Get By with a Little Help from Your Friends

admin on Nov 9th 2009 with 9 comments

As designers, artists and illustrators, we all need some inspiration from time to time. It’s what makes us creative people. We take in the things around us and our brains process it, turning what we’ve seen and heard into thoughts and ideas.

If you work as a professional designer, there will probably be times when you are bereft of ideas and need some help. Turning to the coffee jar is going to make you buzz, but this doesn’t necessarily create ideas. What you need, is inspiration…

Take this scenario for example – your deadline is in the morning, its 3am and you’re struggling to get down a design concept for a new website. Where do you turn? You’re tired and the creativity just isn’t flowing.

I’ve been here many times before, and I find the best way is to relax and forget about it while I browse other websites. Subconsciously, I take in the design and functional elements of these sites I visit. My brain processes this and before I know it, I can apply this array of ideas to my own work, within my own context and utilising my own initiative.

Another great way of getting some help is to ask for feedback from your peers. You can post on related design forums or ask a friend over Messenger. If you receive professional and constructive feedback, this could be absolutely invaluable to creating a successful design.

Never be afraid to ask. A lot of people don’t like criticism because it can dent their self-esteem but if taken on board, it really can make a difference. I learnt this in my first job. I designed email newsletters and every time I submitted a piece to my boss, believing it to be finished, she would nearly always make comments. Two or Three renditions later, and taking on board the bosses comments, I had a piece of work that I could truly be proud of.

This article was written by Matt Saunders. Matt runs Creative Feedback, a design community website designed to give you constructive feedback and design ideas.