Practical Ways to Stay Inspired as a Designer

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When a passion turns into a career choice, it’s common for you to lose motivation and inspiration. Your reasons for learning that craft start to disappear and the enjoyment you used to get will slowly whittle away. Fortunately, solving a problem like this is easy once you re-discover what it is that inspired you in the first place. If you’re struggling to rekindle that passion and find the inspiration you’re looking for, here are a couple of practical ways to stay inspired as a designer.

Shake Up Your Surroundings

Your surroundings are a surprisingly important component when it comes to inspiring yourself. People that surround themselves with inspirational books, quotes and design references are more likely to fuel their creativity. If you’re stuck in a quiet and dark room with no sources of inspiration around you, then it can be difficult to think of new ideas and approach things from a unique perspective. That’s why shaking up your surroundings and trying something new can do wonders for sparking that creative passion again.

Of course, some people much prefer to work in a quiet and blank room so they can focus on their thoughts. However, regardless of what you prefer, if you’re currently in a creative slump then it can help to mix things up and work in a different environment. We suggest trying to change the decorations and sources of inspiration around you, or you could also try to work in a different location entirely. Some designers love to travel around the city to work at different coffee shops and co-working locations, while others enjoy working in public spaces like a park.

In short; switch up the place you work at. Not everyone works well in the same environment every day and switching it up can help you become inspired by your surroundings.

Don’t Be Afraid of References

A lot of designers and artists are taught not to rely too much on references because it can lead to “copying”. While this is fine for practice, copying can lead to accusations of plagiarism if you’re designing something for a client for commercial use. This can land you in some serious trouble which is why a lot of designers tend to stay away from relying on references. However, references can be a massive source of inspiration and it’s vital that you use all of the tools available to you in order to fuel your creativity.

However, it’s no good just looking at random references. Instead, you should look at references that are relevant to the thing that you’re designing. For instance, if you’ve been tasked with designing a logo and don’t know where to start, then looking at photography logos is a good point to begin. Similarly, if you’re tasked with designing some kind of banner or advertisement, then it’s a good idea to look at references that are similar to what you plan to create. This will help give you ideas, but it’s important to stay away from copying too much so that you aren’t accused of plagiarism.

As long as you differentiate copying from using references, it’s easy to stay inspired by the work of others. Whether it’s from books you keep on your shelf or websites you’ve saved, there’s inspiration and references to be found everywhere.

Using Emotions in Your Designs

At its core, creative work is expressive. Most pieces of artwork stem from some kind of emotional drive and it’s no different when designing something for a commercial client. The graphics you create need to evoke some kind of emotional response. In order to do that, you need to think about the emotions that you want to evoke and how they can be used as part of the design.

Emotions matter in design, but it’s a tool that is sorely underutilized in modern graphics. It’s a complicated concept that a lot of designers don’t fully grasp since it requires a lot of experience and self-reflection. When designing something for a client, it demands that you know a lot about the client, their company and also what they stand for. This is why it can be challenging to incorporate emotions into your designs, but it’s also a great way to help you stay inspired.

In short, try and think about the emotional aspect of your designs. Think about what message you want your designs to portray and consider asking your client about their business to help inspire you.

Engage in Conversations About Design

One of the best ways to get feedback on your designs is to speak to others. Whether it’s peers that are also in the business of graphic design or with the client that you’re working with, it’s important to engage in conversations to help you learn more about the intricacies of graphic design. Even experienced graphic designers find that newcomers can shake up work processes and ideas to create completely new approaches to how they design something. It’s a natural process of introducing new talent to the industry and shaking up old and tired ideas that are no longer serving their purpose.

If you’re not talking about design work on a regular basis with your peers, then it can be difficult to get feedback about your designs. Conversations are a fantastic way to find inspiration, but you have to remember that it can be detrimental if you speak too much and don’t focus on the value it provides your work. There are many designers that will be adamant about their approach being superior, and some difficult clients will feel that your work doesn’t reflect what their company stands for. Conflicts like this can be healthy to inspire you as a graphic designer, but they can also be problematic if they last for a long time.

In short, engage in conversations about design and listen to feedback. Take those comments and use them as fuel for your creativity. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or challenge preconceived notions about design, and get involved with different design circles to hear more varied opinions.