Remember the storms

In 17th century Holland, Dutch artists developed a tradition of painting ships battling violent storms. These weren't just decorative paintings – they had a deeper purpose. The Dutch, whose livelihood depended on maritime trade, created these dramatic seascapes to remember their ability to weather nature's fury.

What's interesting is how differently these paintings were viewed. To the inexperienced, they evoked fear and catastrophe. But to Dutch merchants and sailors? Confidence. An experienced sailor views a storm through an entirely different lens than a novice does.

What visual reminders have you placed in your workspace that serve a similar purpose – that remind you of the design 'storms' you've successfully navigated? Having tangible reminders of your resilience might just be the confidence boost you need next time a 'storm' hits.

Design beyond defaults

It's easy to fall into comfortable patterns when designing websites – similar navbar layouts, the usual footer structures, predictable hero sections.

Here's a collection of galleries that focus on specific sections of a website to inspire you to break out of your defaults:

• Navbars: Navbar Gallery
• Footers: Footer Design
• Call-to-actions: CTA Gallery
• Hero sections: Supahero
• Various section types: Sections WTF
• Shop storefronts: Storefront Design

🛠️ You can find all of these in my Brand Designer’s Toolkit under ‘Inspiration: Web Design’.