When you're stuck in a creative rut and searching for
inspiration, your first port of call is usually the web. But if you subscribe
to Netflix, you may be missing a trick. The streaming video service is packed
with inspiring documentaries on all kinds of creative subjects, ideal for
helping resurrect your mojo and give you fresh ideas and inspiration. Mockup
01. Abstract: The Art
of Design
Created by former Wired editor-in-chief Scott Dadich,
docu-series Abstract: The Art of Design offers eight standalone
profiles of prominent designers and creatives. Each is around 40 minutes long,
lavishly shot and beautifully edited. And even if you don't think you'll be
interested in the individual profiled, you soon get sucked into their world.
02. The Creative
Brain
We'd all like to be more creative and productive in our
work, but often struggle to do so in practice. The Creative Brain is
an insightful 52-minute documentary aims to help us find a way forward.
Neuroscientist and best-selling author David Eagleman takes
as its starting point the idea that "Creativity doesn't mean creating
something out of nothing. It means refashioning something that already
exists."
03. Minimalism: A
Documentary About the Important Things
Right now, minimalism is a huge trend in graphic design,
from app interfaces to logos. But what's minimalism really about, and how can
you make it enhance your creative ideas, rather than just make them look like
everything else?
Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things is
a 2016 documentary by Matt D'Avella examines the roots of minimalism as a reaction
to modern consumerism and media overload, and how it's let to new movements
such as decluttering and simplified ways of living. PSD Mockup
04. Jeremy Scott: The
People's Designer
Directed by Vlad Yudin and running at one hour 48
minutes, Jeremy Scott: The People's Designer is a documentary movie
showcases the life and work of American fashion designer Jeremy Scott. Known
for his designs for Adidas and Moschino, Scott has also worked with countless
celebrities, and many of them contribute here including Miley Cyrus, Rihanna,
Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rita Ora, and Paris and Nicky Hilton.
05. Floyd Norman: An
Animated Life
In 1956, he became Disney's first-ever African-American
animator. Then after founder Walt Disney's death, he left to start his own
company, which produced black history films for high schools.
This intriguing documentary, Floyd Norman: An Animated
Life, was made in 2016 and charts how Norman continues to impact the industry
and battle ageism. Running at 1 hour 34 minutes, it's an incredible story of a
man who comes across as humble yet charming, incredibly creative yet unassuming
and underappreciated: an inspiration, in short, for us all.
06. Struggle: The
Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
Never heard of Stanislav Szukalski? Nope, neither had we,
and that's kind of the point of Netflix Original documentary Struggle: The
Life and Lost Art of Szukalski. Its starting point is 1968, when pop
culture collector Glenn Bray, who had an interest in surrealist art, discovered
an unusual book featuring the art of Szukalski. He delighted in showing its
drawings and photos of sculptures to his circle of friends in the underground
art comic world, including Robert and Suzanne Williams and George DiCaprio, who
found the forgotten Polish master's vision far ahead of its time.
07. I am Sun Mu
In 2014, he embarked on what many saw as a risky move: a
solo exhibition of his work in China, North Korea's greatest ally. Documentary
film I am Sun Mu, which runs to 1 hour 27 minutes, follows events as Mu
prepares his show undercover, before an unexpected turn of events puts him and
his friends and family in danger.
08. The Toys that
Made Us
Many of us found our first real appreciation for design –
albeit a subconscious one – through interaction with our childhood toys.
It's a love which often sticks with us throughout our lives.
And so quirky docu-series The Toys that Made Us, which
looks at the creation of some of the world's most iconic toy franchises, is a
great way to think about design in a way that's both nostalgic and familiar,
and provides new insights into what goes into crafting a classic.
09. The 100 Years
Show
Born in Cuba in 1915, artist Carmen Herrera sold her first
piece aged 84, and held her first solo exhibition at 89. Her abstract and minimalist
art has since brought her international recognition, and this documentary was
made to celebrate her 100th birthday in 2015.
Directed by Alison Klayman, 29-minute documentary The
100 Years Show celebrates a "fame that literally took a lifetime to
happen”. An excellent watch that will inspire creatives of all stripes and all
ages.
10. The B-Side: Elsa
Dorfman's Portrait Photography
Directed by Errol Morris, it explores the life and career of
his friend Elsa Dorfman, a Polaroid photographer. This 80-year-old woman comes
across as warm, charming, insightful and inspirational, as she reminisces about
her photography career, publishing, feminism, friendship with Allen Ginsberg,
and more.
The fact that you probably don't know anything about Dorfman
makes the story of her life all the more compelling, and Morris brings it all
together in a way that keeps up the pace and remains captivating throughout its
one hour 16 minute length.
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