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Make inspiration happen

By Rachael Grady

Added Friday 03/10/2008

A blank screen. A designer's worst nightmare. There are some things that even coffee can't cure. Inspiration doesn't come easy, sadly, and it's only on the rarest of occasions, when the brief is really good, really clear, that the light bulb just clicks on in your head. When it doesn't, sometimes it's best just to get up and walk away for a while.

I think I do some of my most important work when I'm miles away from my Mac. The more you look at a screen, the more you stare at the walls, the more frustrated you get and that's not the right frame of mind to work in. Distract yourself from the matter in hand. I go to the gym a lot, I seem to think well when I'm exercising. I don't know what it is, but it just gets the creative juices flowing. Maybe it's just because it's an unbroken hour of thinking away from the office

Absolutely anything can inspire you to fill that blank screen. Go to art galleries, read books, flick through magazines. Sometimes even film trailers or adverts can make you see things a little differently. As a designer you need to always be thinking, always looking for something new. It might sound silly, but even something like clouds may have something to offer the process...
Shapes, sizes, forms. Sometimes you just need to open your eyes and look.
Inspiration is everywhere.

When you've got your idea, it's back to the Mac and away. I personally prefer projects with long deadlines, so that I can spend the time making sure that everything is perfect, but it has its downsides. More time means more chance that the client will want to change things. Sometimes, you can stare at that screen for so long, that you'll want to change things as well. There is such a thing as over-designing.

Once in "the zone", iTunes can be as important as Photoshop. You can quickly find yourself immersed in your own little bubble to work. Choice of music seems to depend on the progress of the project. If everything is going well, if everything is flowing, then it's something upbeat like The Rolling Stones. If struggling and just can't settle in then it's usually something more mournful to fit the mood...like Radiohead (yes, it can get that bad!)

You need your breaks when you're staring at a screen, it's vital. But when the clock is ticking and the deadline is looming in, you just have to push through regardless. We've all been there. It's stressful. But more often then not, the finished product makes all those uncomfortable hours worth it.

I love being a designer. I love the whole process. I love putting down my ideas in my little red sketch book and seeing them grow and develop onto the screen. Yes, it can be a struggle and, yes, it can be frustrating, but there's nothing quite like it. That feeling you get when you sit back from what was once a blank screen and take in what you've created ...that's the best feeling of all.