbrella

Neil Gaiman 2012 Commencement Speech “Make Good Art”

English author Neil Gaiman speaks to a graduating class from The University of the Arts and passes along the best advice he was ever given.

If you don’t know it’s impossible, it’s easier to do.Twitter Logo

D. Keith Robinson

Principal Product Designer at Salesforce UX

Michael Bierut Graphic Designer – The Creative Influence Ep.13

Michael Bierut talks about his mentor Massimo Vignelli, how the internet has changed the way we do design work in the 20th century and what make a logo endure.

Jacob Cass

Graphic Designer at Just Creative

Zane Lowe meets Rick Rubin

Lowe meets legendary music producer Rick Rubin and talks about his experience creating records with several notable artists.

Michael Cina

Creative Director at Cina Associates

Experience Design with Jason Silva

Silva freestyles important truths about experience design.

To trade in subjectivities, that is what it means to be human.Twitter Logo

Stephanie Tucker

Creative Director of Product at StudioNow

A Design Film Festival 2014: Tadao Ando, From Emptiness to Infinity

The documentary portrays one of the world’s most renowned architects: the Japanese ‘Master of Minimalism’, Tadao Ando.

Gordon Knight

Design Writer at KankiKnigh

Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off

In this TED talk, designer Stefan Sagmeister explains why he closes his New York studio for a yearlong sabbatical every seven years.

Robert Padbury

Freelance Designer

Simon Sinek: If You Don’t Understand People, You Don’t Understand Business

Simon Sinek speaks the 99% Conference about how you can help the human race.

The things you say and do are symbols of what you are.Twitter Logo

Spencer Fry

CEO and Co-Founder of Uncover

Inspired by Illustration and Animation

Dumb Ways to Die

Metro’s PSA is cute and contagious while making a serious point to be careful around trains.

Toby Sturgill

Graphic Designer at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Marriott, Int.

Cupidiculous

Using 2D cel-animation and 3D techniques, Cupidiculous humorously tells the story of Adam and Eve while simultaneously warning against over-consumption and global warming.

Sabrina Majeed

Mobile Designer, BuzzFeed

84000 // Words of the Buddha

Created by Giant Ant for the non-profit 84000, this beautifully animated video details its process to translate into modern languages the 95% of Buddhist texts that have yet to be done.

Dan Matutina

Designer and Illustrator, Plus63 Design Co.

Perfectionists: Wimbledon’s Official Trophy Engraver by Stella Artois UK

In a beautiful mix of illustration and animation, Stella Artois UK delves into the world of Roman Zoltowski, engraver of the Wimbledon trophies since 1979.

People think of me as some kind of perfectionist. Actually, I’m just a person who rushes in where angels fear to tread.Twitter Logo

Gary Frost

Lead Creative and Director at Frost Creative

Walking City

Bending sculpture and video, Walking City slowly evolves while it walks, becoming the materials and patterns she encounters.

Elenara Leitão

Architect at Elenara Stein Leitão Arquitetos

Inspired by Marketing and Advertising

Apple – Designed By Apple – Intention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZmIiIXuZ0

Apple describes its thought process for product design using simple typography and visuals.

The first thing we ask is ‘what do we want people to feel?’Twitter Logo

Dmitry Kovalenko

Design TL, Lead UI/UX Designer at Readdle

URB-E indiegogo

This video, produced as part of an indiegogo campaign, details the design of a new type of motorized city bike.

Lee Schneider

Creative Director at Red Cup Agency

Sense: Know More. Sleep Better.

This over-funded kickstarter describes a simple system that tracks your sleep behavior, monitors the environment of your bedroom and reinvents the alarm.

Calvin Robinson

Publishing Director at LDN.cm Publishing

The Most Boring Ad Ever Made?

Leica Camera spends 45 minutes polishing the new Leica T by hand to show the care it takes in making each one.

Fabio Basile

freelance Digital Designer and owner of FFFabs

Mohawk Massimo Vignelli

Mohawk Paper interviews renowned designer Massimo Vignelli about his experiences as a book designer as part of its “What Will You Make Today?” campaign.

The scale of the images, the pacing of the images is what makes the book. It’s just like a film.Twitter Logo

Arturo Toledo

Chief Architect at Toledo Design

Turkish Airlines Commercial Kids and Mini Airport

Children’s imaginations come to life when they create an airport in their backyard.

Luis Buenaventura

Head of Product at Satoshi Citadel Industries

TV 2 Summer Idents

This project was filmed using six go-pro cameras attached to a stand that was self designed and printed out with a 3D printer to suit the purpose.

Kristian Grønevet

Creative Director and Founder of onezero designbureau

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