We’ve all been there. You’re eager to get stuck into a new project or commission but the ideas have come to a standstill. If you’re struggling with a creative block, there are a few tips to follow that could help you get those ideas flowing.

Pre-Existing Design Research

Have a look at what’s already on the market. If you’re designing a flyer for a brand new coffee shop opening up down the road, look at the current existing companies within your demographic and look at what elements they include. This is key to establish what elements are already successful! This can help to encourage a thought process.

This can also be a great opportunity to expand your knowledge. As designers, we’re never done learning and looking at whats happening in the design field can help you to stay motivated and look at new trends. 

Trust the Process

Grab a sketch pad and be completely loose with your process. The best way to develop an idea is through trial and error. Freely sketch out your initial ideas and take elements that you enjoy most out of those to try out different variations. 

The process can be as messy as you’d like. Once you feel you’re on the right track to a final design, take that work and look at beginning to develop that further. If you find it isn’t working, you will always have alternative designs to consider and try out. 

Daytime VS Night

When do you feel most inspired? Many creatives find that late morning or at night is when they’re relaxed. This is when they are most likely to create something and feel happy about it. The less pressure you feel, the more freely you can design and this will only benefit the process! 

If you feel more inspired in a morning, that is your time to get some ideas down. Each creative has their own preference and looking at when yours is will help you get out of a flow-funk. 

Back-to-Basics

With many of us grabbing the iPad or graphics tablet as a method to design, we forget that sometimes choosing paint or pencil can help get the ideas out of our head. Using physical techniques can help you to get everything out of your head and make the process of elimination much easier when choosing a design or style.

Look at purchasing a big sketchbook purely for experiments. This will also help you to with idea generation in the future because you can look back and take previous experiments and adapt them to a project. 

Handy Games

Exquisite Corpse 

Most of us that went to art school or studied it at high-school level, will remember playing art games. 

• Exquisite Corpse (see image) is a fun way to feel inspired. Grab a friend, sibling, anybody who is willing to play and fold the paper. Each of you takes turns to draw a section and this can be a really fun way to get a brand new idea. 
• Play word games to generate new outcomes. Look at alternative and similar versions of what you’ve written down from the keywords within the project, sometimes you’re overwhelmed by the language within a brief.

If you’re a company that needs a handy team of creatives, why not hire a design agency! Specialists are great at combatting their design block and can work together to create high-quality content for your brand and help to create a great aesthetic for your company. 

Here at Be My Social, we can assist with everything from graphic design to SEO. Get in touch today for a personalised quote.