Easy Ways You Can Find Inspiration For Your Graphic Design Work
Being a graphic designer means you need to have a steady stream of creative ideas to create an excellent graphic design project. It is an ideal scenario that most graphic designers would love to have. Unfortunately, streams can stagnate or dry up under certain circumstances. Tight deadlines, overwhelming project queues, demanding clients, and several other factors can stagnate or block the flow of creative juices in a graphic design job. When you find yourself in a creative slump, it helps when you take a break from all the pressure and take things easy. You’ll be surprised that most of the situations where inspiration strikes happen during your break.
Read on as we share some easy ways you can find inspiration for your graphic design work.
Find Inspiration Sources Online
Sometimes, your inspiration source can be closer than you think. You can minimize or close your graphic design project window, go online and open your favorite web browser. You can browse through image results of just about anything you have in mind which is related to your design. You might be having trouble finding a remarkable logo or a vibrant color combination for your project. By scrolling down through the image results, you can find some images that catch your fancy, and inspiration and great ideas start to kick in.
If you want a more definitive and detailed inspiration source, various websites are excellent reference materials for graphics designers. There are also blog sites with content dedicated to web designing, where blogs from graphic design pros at https://thedesignest.net/ are worth exploring. You can draw inspiration from the latest news and trends in the graphic design industry and other relevant content posted on this blog site. There are also design courses, videos, and tutorials on the site that you might find useful and may improve your skills as a graphic designer.
Visit Your Social Media Accounts
You might not expect it, but even your other social media accounts that are not related to your work can come in handy when you need inspiration. Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and LinkedIn are just a few social media accounts that can give unexpectedly useful inputs and inspirations that can make your designs look more vibrant and have better quality. Even if you did not intend to visit your social media accounts for inspiration, doing so helps you relax and ease your mind, making it more receptive to new ideas and inspiration. Social media is not just your refuge from the stresses of work but also a source of creative ideas, so keep it active and engaged.
Flip Through Magazines and Printed Media
It is also a good idea to get inspiration from the early days of graphic design. Magazines and other printed media were once at the forefront of the graphic design industry before the advent of the internet and computer-based graphic design programs. Some magazines are still going strong and have millions of loyal readers and subscribers up to this day. These seemingly old-school materials still have a lot to teach and inspire the young generation of graphic designers. The tactile sensation of glossy magazine pages may help bring out a sense of respect, awe, and inspiration for this type of graphical media.
Make an Inspiration Board
You do not have to look far and wide in search of inspiration. Inspiration can also be created and placed near your workstation to remind you of its importance. Keeping a board with inspiring bits and pieces near your workspace can do just that. You can put a greeting card, a postcard, a matchbook cover, a printed inspiring quote, photographs, or printed images of your favorite anime character. You can find any mundane item in your daily life that connects with and attach it to your board - there’s no limit to it. You’ll find your inspiration board useful when you are stuck in a creative rut.Interact with Other Designers and Artists
Whether it is an online or real-life interaction, there is something you can learn and draw inspiration from a colleague, a fellow designer, or another artist. By watching them at work, watching their finished designs or projects, or having conversations with them, you are broadening your artistic horizons and expanding the dimensions of your graphic designs. Online forums and real-life conversations with other graphic designers can help you gain insights into other design platforms, programs, software, and techniques that you may not know or are not familiar with. They may even share tips or varying approaches to a design project, and you can ask them how they would handle your project. You do not have to necessarily follow their advice, but you just need to get new ideas and perspectives about performing your tasks. Interactions are like a two-way street, where both parties can take and give something in the process. Be engaging in your interactions and also share what you have learned because they may also find your inputs useful and a source of inspiration.
Talk with Friends and Non-experts
Do not discount the people close to you when it comes to inspiration. It is from the most unlikely sources that you can find some strokes of brilliant inspiration. You may sometimes overthink things or perceive your project from a complicated standpoint when you only need a simple and straightforward approach. Talk to your friends, family, or co-workers from another department about the problem you are having even if they are not familiar with it or do not know anything about it. It helps to unload some mental burden by talking about your problems or difficulties to people who are willing to listen. If you are torn between two or more possible solutions or approaches to your project, ask them which one would they choose and why. Their answers may not be from a graphical point of view, but they are refreshing and will help you realize something about your job that you have not realized or considered.Go For a Walk Outside
If you cannot find inspiration within the four walls of your room, office, or home, then go outside and breathe some fresh air. Take a long leisurely walk around your neighborhood, in the park, on a hiking trail, on the beach, or anywhere you feel like walking. Walks allow you to recharge your mind and body and you see the beauty of nature around you. You also get to see nature in action from the movements in your surroundings. Vibrant natural colors will inspire you to make a new color scheme while the movements and expressions of other people and creatures you encounter can help you come up with concepts and symbols that best convey what your clients demand. Billboards, signages, labels, and other logos or brands you find during your walks can tell you different stories and give you ideas that can be applied to your work.Get Some Exercise
A healthy body can help foster inspiration by improving oxygen intake and blood circulation to your brain. Try doing some light exercise while at work by performing arm circles, knee tucks, leg extensions, chair dips, and oblique twists to get your blood pumping and feel energized with your work. It also relieves boredom and helps you think more clearly and let inspiring thoughts flow in. If you can’t mix exercise and work, you can always do your exercise before or after work. Exercising helps awaken your creative energy by releasing dopamine, cortisol, and serotonin by keeping you alert, focused, and receptive to inspiration and learning.Have Fun
Having both on-screen and off-screen fun can help you forget the pressures of work and relieve you of your boredom from being uninspired. Playing and having fun can help you forget the project you are stuck with, and gives your brain a breather, and refreshes your thought process. Sing, dance, laugh, and do anything funny with your friends and family to momentarily forget about your creative rut, relieve your stress, ease up the tension and unburden your thoughts. While at work, shift to ‘play mode’ and set aside your project for a while, and play with the settings and features of your graphics software. You might find some new and interesting discoveries that can inspire you to try a different approach. Also, inspiration strikes unexpectedly when you are having fun, so you have more reasons to let loose and take things easy.
There are many ways that you can improve your creativity and be inspired to improve your graphic design work. Technology, nature, and your resourcefulness can help you find inspiration in a simple and uncomplicated way. Inspiration comes from anywhere and anything. You just have to clear your mind, relax and have fun while looking for it and let your creative stream of ideas flow steadily.
Reviewed by Opus Web Design
on
February 25, 2021
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