Inspired by Your Dreams?

Dreams can often be inspiring and perplexing, blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy. This is the theme of the new Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind) film, ‘Dreams: The Science of Sleep’. To celebrate the release of the film, Don’t Panic Online is offering the opportunity to design a poster inspired by dreams. The 20 best designs (voted for by the public) will become part of an exhibition on Dreams in Soho, London. All entrants will also get the opportunity to attend a pre-screening of the film in London.

The winning poster will have 80,000 copies distributed throughout London and the rest of the UK and be sold on the Don’t Panic website.

This is a great opportunity to draw on your internal dreamscape world and have your work seen by thousands of people. The competition is free and all you have to do is unload your photography, photoshop design or basically anything which can be printed by Don’t Panic Online. Then, get your friends, family, pets, strangers and just about anyone you can think of to vote for your design. Deadline for entries is 20.01.07 but don’t delay as voting starts at midnight on 10 January. If you miss this competition, don’t panic! Similar competitions are run by Don’t Panic Online throughout the year. Even if you don’t feel like entering, go and check out the designs and register your vote for your favourite.

By Way of Inspiration – Art and Dreams

Dreams have always influenced artists. Robert Louis Stephenson cited a half remembered dream as the inspiration for Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde. In fact, he swore by dreams as his source of inspiration and would retire to bed for days on end if he was trying to think of a new idea. Similarly, Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan” was a poem he dreamt in it’s entirety, only to be disturbed by visitor whilst trying to scribble it down. More recently, the cord structure for ‘Yesterday‘ came to Paul McCartney in a dream who was convinced it was an old traditional melody until he found nobody else knew it.

Many fine artists have also been influenced by their sleep and dreams.

Joan Miró (1893-1983)

Dutch Interior 1 (1928)

Joan Miró would use a lack of sleep, sometimes for days on end, to inspire him to paint the creatures in his head. Later in his career, most of his art came from his dream scenery.

Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate One Second Before Waking Up (1944)

Most of the Surrealist movement drew on the fantasies of their dreams for inspiration. Much of the work of Salvador Dali was filled with dreamlike abstract visions.

Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

The Scream (1893)

His work often included his nightmarish visions of suffering

Hieronymus Bosch (1450 – 1516)

Hell (right panel)

Similarly to Munch, Bosch filled his painting with black visions. Most of Bosch’s work had a very strong religious context and were his own nightmare visions of hell.

Hopefully, this has inspired you to create your own unique vision from your dreams and what sleep means to you. You can go and take a look at the other entrants for a bit more inspiration. Best of luck with your design!