As a creative in the advertising industry, there will be times when your creative well is blocked up. It happens to every copywriter, designer, art director, and strategist—whether you're a junior creative developing your advertising portfolio or a seasoned creative director preparing for a big pitch. Creative block is real, and a blank page can feel like an overwhelming, terrifying void.
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Symptoms of Creative Block:

Creative block symptoms include, but are not limited to: feeling like your brain is stuck in quicksand, a sense of being crushed by an elephant, losing sleep over looming deadlines, texting your ex just for a spark of inspiration, twitching eyes, chair butt, and staring into the abyss of assignments – be it from advertising portfolio school, or a client brief. 

It’s tricky to pinpoint the exact cause of creative block. Burnout, fatigue, stress, and pressure certainly play a significant role. So, if you’re feeling stuck, take a break! Walk away from the screen and let your creative mind breathe. Go for a walk, call a friend, visit a museum, take a cat nap, or read a chapter from a book. After some time away from technology, put on your big kid undies and revisit this list of creative inspiration that spans the globe, curated for creatives in the advertising industry.
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General Creative Inspiration Sites for Copywriters and Art Directors

• WePresent: A diverse collection of art, photography, music, and writing from every corner of the globe—a fantastic source for advertising portfolio ideas.
• Colossal: This online art magazine makes art and creative discussions accessible to everyone. Perfect for art directors. 
• It’s Nice That: By creatives, for creatives, this platform is a global hub for the creative community to connect and collaborate, and find cultural inspiration. And they have an advertising section!  
• Creative Review: Shares insights and inspiration across disciplines and borders, bringing the creative community together to celebrate the work that matters, and why it matters.
• Global Street Art:  Advertising can be an art if you allow it to be. Discover new, creative avenues for media placements and turn advertising into art worth stopping for. 
• Creativity Portal:  Sure, their website could use some work, but here junior writers and art directors can find imagination prompts, spark creative play time, writing and visual prompts, and other fun thought-starters. 
• Love The Work More: Creatives shouldn’t have to pay for a website that showcases award-winning advertising work.
• Ads of The World: Sometimes getting inspiration for advertising work is to research advertising work. This is a great spot to find it all—from agencies to in-house work. Perfect for junior creatives or copywriters seeking fresh ideas.
• Activation Ideas: Stumped on how to create interesting advertising activations? This website can spark new concepts for your portfolio.
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Visual Inspiration Sites for Art Directors and Designers

• Deck of Brilliance: A platform that provides 52 tools to help art directors develop ideas quickly—perfect for when you need creative inspiration and you’re on a deadline.
• Inspiration Grid: An online magazine that provides a daily fix of art, design, and fashion inspiration from all over the world—ideal for advertising portfolio school projects.
• Shot Deck:  Make your storyboards, mood boards, and presentations stand out with cinematic visuals—a must for any art director.
• What the Font: Fonts can make or break your design. If you don’t have time to design your own unique font or don’t know what a specific font is called, consider checking this out. It helps any junior creative elevate their layouts.
• DaFont: Yes, MORE FONTS! Great for all art directors in need of fresh typography.
• Spectacle: Find inspiration for building brands through video—vital for junior creatives in the advertising industry.
• Dribbble: There are a bazillion ways to design things. Just look at this website. ‍
• Behance: Still haven’t found the visual inspiration you’ve been needing? Here ya go. 
• Design Inspiration: Pinpoint the exact design or visual inspiration you need. 
• Frameset: A free alternative to Shot Deck, great for finding compelling imagery for presentations or advertising portfolios.
• Stills: A photo library that can elevate your creative campaigns. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, and can oftentimes make or break your idea.
• Pexels: Free stock photos and videos—perfect when you're in a crunch and need high-quality images for your campaign or presentation. 
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Writing Inspiration Sites for Copywriters 

• Language Is A Virus: Overcome writer’s block with prompts, generators, and creative wordplay. A great tool for copywriters.
• The New Yorker Cartoon Captions: Not only a contest that you could win, but a great place for copywriter’s to find inspiration for short, witty writing. 
• Six Word Memoirs: Learn how to tell a powerful story in only six words—ideal for crafting concise, compelling ad copy.
• Power Thesaurus:  Explore new words and phrases to enrich your advertising copy. A must for any copywriter.
• WordNik: Stuck on a word or phrase? Look up any word or phrase quickly on this site. 
• Reddit (r/screenwriting): When it comes to writing scripts for any medium, aspiring copywriters will want to turn to screenwriters. Learn how to set scenes, lay out scripts, and learn from other people’s work. 
• Reddit (r/writingprompts):  If you’re a creative copywriter, you’re a writer. This is a helpful sub for copywriters who need creative writing prompts to jumpstart their imagination.
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Fill Your Creative Inspiration Cup

If you’re currently feeling stuck and stressing over a way to overcome your stumped-ness, the good news is that it’s curable. As a junior creative, copywriter, or art director, you just need to know where to look, listen, feel, and explore. Inspiration is everywhere, and sometimes all it takes is a different perspective.

The advertising industry is constantly evolving, and inspiration comes from all angles—online, offline, from books, art, and people. While the internet is an endless universe of creativity, remember that sometimes, the best creative ideas come when you step away from screens. Go people-watch or observe nature. After all, if the world’s greatest artists had access to the internet, who knows if their work would have had the same impact?

Now that you’ve seen our go-to list, what websites, places, or methods do you turn to when you need a creative boost? Share your thoughts with us—we’d love to add your recommendations to our growing list of inspiration sources. Keep creating, keep exploring, and never stop believing in your ability to imagine!


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For even more inspiration, check out our upcoming free online webinars at www.book180.com/skillshops.

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This blog post was written by book180 Instructor Taylor Smith, freelance Senior Copywriter in Austin, TX.

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