Picasso is usually credited as the creator of the phrase “good artists borrow, great artists steal”. Or at least, Steve Jobs said it was Picasso. The quote has become almost ubiquitous in the design world—it's basically a "carpe diem" for creatives.
But who did Picasso steal from? Not many, actually. While he drew some loose inspiration from traditional African and Native American artworks, he is basically credited with inventing Cubism and a new era of modern art all by himself. If he ever uttered those famous words, it was likely as a joke.
Anyway, since we're designers with deadlines few of us has the time to invent new things all the time. That’s why some tech bros created platforms like Dribbble, Behance and Pinterest—the most common places to gather design inspiration and references.
The problem with the most popular places is that they turn into an echo chamber where designers copy each other without much new input. To stand out from the crowd try to look beyond UI design and find inspiration in areas like graphical design, typography and art. Books about typography, color theory and grids are also great sources. For online inspiration though, we have some favourites that offer unique content:
Where to save all the great stuff you find can also be a challenge. In the end you may end up with thousand of items and no way to search through it all. But don't worry, we have some more links for you:
Hope this helps. And remember to ad your own touch to your work, it pays of in the long run!
Finally, go and check out Level Nine's stream of inspiration at our are.na