DESIGN
Unblock Your Creativity: Mastering the Art of Idea Generation
Who hasn’t gone through the experience of designing and suddenly feeling totally blocked? Looking at a blank canvas and having no ideas whatsoever is more common that you’d think. There’s a phrase that says that ‘Creativity will find you when you’re in motion’ but it seems to get lost along the way because it doesn’t find me that often. So I’m going to share a couple of things that help me deal with these creative blocks so that they don’t obstruct the design process.
1- Stop what you’re doing and pamper yourself
If you feel like you’re not moving forward, it won’t help to just stare at blank page waiting for some amazing idea to magically appear. Do something else– find meaning, dive into other activities, go for a walk, go get a snack, go find the perfect croissant, whatever you like– but disconnect from you’re currently doing. You’ll see that a mental reset is super effective and doesn’t require that much time. I recommend you take a notebook with you wherever you go, ideas can appear at any time and anywhere.
2- Look for inspiration
Artists are inspired by other artists. Read a book or fanzine that resonates with you, watch a movie with an interesting aesthetic, listen to music, look at album covers, visit museums, galleries, whatever you feel drawn to.
My recommendation for all the designers out there: always make sure you have design books, magazines, fanzines, flyers, and anything that relates to design. I can’t emphasize how grateful I am to my past self for saving flyers that I thought where cute or interesting.
3- Step back and reflect
Identify the blocker, write it down in a notebook and think of different solutions, sketching and drawing usually helps. Writing is also a great way to better understand the issue and help you come up with an answer.
Ask questions like: What’s holding me back? What steps can I take? Do I need inspiration? Do I need to rest? How do I feel? How am I talking to myself? Do I need something from someone else? Do I need to talk to my leader and get her perspective? As you answer each of these questions, you’ll start to pave the way and untangle the issue at hand.
4- Play and experiment
My best designs appear when I don’t think too much about it and I just explore and play, play, play. Change your perspective, decompress ideas, go from more childish concepts to more structured ideas, go beyond your limits. An exploration process has to be limitless, and as I’ve said before, freedom and playfulness are especially important when it comes to creativity.
The more you play, without the pressure of thinking of the end result, the more ideas you’ll be able to come up with.
5- Collaborative sessions
Find the perspective of another designer: At Indicius we have collaborative sessions between designers when we feel blocked or just need a fresh perspective. Sometimes, spending one hour with a teammate to talk about it, brainstorm, and review it together goes a long way and can unlock certain aspects that limit us from moving forward with a project. You feel inspired and motivated while you solve the problem.
Ideas will always find you when we’re in motion.
Here are some resources to help you unblock your creativity:
