Sometimes work just doesn't flow out of you. Really. As a marketing and design professional I am often expected to just magically come up with the right thing... right away. Sometimes I do. Sometimes it takes me a bit to get my juices flowing.
I have two such projects right now. One is a logo for an IT company. I did 3 that were all really different, but even I didn't love them. Client didn't either. My thought was I would show her where I was going and she could stop me before I went too far down that road. Smart move on my part. I am back at the drawing board.
The other piece is a banner for a nonprofit event for their website. They had a concept, well, they muddled around a concept and I am trying to make it work. It is for a friend (friends often expect us to just have it come out perfect more than clients sometimes), so I am dealing with those issues too. I know when I finish it will be tremendously better than what they had before, but I have to get there.
What do I do when ideas aren't flowing?
- I step away from the computer - doing anything else will allow my mind the room to ponder the designs in question without forcing them
- Look for other inspiration - books, magazines, blogs, nature - really anything that sparks that Aha! moment.
- Not beat myself up - sometimes that can be the hardest thing. I am used to being really prolific and when something isn't going right in my design projects I can be pretty harsh to myself. Learning to relax a little about it all has helped tremendously.
When it does happen it is great and I will get there with these two projects. I just know enough now to not rush anything or feel compelled to produce things I wouldn't be proud of. AND I have to remind myself and my clients design is a process - I am not an art machine - I am a designer.
And as they say, back to the drawing board! If you really aren't feeling it - do one of these things to at least move your business along!
