Designer's Block
We’ve all been there…
Whether we come from a writing background or one of artistic design, a thought barricade has, at one time, halted us all. We sat down, intended to begin a project, and had a blank screen stare at us for minutes or hours. No matter the reason behind this creative block, there are actions to be taken that surely increase productivity. Below I’ve complied three basic steps that assuage this common issue.
1.) Get down main concepts
What messages need to be illustrated? Are there icons or indexical signs associated with the main idea? These questions guide designers and layout the basic groundwork for most designs. Simply by doing this, a large portion of the job can be completed. In my mind I’ve created something I like to call a “dump board”. On this board (usually through Adobe Illustrator) I type words or phrases and create basic shapes. I “dump” out quick mental connections I make from the brand or idea I’m attempting to illustrate.
The study of signs, Semiotics, is a principle factor within this step where two types of signs easily integrate. Implementing Semiotics in the initial stages of digital design start your project off with a bang.
An icon should almost immediately communicate what it is attempting to depict. In America, a sign next to a bathroom communicates who enters. Through cave paintings, prehistorical animals and people are illustrated.
Indexical signs require some logical, common sense connection. There is a slightly higher level of thinking to get to the intended message. A footprint in the sand can represent the human which created the impression. Black smoke emitting from a chimney can represent pollution.
Implementing Semiotics in the initial stages of digital design is a helpful tool which will carry your project forward to the next step.
2.) Go Back to the basics with color
Graphic design whittles down to simple theories which explain why we find work memorable and others not so much. Color takes part in a paramount aspect for viewers, consumers, and all audiences. Color is described by three methods.
The Objective Method explains color through various size wavelengths stimulating cones in the eye’s retina. Because of this method’s scientific nature, the color wheel is a sure fire way to create palettes of complementary, analogous, or triad colors and more.
While less accurate but more useful, the Comparative Method associates colors. If I say “fire engine red” I assume a mental image of this particular red was made. In Visual Communication: Images with Messages, Paul Martin Lester demonstrates “Blood red is dark, but the red of poinsettia plant leaves and traffic lights are slightly different. For the comparative method to be of use, the color that the other color is compared with must be accepted universally as a standard”.
The Subjective Method is of the most symbolic. This method concerns a viewer’s mental state and their associations with objects. These associations greatly affect the emotional response to color. Yellow is commonly used to represent happiness. Green is used to communicate health or balance.
Designs almost construct themselves through basic color knowledge.
3.) Sleep on it
A fresh mind is a productive mind. Though some people attest that the insomniac brain closely resembles a creative brain on drugs, an overworked brain causes it's functions to dull. For example, once writers leave their post and return days later, they find errors, think of how they can elaborate, and in general, come back with ideas they didn't initially have. It’s as simple as providing a buffer of time.
Along with the body and mind refreshing through sleep, the brain conjures some extraordinary ideas. Jereon de Ruijter explains in his article, “In 1845, Elias Howe invented (and improved) the sewing machine, based on a dream. In his dream, he was taken prisoner by cannibals who carried spears with pierced heads. An intriguing image that stuck with him when he woke up. Elias Howe immediately went to his drawing table and redesigned the sewing machine. Using needles with hollow points”. Countless ideas have incepted within a sleeping brain. In fact, Yesterday, one of the most popular Beatles’ songs was the result of Paul McCartney’s dream.
Now, get back out there
Put into practice these steps whenever a road block finds itself in front of your brain. Don’t become defeated. Use logical steps and get back on the horse. Good luck.