I’ve started keeping a small swipe file, and it’s changed how I begin a project — but I’m still figuring out the best way to use it without just copying what I liked.
Mine is pretty simple at the moment: a folder where I drop screenshots of ads, packaging, posters, and social posts that stop me mid-scroll. I try to add a quick note about why I saved it — the layout, a type pairing, the way the color is used, or just the overall mood — because a month later I can never remember what caught my eye.
What I’m trying to do now is use it as a starting point, not a template. Before I open Canva for a new job, I’ll spend ten minutes browsing the folder, notice what patterns keep showing up, and then close it before I start designing. The idea is to borrow the thinking — like a bold headline with lots of breathing room — rather than lifting the actual artwork.
Do you keep something like this? If so, how do you organize it so you can actually find things again, and how do you stop it from turning into a giant folder you never look at? I’d love to hear what works for you, especially if you’ve found a simple system that survives a busy week of client work.
Sounds derivative and boring. While keeping a morgue might be useful for a little inspiration here and there, using it to use and copy trends is counterproductive.
Trends End.
Plus, you want to research what your clients’ needs are, which may require some actual trendsetting work rather than more of the same.
Never done anything like that. I wouldn’t even bother. Every job is different. The process it the same. The end results vary depending on needs not wants.
I still see illustrations and typography that intrigue me enough that I save them in a folder. But it’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen design work that is so out of the ordinary, different, and inspiring that I save it.
Over the years, I’ve bought hundreds of design books and design annuals. Sometimes, if I’m stuck, I’ll thumb through them to jar my thinking a bit, but it’s never more than that. It’s gotten to the point where I’m much more impressed by the craftsmanship, emotion, appropriateness, and attention to detail than by finding something new, which rarely happens anymore.
Actually, printed out the entire font catalogue we had, and categorised them, hole punched them (well got the finishing guy to drill them for me), and alphabetised them etc. Always found it easier to sit through the binder than flick through fonts on the screen. And was easier to show clients. Got them away from the computer and showed them what the font looked like in print. Which was useful to get them away from the computer.
A printed font book, back in early 2000 - haven’t done anything like that since.
Thanks everyone — this turned into a really useful thread.
@PrintDriver, fair point about trends ending. That is exactly why I am trying to use mine as a prompt rather than a template — if I am just collecting what is popular right now, it will date fast.
@Just-B, the design books point really stuck with me. Thumbing through something when you are stuck, just to jar your thinking, feels very different from scrolling a feed for a ready-made look. And judging work by craftsmanship and appropriateness rather than novelty is a good reminder.
@Smurf2, I love the printed font book story — getting clients away from the screen so they could see what a font actually looked like in print is such a practical idea. I had not thought of a swipe file as a client tool, only a personal one.
My takeaway so far: keep it small, keep it about the problem I am solving (layout, type, colour) rather than the style, and revisit it when I am stuck rather than at the start of every job. Thanks again for sharing how you all actually work.