In closing out 2009 and the decade before, we talk about what has inspired us. Blake set things off with a nice list of "best practices". We are often inspired (and humbled) by great work produced by our fellow designers -- especially those with different backgrounds, skill-sets, and styles.

What's interesting to me are the things that lie behind that great work. The myriad of forces — minute as they may be — that work together over time to shape that person's world view, and in turn, what they produce.

To quote my favorite farmer, Joel Salatin:

"You know what the best kind of organic certification would be? Make an unannounced visit to a farm and take a good long look at the farmer's bookshelf. Because what you're feeding your emotions and thoughts is what this is really all about. The way I produce a chicken is an extension of my world view. You can learn more about that by seeing what's sitting on my bookshelf than having me fill out a whole bunch of forms."

So this is what you might find on my bookshelf. A glimpse into what has inspired me, informed my work, or simply what I've enjoyed over the past decade. Bits and pieces that perhaps influenced a logo, a design process, a typeface decision, a production method.

We are what we read — and eat, and watch, and listen to. The things we feed ourselves will inevitably find their way into how and what we create. If nothing else, a person's bookshelf can serve as an interesting form of portraiture.

What's on your designer's bookshelf?

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