There are troves of posts on the subject of inspiration. There are great arguments negotiating where the line is drawn between inspired and stolen. There’s also a great quote from Chuck Close that made the Tumblr rounds. Basically, he says to stop reading and looking at shit and just get the work done already. I could almost agree, but I’ll be damned if I miss out on all that glorious time lounging around, flipping through magazines and reading my google reader.

For inspiration, of course.

I think it’s good for us to seek inspiration but there needs to be some limits, some…routine, maybe? It’s easy to get sucked into the internet (particularly when you have a turntable.fm chat dinging in your ears) and it can get stale, boring, routine in the worst sense of the word, so I get away from my desk. I look for inspiration elsewhere and I try to allow myself a specific amount of time to revel and ruminate before a project begins. So, I thought I’d share what we do because IT’S FRIGGIN AWESOME. Not to mention, inspiring.

This is the Phillips Exeter Library, part of the Phillips Exeter Academy (see super serious and world renowned prep school) in Exeter, New Hampshire. 20 minutes from our office. The architectural style of the building is Brutalist. I mean, really? Can that be any cooler? The architect who designed it was Louis Kahn and this building was his opus. Again, it’s 20 minutes from our office.

Read and see more after the jump.

We’ve now made it a habit that once we’ve got a new project in the door and we’ve had our discovery session with the client, we take one full day to spend in the PEL. We walk around, we look at books, we smell the cool cement of the walls.

There is something really invigorating about having to speak very very quietly in the library. So contrary to our loud and boisterous lives at home and in our office. It’s a change of pace that works wonders for our discipline and focus.

Oh, and look-even the stairway is amazing!!!

In the end, we feel rejuvenated and excited to get back to the computer. That in itself is really kind of amazing, yeah?

Live free or die!