Want some creative inspiration from real design pros? Register for HOW Design Live Online to chat live with your favorite presenters and attend their conference sessions. Enter code HOWLIVE14 at checkout for $100 off!
photo from Shutterstock
We all encounter creative block occasionally, whether it’s in the midst of an important design project, a branding campaign, or—ahem—a blog post.
It’s a difficult thing to face, too. Nothing kills your creative buzz like running into a mental block or feeling burnt out. At that point, completing a simple task becomes as challenging as wading through a tar pit.
I’ve been feeling a bit mentally frazzled lately, so in the interest of sanity, I started looking around for some good creative exercises and inspirational resources to get me past the drudgery and stir up my creative juices.
I started with the Exercises for Designers Ultimate Collection, which includes four great resources for inspiring creativity and conquering roadblocks.
Here are just a few of the tips I found while delving into the collection:
Carry a sketchbook.
Many designers draw in their spare time, but is your sketchbook always on you? Whether you’re traveling or just on your lunch break, drawing your surroundings can be a great way to get your creative juices flowing. You can also use a sketchbook to draw or jot down spur-of-the moment ideas, take notes or write stories.
For many skilled creatives, sketching helps them get back to the basics. Drawing and sketching are great creative exercises when you’ve encountered a roadblock. Approach a difficult situation from scratch by sketching it out, or draw something unrelated to clear your mind. Besides, the more you practice drawing, the more your design skills will improve, even if you’re an experienced designer.
Play games.
Exercise your imagination by playing any type of game—collaborative games, board games and puzzles are all excellent options. For easy mental games, try creating something with the items on your desk or finding out how many words your can make using the letters in your name. Interactive games and play-based creative exercises sharpen your creativity and expand your imagination. For a quick-tune up, check out Creative Stuff, an activity book for creative by David Gouveia and Christopher Elkerton. This book is part of the Exercises for Designers Ultimate Collection, which includes three other resources to help you get back on track.
Read more.
Reading is wonderful creative tool, regardless of your material. The act of reading exercises your working memory—the part of your memory that processes and stores new information—which means that the more you read, the more information you can retain and the better you’ll retain it. If you’re fond of literature, you can glean some creative inspiration from the mind of your favorite authors. Personally, I find Dickens to be particularly helpful when I’m looking for creative inspiration. An autobiography by one of your favorite creative might help you with some insight as well.
If you’re more of a hands-on person, try D30: Exercises for Designers by Jim Krause or The Graphic Design Exercise Book by Jessica Glaser. Both books are full of tips, tricks and exercises for boosting your creativity—and they’re both included in the Exercises for Designers Ultimate Collection.
Learn a new creative skill.
There’s no better way to boost your creativity than acquiring new creative skills or honing your skills with new techniques. Try taking a HOW Design University course to learn a new skill such as responsive web design or typography, or check out Jim Krause’s independent study course D30: Exercises for Designers. Krause has been in the design biz for thirty years, and his independent study course is built around the hands-on extra-curricular art, design and photography activities he regularly enjoys in order to keep his creative world fun, his design skills sharp and his creative instincts relevant and usable. With the creative exercises in his course, you’ll end up with a nice collection of art pieces by the time you’re finished.
Reflect on your senses.
I have a condition known as auditory synaesthesia, which means that I receive additional sensory input with every sound I hear (sounds have color, texture, depth, etc.). Other synaesthetes have used this involuntary association to create amazing things. For example, Mozart famously told his orchestra to play with “more blue!” Unfortunately, not all of us can use our synaesthesia to compose symphonies, but many creatives experience some form of synaesthesia, and it tends to help with the creative process.
Even if you’re not a synesthete, take a moment to reflect you imagine while listening to music, voices or even white noise. Try designing cover art for your favorite album based on the things you visualize while you’re listening to it. If you hear an interesting sound, think about what that sound would look like if you wanted to draw it or sculpt it. You can also try this with your other senses. What does the scent of a flower look like? What do different textures make you think of? If you could describe the taste of an apple, what color would it be? What shape? What size?
If you’re encountering creative roadblocks, check out the Exercises for Designers Ultimate Collection at MyDesignShop.com! It contains all of the resources I mentioned above for 65% off their total retail value!