Where We Get Our Weird, Dumb, Cool Ideas From

Want to know why we’re not like other Austin advertising agencies? Want to know where our creatives get inspiration for their weird, intense, effed up ideas? Here’s Rock Candy Media’s staff on where they get their inspiration from.

Well, the places they get their inspiration from legally, anyway.

Samantha Enders, SEM Director
The world of AdWords is constantly changing, in order to say on top of new trends and features being released I have to actively look for them. The SEM Post is perfect for staying informed with new AdWords’ features, while adage.com is a great source for overall marketing trends in the advertising world.

Both of these sources help me stay informed and give our clients the best bang for their buck.

Kelsie Singleton, Art Director
Instagram is probably my biggest source of inspiration now. I follow a lot of other designers and agencies and if I see something I like it’s so easy to just save it. I like to go back through that collection before starting a big project and see if anything draws my attention again.

Also, I love Awwwards for web inspiration. They have new and awesome sites posted everyday and their curated collections are the bomb. If I feel like the nav is lacking or if we could use some transition animation, Awwwards breaks out all of these specific elements into groups so it’s easy to explore.

Nick Gaudio, Creative Director

It’s clean, mobile-friendly, and the content is amazing!

But seriously, my favorite website right now is The Washington Post, which has somehow learned how to balance news and info-tainment in a way that other news outlets still seem to be trying desperately — and cornily — to pull off on their own, with no success. It still has the legacy feel of old-timey newspapers (speaking to a broader audience never hurt), but has somehow found a way to engage the younger generations, who are wary to consume content that is behind a paywall. Sort of like why nobody uses fabric softener anymore; it’s just easier without it. WaPo convinced me I needed lilac-fresh sheets. They got my money, so they deserve the nod.

Steve Starnes, Web Developer
I follow a fair amount of industrial and graphic designers on Instagram. I’m not a awesome designer myself, I find looking at work helps keep me knowledgable on current trends and what good design looks like. I especially like @Thedesigntalks, @uidesignpatterns.

I also follow a few coding accounts on Instagram, they usually cover snippits of code and discuss what is happening.

Advanced WordPress user group on Facebook is another source. While they mostly discuss issues, top level WordPress devs are always posting links to sites. Occasionally a great gem is found.

A bigger source of cool sites for me is trouble shooting. Usually in the midst of searching for javascript magic to make a html div dance, you come across links to sites or solutions that are well done.

Scott Mise, Lead Web Developer
Following Nick ‘s lead, http://scottmise.com/ has to be the best by far, although a few years outdated.

But Dribbble is up there for me, because of the vast amount of material from designers looking for feedback or just to show off. Also the search function is clutch.

Jessica Stockton, Strategy Director
I know everyone dogs on it, but I love Buzzfeed. The thing about Buzzfeed is, it sucks me in. They have a great use of their social media channels and I can’t help but be intrigued by any content they push out.

Also, the Kardashians know what they’re doing on social media. From their countdowns to new products to their blogs on what they eat, their headlines and captions are always interesting to me and get me to click! I can’t help it!

Rob Fox, Content Director
The long dead (but still up for you to enjoy) FireJoeMorgan.com is where I learned to write digital content. Hell it’s where I learned to write in general. It’s a comedy blog about baseball, started by Michael Schur, the co-creator of the American version of The Office, Parks and Rec, and The Good Place. (And he wrote it anonymously for years.) Aside from sometimes being a little angrier than I usually am, it was pretty much perfect to me.

These days I read The Ringer, FiveThirtyEight, Fangraphs, and Deadspin for casual sports and culture stuff, and The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post for news. (As a writer I am a FIRM believer in paying for content.)

And then I read Twitter when I want to fill myself with hate and misery.