Overcoming Creative Block
I don’t think I have ever met a designer that hasn’t suffered from a creative block at one time or another. Being creative and coming up with new designs can be quite stressful at times and this stress can lead to a lack of ideas.
There are so many reasons why creative block occurs, such as looming deadlines, a half written brief, a client who can’t make up their mind, being overworked, or just simply having an off day. It is often a feeling of total helplessness and when doubt creeps in, it can feel like the creative block may never end. So hopefully some of the suggestions below can help in getting those creative thoughts flowing again.
Don’t beat yourself up
A great design doesn’t always happen at a snap of your fingers, some of the nicest designs that I have created have been a struggle to get to. One thing that won’t help in freeing up your creativity is beating yourself up over the fact that you are having a hard time coming up with something, it will make it a lot worse. So relax and try to push ahead without stressing and without giving yourself a hard time.
Reread the brief and make notes as you go
While this may seem like an obvious suggestion it can often be over looked, reading through the brief and the notes that have been made while making new notes can help with reassessing a project and also the goals that need to be achieved with the final design.
Doodle
I have always found that sketching takes my mind off the project as a whole and frees me up to be a bit more creative than I would be if I was staring at a monitor. No one needs to see these sketches and it doesn’t matter how messy they are, the idea is simply to get any ideas no matter how small onto paper in hopes that it sparks the creativity that is needed. The benefits of doodling are that you aren’t restricted by a piece of software, things don’t need to be perfect and ideas can be scribbled down a lot quicker than on a computer.
Look at the competitions sites
Unless the design is for a 100% unique idea there is always going to be competition with already established websites. Going onto these sites and not only writing down what does and doesn’t, but also sketching ideas could help in getting the brain back into the creativity gear.
Get away from the computer
Looking at that blank page that has been set up in a graphics editor or an empty page in a browser won’t help and can be counter productive. So a simple way to unwind is to look for inspiration away from the computer, go for a walk, look at a magazine, read a book, watch a film or anything that can take you away from the computer for an hour or two. I know when you have a deadline that the last thing on your mind would be to stop working. But if you are getting nowhere a couple of hours way from the problem could be the solution, as you will return ready to try again with a fresh prospective and be a little less stressed.
Be Colourful
Colours are often a great way to inspire a design due to the strong emotions they can provoke. Visiting a site dedicated to displaying colours schemes could help in creating that all important colour palette which could lead to creating an amazing concept.
Look for some new fonts
Much like with colours sometimes a nice new font can help get that creative spark back and inspire the look for a site.
Listen to some music
Music doesn’t just have to be there as background noise, it can be an amazing motivator. Although it can also be a problem as well, especially if you listen to the same playlist every time you work. So if you are having issues with creativity, try changing the music that you are listening to something that you may not normally listen to, maybe even selecting a genre that fits the style of project you are working on.
Talk to others
When you work with other it is easy to get up and see what others are doing and maybe talk about the problems to get a fresh opinion. If you work by yourself that isn’t something that is always possible, so a good alternative is to join an online community, as not only can you ask questions and talk to other creative people within the same industry. So it is a great way to connect with other creative minds in your industry and share ideas, tips and advice.
Start a different project
If you have other clients projects then move your workload around a bit and start one work on a different project. While it may seems like you are pushing the problem away and neglecting the client, you really aren’t doing yourself or the client any favours by staying stuck in a rut. Moving onto a different project will mean that your work is still getting done, but also the troublesome project will still be in your mind and you could unexpectedly get inspiration for it.
Learn something new
The world of design and development is always moving and because of this there is always something new to learn, be it on a coding side or learning a new trick in your preferred graphics editor. So if you don’t have any different projects to get your teeth sunk into but still want to be creative then try learning something new and enhancing your own skill set.
Personal Projects
Another way to take you away from the problem project for a little while is to work on a personal project, like learning something new having your own pet project can keep you creative and let you do something a bit more enjoyable
Relax and Sleep On it
As I said above, sitting at a computer and getting nowhere is counter productive, sometimes the best advice is to give it a rest for the day, relax and sleep on it, coming back to the work the next day refreshed and ready to create something amazing.
Smash your Creative Block
The image used at for this article is thanks to a great photoshop tutorial over at Creative Overflow. So to smash your own creative block why not try the tutorial for yourself:
smashing your-creative block photoshop tutorial
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Comments
I find watching day time television helps, although I guess it would be harder if you work in an office.
The one thing I stay clear of are css galleries as I worry that the design will end up being too inspired by one that I saw on one of them.
Nice article Dizi
Sometimes I find it really helpful to just start marking up the content, and working on the typography. Because there are so many restrictions when it comes to making type work, it can often help in the placement of elements. Sometimes that’s all you need to get your imagination working again.
Great tip !b, getting the text structure and the typography looking right could really help with the creative side, I’ll have to try it next time I’m stuck