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So, it's 15:20 and I've looked at the clock a total of 6 times since getting back from lunch, following a morning throwing ideas around in Illustrator. Everything is right there on my art-board, ready to make that winning concept with the perfect mix of ‘wow factor’, fabulous functionality, ‘could that work?’ and damn right cool. I just need that final spark where all elements suddenly come together and fit into place to work as one, well-oiled design machine. I call it my mid-afternoon panic. It’s that magical moment when I transform from chaotic scatterbrain, clutching at all ideas at once, to a collected, rather sensible version of myself, knowing exactly where I'm going with this concept. But it's not easy to get there.

As designers we all face creative block now and again; trying desperately to hold onto an idea that doesn't quite work and slows you down, spending ages pottering on one little thing, procrastinating, hoping something better will pop into your head sometime soon... It's good to have these moments early on. No really! That way, you have peace of mind that you gave it a go and it didn't work, and now it's time to move on.

Take a step back. Distract yourself creatively. When you get stuck in that loophole of not getting anywhere, the best remedy is to restart your train of thought. Depending on your mood, your source of inspiration to kick start your creative path may vary, but here are a few winners that I can vouch for. And they're all on pinterest. It's good to start following a handful of varied pinners so when you find yourself in moments of creative need, it’s all there waiting for you in one place.

Ladies;

http://pinterest.com/scd/ - Sarah Dobson, design consultant at Pentagram Design NY, is a dedicated pinner and has been collecting her pins since launch on my favourite site, Pinterest.

http://pinterest.com/kaylameyer1/ - Graphic designer and blogger who loves owls and whales, pins a collection of illustrated characters and is also a big fan of type.

http://pinterest.com/paula_cevasco/ - this girl can pin! and loads of it, I personally like looking at the crisp and tasty UI elements she finds.

http://pinterest.com/helloquixotic/ - this is Thea Kennedy. She has a wide collection of more tactile print design bits and pieces with a little bit of vintage for good measure.

Gents;

http://pinterest.com/dreamjar/ - i like this guy, his boards are awesome... I can't believe you are still reading this line and haven't clicked yet!

http://pinterest.com/inspirationfeed/logo-designs/ - logos logos and logos.

http://pinterest.com/jocundist/ampersand/ - Joel really appreciates a good ampersand and for this I'm grateful, the shapes and colours set my mind in motion.

http://pinterest.com/chadsyme/ui-design/ - great inspiration for those fiddly elements.

BOOM...and the block is gone.

Did you know…

Do you know what the internet really is?

When a squirrel chewed through a cable and knocked journalist Andrew Blum offline, he started wondering what the Internet was really made of. So he set out to go and see it -- the underwater cables, secret switches and other physical bits that make up the net. You can see his talk about his discovery here: http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_blum_what_is_the_internet_really.html

The Toblerone Bear…

Toblerone is one triangulated chunk of beautiful Swiss chocolate. After many years of dedicated Toblerone eating I hadn’t noticed the bear in the logo! The Swiss chocolate’s logo has the hidden image of a bear high in Matterhorn Mountain to symbolise the town of its origin, Bern, Switzerland. The city’s name is rumoured by local legend to mean, “City of Bears”.

Did you know…

There are around 14,308,667,560 cat pictures on the internet, 2.7% of which are pictures of cats with bread around their face. http://www.breadedcats.com/

Good old dial-up internet…

If you are one of those people who, back in the day, would spend hours and hours troubleshooting why your dial up would not connect to the internet, you will remember this sound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0 I’m very grateful for our modern speedy internet! Did you know that if you're on 1Mb broadband it's 20 times faster than old dial up was. To give you an idea, a 1Mb file download would take between 3 to 4 minutes (on a good day, after that satisfying internet noise) whereas1Mb broadband would take about 9 to 10 second to download the file.

The conundrum of Comic Sans

Did you know that the font everyone loves to hate - Comic Sans - was originally designed to look like comic book lettering for children’s software, to replace the use of Times New Roman? Vincent Connare, the designer of the font, has no sense of humour about the anti-Comic Sans movement. After reading his website and a few print interviews, it's abundantly clear that Connare has no ironic appreciation for the journey of Comic Sans.

"People don't know why it was made. If they did they would realize that it was what design is about -- designing for a product with an appropriate design. Not Times New Roman”.

What lovely weather we are having! Due to pleasant weather I have prepared a premature summery playlist.

Happy Tunes Day to everybody! Here's list number two.

1. The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon   Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube

2. Toots and the Maytals - Pressure Drop   Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube 

3. Electric Light Orchestra - Mr Blue Sky    Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube

4. The Fratellis - Flathead   Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube 

5. Paolo Nutini - Pencil Full Of Lead  Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube

Every Tuesday I'll be posting a nice mixed list of five songs to radically improve your day and to give your ears that happy feeling!

So, Happy Tunes Day to everybody! Heres list number one.

1. Crystal Fighters - At Home   Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube

2. Band of Skulls - I know what I am   Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube 

3. Justice - Civilization    Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube

4. TV On The Radio - Second Song   Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube 

5. The Shins - Australia  Spotify | Grooveshark | Youtube

Hunter and the bear are back for Tipp-Ex's latest campaign that is thoroughly awesome!

Hunter and the bear's previous success has been outdone by Buzzman agency when they return to celebrate their birthday. However, a meteor threatens to end their party and we are asked to pick any year we like to replay the party.

The Youtube platform has been used to its full potential, challenging the user to discover 46 different scenes available and the 8 scenes requiring unique interaction. The search for hidden extras and special features will help push this campaign to the forefront of success as the time spent by the user will reach high levels.

An impressive sequel that has been well executed. I spent a fun half hour searching for little jems. My favourites are 1969, 1980, 1989, 2200. What are yours?

Yesterday's Awwwards site of the day 23/03/2011: Sasquatch!

A music festival website sensationally designed, with rich illustrative graphics, a splendid lineup... was gutted to find that its all the way over in America! 

I could not believe my eyes when I stumbled upon this magical little find! I rushed to share it with my boyfriend as the memories of sitting there blubbing on him (HA I know!) whilst watching the moving animated film, 'Up' by Pixar, came flooding back.

Nat Geo set a new world record for the largest balloon cluster flight ever attempted. The entire experimental aircraft was more than 10 stories high, reached an altitude of over 10,000 feet, and flew for approximately one hour.

Truely magnificent!

Mr Bolin is a Chinese artist who spends up to 10 hours a time being painted to blend in perfectly to his chosen surroundings.

His work is impressive (not so sure on his other work - mainly sculptures which he's then set ablaze!) I've looked at all his pictures and decided I'd love to try out the one in the supermarket down the drinks isle . . .  So beware when you next reach for a Coke in Sainsburys!

Check out his series called "Hiding in the City"