If like me you have been a designer for many years you may well have been in this situation – You have been working for a client for several years and of course some design jobs will need refreshing every year or two or maybe projects of a similar nature crop up a lot.
This is my question for you –
How do you keep finding new inspiration for the same brief?
If you can imagine perhaps you have designed a company’s annual review for several years, nothing major has changed and the brief is just about coming round again.
How do you think of new ideas for a brief that you have already brainstormed about a hundred times over?
I try and look what other companies are doing but not necessarily in the same area of design. I also go back to basics and sometimes create moodboards, cutting up magazines and found graphics. It’s one of the things I find incredibly difficult about my job as a freelance graphic designer. What do you do?
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13 Comments
There is nothing more painful than having a lack of inspiration. But observation give good results.
I am no designer by any means, but could you explain to me what a brief is. Just let me know, so maybe I could put my two cents in.
I liked the use of moodboards.
Go for a walk. Or try random word association… (covered in another section of this site)
Talk with someone. Call up a friend (preferably a designer) and ask their initial take on the project. Maybe they will have a new idea.
Are you going for a different style or a different layout? If it’s style, I always keep track of styles I see that I like and want to try some day. Make the graphics look like an illustrated manuscript, shipping container (with ink stamps), passport, very minimalist (concentrate on typography), watercolors… does any of this give you ideas? And there’s always Colour Lover for palette ideas.
Hi gang!!
I’m not sure where I read this, but someone suggested that when you get into a rut to take a day away from the computer and take some pictures. For me it works like a charm as I love photography, but even if you are not an avid photographer just go out for a day and shoot whatever looks interesting to you. When you get home and look through the pictures, you will always find something inspiring in one of the pictures that will ultimately carry over to your design.
Bryan Z
hi,
i also try random association. also i find it useful to read the directors text and pick out key phrases (sometimes these are ambigous and lend themselves to being illustrated). try reading other literature the company produce as well. what you’ll find is that in general there will be themes such as: growth, our workforce, tailored products, delivering solutions…. most companies share the same themes but they all lend themselves to being illustrated in interesting ways. take growth for instance theres organic (flowers and plants), human (different size colourful wellies), animal (baby elephant with adult) hair (different sizes and styles)….
hope this helps.
I think searching within the mind of the client is the best way. As designers we are full of ideas (crazy and not so crazy). You don’t want to freak out the client with some off the wall idea so I always ask a lot of questions. Almost like a pre-pitch interview.
If it’s the same exact brief, I usually dress up the little details when I want a change (rounded corners instead of squared, different type handling, etc). The client is usually too busy to notice them and after a couple of times doing it, you can do more dressing up. After some of the exact brief, the look is updated gradually, not enough to make the client notice or mad, but enough to make you happy at the same time.
well, everyone struggles with trying to find a happy medium between what they think is appealing…and what others do. overall though, it seems that you have mastered this technique. keep up the good work!
I a designer becomes stuck for ideas hear at Modern Print we all get together and brain storm the problem. I had not failed us yet.
Yes, it’s difficult to find new ideas every time the design needs change, I agree.
Everyone has an opinion, and they are all going to be different. But that is the great thing about it. Somehow you will come up with something great.