How to Find Inspiration When You’re Stuck
It happens to the best of us: you’re faced with a looming deadline and your head is curiously empty. Hello? Ideas? Is it me you’re looking for? The more you try to dig up ideas, the worse your creative block gets. You’re suddenly reconsidering the merit of Comic Sans or cataloguing all the cat GIFs on Slack; that’s how you know it’s time to try something different. Our team shared a few tried-and-true ways of finding inspiration when they’re stuck.Walk it Out
Go outside for some fresh air. A Stanford study found that creative thinking is boosted during a walk and even in the period after a walk. Fresh air helps clear the mind, and sometimes a change of scenery gets you out of your head and into new ideas. Take it from Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, who have both been known to conduct meetings while walking.
Immerse Yourself in Creativity
If you’re close to a museum (like the Dali or MFA for us in the Burg), leave your problems at the admissions desk and take in some beauty. Finding inspiration in nature, museums, and cafés can be more beneficial than looking at hundreds of designs on Pinterest or Behance. Ideas seem to flow more genuinely and organically when you’re not staring at a screen.
If you have the opportunity to travel, use it to stock up on inspiration. Other cities or ways of life are something that can kickstart creativity. Be sure to save any cocktail napkins, train tickets, or other memorabilia that can jog your memory.
Start in the Middle
If you’re having a difficult time getting started, Stefan Sagmeister, co-founder of design firm Sagmeister & Walsh, describes his process:
“The process I’ve been using most often has been described by Maltese philosopher Edward DeBono, who suggests starting to think about an idea for a particular project by taking a random object as point of departure. Say, I have to design a pen, and instead of looking at all other pens and thinking about how pens are used and who my target audience is etc., I start thinking about pens using…..(this is me now looking around the hotel room for a random object)….bed spreads. Ok, hotel bedspreads are…sticky….contain many bacteria…., ahh, would be possible to design a pen that is thermo sensitive, so it changes colors where I touch it, yes, that could actually be nice: An all black pen, that becomes yellow on the touching points of fingers/hands…., not so bad, considering it took me all of 30 seconds. Of course, the reason this works is because DeBono’s method forces the brain to start out at new and different points of departure, preventing it from falling into a familiar groove it has formed before.”
As a designer you can adopt this approach by diving into the middle of your project. If you normally start with logo designs, start by designing some quirky merch. If your client is a restaurant, start by thinking about what their silverware could look like. Is it matte black? Engraved? Let these insights guide your project, and don’t be afraid to travel off the beaten path.
Phone a Friend
Discussing ideas with coworkers can also be helpful. Sometimes they suggest a direction you haven’t considered yet. Take five minutes to chat or grab a coffee and let the ideas flow. Also consider the input of people outside your industry. If you’re working on a tagline or slogan, bounce the ideas off your friends and family. They’re often the end consumer of your project anyway; see how your idea connects to them.
Creative block happens to us all, but finding ways to push through them and maintain your motivation is what makes a determined creative. We hope these ideas will get you back to the drawing board in no time!