One great way to improve your craft — be it writing, design, photography, or any number of creative endeavors — is to study and even mimic work you admire. I’m not saying you should go out and plagairize someone whose work you really like, but rather try it out sometime for practice and find ways to change the style and make it your own.
One of my favorite parts of graphic design is innovative and creative typography. I like to surf the web, read magazines, and collect samples of interesting and eye-catching typography to use as inspiration in future projects. Below you will find a few awesome examples of creative typography that appear in my inspiration box.

Si Scott
Great example of how type really can be beautiful. (All my grad school profs would talk about type being beautiful, and while it sounds cheesy, I totally agree.)

Wieden + Kennedy, London
Type can be set to look like an image. Another great example of that found below.

micheile
This really is a beautiful illustration — and it’s constructed entirely of type!

Studio Pin-Ups
Who knew typography could be erotic? This series won the 2006 Epica Awards. You may not approve of it, but you’ve gotta admit it’s pretty darn creative. You can see more if you’re interested here.
More later…
