Designer often find their richest sources of inspiration through their experiences with nature,religion,art,literature,music and dreams. Sometimes the Designer self wants to express itself creatively, but doesn't know where to begin. There are two distinct parts to the process of inspiration. so the designer must accept and acknowledge the possibility of inspiration. whenever we design any piece of jewellery we need some inspiration that comes in mind through some sources

1. Jewellery Designing: Sources of
Inspiration
By:
Neeru Jain

2. Jewellery Designing: Sources of Inspiration
By: Neeru Jain
It is an art of personal ornamentation. It is the study of arranging materials and objects for adornment of men
& women. Designing involves skill, creativity, & originality with an ability to visualize ideas observing,
recording and analyzing from things around us.
Designers often find their richest sources of inspiration through their experiences with nature, religion, art,
literature, music and dreams. Sometimes the Designer himself wants to express itself creatively, but doesn't
know where to begin. There are two distinct parts to the process of inspiration. First, the designer must
accept and acknowledge the possibility of inspiration and secondly, the designer must surrender in faith to
the source of inspiration. So whenever we design any piece of jewellery we need some inspiration that
comes in mind through some sources. Design is highly influenced by source of inspiration. What we see,
feel, hear greatly influences our creativity & expression. By and large, the visual information obtained
influences a design the most.
These major design sources are around us in abundance which can inspire one self to design jewellery:
Natural Sources:
These includes all God-gifted nature, varieties of flora, fauna, insects, birds, animals, shells,
trees & other forms of life. One can either duplicate or create abstracts. Abstraction consists
of using part and piece of original forms and combining forms or altering them to create a
new form.
Nature is an endless ocean of ideas. Observation & expression influenced by nature can result in
interesting new forms & ideas. Natural sources are widely used in entire world. An expertly
crafted piece of jewellery can capture forever the life-like qualities of an animal on the run, a bird
in flight, blooming flowers, butterflies, insects or fish. Such jewellery remains a perennial favourite,
never seeming to go out of style.
Man Made Sources:
These are innumerable things created by man. Drawing can be done by using ideas or motif from different
kinds of fabrics, utensils, building, machinery, instruments etc. Working with these ideas or motifs gives you
different experiences, a chance to discover something new through permutations & combinations Man made
sources.
Historical Sources:
These are found from museums, historical monuments, libraries, sculptures, vases, calligraphy painting and
ancient jewellery & other artifacts. History has witnessed magnificent art periods like Medieval, Egyptian,
Baroque, Art Nouvean, Art Deco, etc that are rich in expression & inspiration. Fusion of conservative &
contemporary ideas & re-interpretation of ancient art forms can give birth to a new & original style. All the
recent Creativity is the blend of ancient with modern ideas.
Symbolic Sources:
These includes emblems, religious symbols, Zodiac signs, organizational signs & symbols,
occupational symbols, monograms & logos, alphabets or geometric symbols, cartoons,
etc. These are good source of design & inspiration. The combination & use of different
shapes & styles help us visualize new combination and composition.
Themes & Concepts:
If a designer thinks with an open mind he can realize a deep concept or theme in every art form and the
same way he can incorporate & express a variety of themes in his jewellery designs for instance nature,
politics, social, religious, etc.
Magazines, Catalogues, Books, Photographs, visits to jewellery stores, exhibitions are some other useful
sources of information & inspiration but it is important to maintain your own style & originality.

3. Besides the above stated symbols and motifs ,there have been various other objects to be
used to design jewellery but Flowers, Sun, Moon, Stars, birds & animals are frequently used
in Indian Jewellery. The heavenly bodies have been a source of awe and inspiration for
human since time immemorial and no wonder these found a way into jewellery too.
The author is Asstt. Professor of Jewellery Designing.