The navigation system from 1979's Alien looks distinctly timeless despite its anachronistic technology.

Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien stands out for many reasons. Aside from its amazing moody minimalism, I continue to be fascinated by its portrayal of flight navigation technology. Last week, I watched yet again. I began to wonder how a film now more than 30 years old still maintains a uniformly modern feeling.

Though the technology appears “dated” in many ways, it still fits seamlessly into the overall visual environment of the film. The carefully crafted connection between set & technology convinces the modern viewer of its plausibility. Contemporary filmmakers seem all too satisfied making use of CG technology to structure their whole story. Instead, Alien constructs a world in which the technology simply fits. It thereby becomes part of the larger environment rather than an omniscient plot-controlling device. The simplicity of Alien’s vector graphic flight navigation sytem – though now anachronistic technology – makes the film striking timeless.

Eerie similarities between 80's pop-televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker and Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter.

Having just returned from director Tim Burton’s hyped-up “Alice In Wonderland” flick, I needed to reflect for a moment. I am an avid ABC “video-on-demand” viewer & in the last few weeks I have been pummeled with the endless Alice trailers. Though still nursing a grudge against Burton for his shamefully overdone redux of Willy Wonka, I still felt coerced to give Alice a try.

Unfortunately, the grudge still stands. The visage of Burton’s Hatter – not dissimilar from 80’s pop- televangelist Tammy Fay Bakker – provokes a certain visual discomfort. Burton’s Hatter pales – or rather blinds – when compared to so many other more thoughtful Hatter renditions. Many of these successfully portray the “nuance” of the Hatter character by revealing his two halves: both wild card madman & self-assured suave sophisticate.

A better Hatter can be found in J Otto Seibold's sophisticated pop-up "Alice in Wonderland," ©2003. Photo by Ani Bee on Flickr.

Historical age, physical wear & anachronistic design style make this book particularly intriguing as design inspiration.

When I lose creative  inspiration, I grab one of the “outdated” textbooks I have collected over the years. Found on a dusty “antique” store shelve, in a small back room of Good Will or Salvation Army, on the sidewalk in my neighbor’s trash. More than a few wonderful texts have been found at unannounced library book sales and, most ironically, in dumpsters behind used bookstores – apparently not even good enough to sell for 50¢ in the clearance bin.

Not just any old book satisfies. Middle school or high school textbooks published before 1970 intrigue the most.

Depending upon the subject of the text and the date of its publication, informational anachronism abounds. The way “facts” are portrayed reveal a greater concern for social norms of its era than about historical or scientific accuracy. As an artist, I find right-brained inspiration in the jarring discontinuity of facts when compared to contemporary expectations.

The limitations of older publication technology is refreshing. The endless possibilities of Photoshop and the vast amount of typefaces available to today’s designer can sometimes serve to overwhelm rather than inspire. Two- or three-color illustrations and straight forward typography focus wonderfully on solving the problem of communicating knowledge (even as we contemporaries reflect and identify that knowledge as false.)

Beyond the design style of the period, these textbooks offer inspiration that can only come with age. Yellowed, torn (& perhaps repaired) pages. Hand drawn signatures, random doodles & notes of complaint about the text are often found scattered throughout the pages. The use of these books in the hands of its learners is – at the very least – a passive act of design.

Keeping a collection of these textbook discards has helped me evolve as a designer. I turn to them again and again. And always find some new trigger for design inspiration.

Where do you turn when you need design inspiration?