[1] nature / natural patterning – .e.g cactus, mold, coral reef, dragon fly wings, snow drifts etc.
[1] formal – e.g. klien bottle, pumpkin, cone, balloon, etc.
[1] pattern based – e.g. scale, cairo pattern, triangulation, etc. – i.e. this should be leaning more towards a geometry language.
[1] existing inspiration – i.e. if your looking into vases, find an interesting vase design object.
[1] parametric design – this could be at any scale or scope, but something you find interesting.