Inspired – Martyn Cummins Alberto-Culver UK

We work in an industry where people don’t really understand what we do, and so we aren’t always valued – sometimes that drains the life out of us. Once I said to my mum I used Photoshop and she thought I went to Boots everyday…

So what do I do and where do I go to recharge my creative batteries? Basically, everything around me inspires me.

I recently visited the Dieter Rams exhibition at London’s Design Museum and came out fizzing with ideas. I fell in love with the notion ‘Less is more’. I’ve always adored clean simple lines, but this was a lesson in classic shapes, forms and detail.

I believe in thinking differently. Looking at things with a new perspective – when walking through a city, look up, or sit on the top deck of a bus, because not everything is at eye-level.

Listen to the radio, you’ll hear a song from the past and it will spark off an idea.

Watch all the different shapes and styles of people on the Tube. I stand at one end of the carriage and watch everyone, look at what they are wearing, reading, doing – anything. Even the reflections in the curved windows inspire me.

Pretty much anything Italian gets me going. They sure do have the golden touch, turning anything humdrum and everyday into the most desirable thing on the planet. It must be something in the pasta.

This image was taken by me near Regent’s Park in London. I love this picture, not just because of the car, but the building in the background, too. The cherry on top for me is the wonky old sign on the lamp post – it’s the little details that count.