Showing all posts tagged #inspiration:


Coaching Stage Design

Posted on September 3rd, 2020

So, I’m coaching a Worship Director friend in a consultation thread about the design updates they want to implement on their stage. Here’s a copy/paste of the last message I typed in the thread:

My encouragement to you in thinking about design is to build a mood board of things that you’d like. I can then help you in designing something that is true to your taste and feels current and that will look good for in the room as well as for the lens.
And I definitely encourage not gathering any more than 50% of your inspiration from HOW. Honestly, I recommend staying beneath 10 or even 5% if possible.
The "church scene" is sadly very derivative. Don’t make a copy of a copy of a copy. The best design in the world is inspired by nature and original eureka ideas. If choosing existing work to be inspired by, I suggest studying great architecture, flipping through an art history textbook, or watching a broadway show. Watch the Grammys or some top name as well as highly creative indie concerts if you want something that is more live production. Watching other churches is far too often simply copying people who have copied many people before.
Also, it’s never about specific gear. It’s about the feel that you want to have things look like and the budget and existing inventory that you have access to.


And then I just read this related thought in the book, Disrupt by Luke Williams.


Where I draw creative inspiration from

Posted on February 3rd, 2020

*List out any books, websites, forums or meet-ups that you draw creative inspiration from. These don’t necessarily need to be design related.

I answered this question recently. I thought it was a good question so I copy/pasted both the question and my immediate response:

Herding Tigers, Creativity Inc, Tribal Leadership, HBR, Hidden Brain, 99% Invisible, Story Conference, backpacking in mountains, traveling and walking a new city, cooking and/or eating tasty food, etc.

Leadership and Design Principles

Posted on August 1st, 2019

Create excellent systems and ideal processes to best support a brilliant team.
Intentionally develop what is usable and useful by focusing on the end experience.
Imagine the experiencer’s situational hopes and needs; then dream further about how to care for what they don’t even yet realize would be better.
Empathize with the misfits of society; never settle in curating only for those in the middle of the bell curve.
Design for humanity.
Strive for justice and peace.
Love everyone along the journey.
Consider every perspective.
Pursue sustainable excellence.
Refine continually.
Enhance the good; discard the clumsy; innovate the untapped potential.
Illuminate the future; building toward virtuous legacy and health for all.
Pioneer possibilities.
Optimistically always forge ahead.
Be ambassadors of hope and beauty.
Value effective as well as efficient.
Multiply intuition and knowledge.
Relentlessly pursue the greatest intersection of stewardship and creativity.
Coach and reveal beauty to enhance story and experience.
Maximize ideation and strategy.

Ispire Hope and Wonder

Posted on October 4th, 2018

As a creative, it’s important for me to remember that wonder belongs and is in all people…
People are longing for the wonderful. Imagine, hope, long for; creating a glimpse of the wonder that we as artists see…
I can inspire people reveal depth in beauty by crafting moving experiences and to breathe in hope and redemption to storytelling. It is a responsibility to move people to respond to the wonder of hope. To engage. To join. To be with. To partner. To dream further and increase in wonder.

I went to the Story Conference the other week. I was just reflecting on my journaling from the conference. This section of scribbles jumped out at me today and I thought I would share what I’m contemplating.

Quote about care and passion in visual design

Posted on August 14th, 2018

I was talking with my new friend John this afternoon. He is Director of Facilities and we will not only be working closely with our job responsibilities having a symbiotic nature; but we have already learned share a kindred spirit for philosophy and appreciation of design. He shared this quote that one of his professors uttered on the first day of class when he was in school about how intentional and immersed she wanted students to put their care and passion into visual design!

"When you spit on the sidewalk I want you to worry about what kind of pattern it makes."
-Leslie Wiseman (via John Nowacki @ 1969 University of Detroit Architecture School)


Detroit Athletic Club Panorama

Posted on July 9th, 2018


At the conclusion of a wonderful dinner with our dear friends, we realized that it was almost sunset. So we went upstairs to the roof to take in the view and continue conversation. What a treat to not only take in a bit of the game; but better still see the beautiful sunset colors after the storm we missed during dinner. It was also great because the rain cooled everything off and gave a wonderful freshening to the city. We sat and thoroughly enjoyed the scene and each other’s company for another hour. I am still filled up from the evening. This photo isn’t even in the top ten moments of the night.

Create something beautiful today

Posted on March 20th, 2017

Create something beautiful today. Whether a photograph, a spreadsheet, performance art, or leadership moment. Make sure to care...

New Zealand Highlights

Posted on February 23rd, 2016

I spent the past week driving through New Zealand with three of my friends. It was an incredible journey both with the chance to fellowship with my travel mates and certainly an amazing treat to experience such a beautiful country!

Here are a few of my favorite images I captured. The first set are from our first two days on the North Island; the second collection is from the remainder of our trip through as much as we had time for in the South Island. I have the rest of my images up on my Facebook page. If you're interested in prints of any of these (or any other of my photography) please do contact me.



My Production Design Algorithm

Posted on May 17th, 2015

A stream of thought listing things I consider with every design:
  • Context of organization
  • Context of event
  • What are the "budget" parameters?
  • Who is on stage?
    • who’s the main speaker?
    • who’s the performing artists?
    • play to their style
  • Theme of the day… Is it part of a broader series?
  • Branding...How do the visuals identify with the mission? Achieve continuity with the rest of communication
  • What are my resources? Existing materials? Budget for new? I suppose I ought to ask about rental budget (I’m rarely a fan of such...I’d rather use that budget to add to ongoing inventory?)
  • What is the rep plot? How do we play to the strengths of the lighting system? A good rep plot is arguably the most important asset to your venue. Certainly, right up there with a good PA. The good news is that that it costs way less...
  • What are video requirements?
    • IMAG?
    • broadcast?
    • camera positions?
  • What are audio’s needs? What will help them succeed?
  • Who is the producer? What are their visual preferences? What "lens" is the story told?
  • Who is in the lighting chair? Help play to their strengths...
  • What is the timeline for setup? for strike? Is it a stage turn situation? If so, what is the design that precedes and follows? How do you design in the timeline of multiple turns?
    • Hang the rig points 2 weeks out; hang the truss 1.5 weeks out; hang the lights 1 week out and use as backlight for the Midweek stage. Finally, hang hard goods and refocus lights in the turn for the target event; then hang a screen and soft goods from the same truss in an upcoming design.
  • What are transportation and storage logistical considerations?
  • Who is the crew? What are their strengths and experiences? Artists vs. engineers
  • Materials – What materials have been used recently? What materials will the upcoming holiday be using? Use something different than either of these.
  • Mood – Honestly more important than materials is the mood. It’s possible to create multiple moods with the same materials. That’s what we do in a series: I brand a series with a palette of materials, and then craft the set for each day to support the unique story of that specific event...
  • Inspiration – What is inspiring me recently?
    • Architecture
    • Nature
    • Window displays
    • Trade magazines
    • Cinema
    • Renaissance paintings
    • Industrial dumpster
    • Pinterest
  • What's an archived idea that I might finally have the chance to try?
    • Evernote
      • Anything that inspires me tends to end up in Evernote
      • I use tags such as "design ideas"
  • I hate copying (plagiarism) and go to great lengths to make sure my art is authenticity mine. However, I think being inspired by other designers is completely appropriate.
    • There's virtue in both, however my personal value is "Creation > Curation"
  • Who can you connect with to bounce ideas off of one another? #ctln
  • Passion – I want people to pull their phones out. I take pride in my discipline – the pursuit of creating something beautiful. A design certainly should look good – Visual interest, shapes, patterns, textures, Layers, Depth behind every camera angle, etc. However I suggest there are transcendent considerations that can be woven into the scene – metaphor, symbols, numerology, etc. – Hide "Easter eggs" – it's fun and it will inspire someone, I promise. Break the 4th wall – immerse them in the story – target people’s subconscious

Hands Head and Heart

Posted on October 27th, 2014

He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.
-St. Francis of Assisi

Eric G Wolfe

Creative Director | Process Architect. Design Strategist. Leadership Coach.