Design projects here, design projects there. As a graphic designer, you are faced with multiple tasks that can burn your mind out. You might feel like you are in a slump, and your creative freedom is slowly collapsing. Don’t worry because everyone, especially professionals, has experienced this before. A 2021 survey states that 42 percent of women and 35 percent of men in the workplace always undergo creative stress.
With all the work that you need to accomplish, how can you simply recover from such burnout? Take a deep breath, gather your thoughts, and consider these essential exercises that prompt creative thinking:
Observe your surroundings
People often forget that the environment we live in is one of the best sources of creativity. This can vary with each individual based on their upbringing. While working from home, you may be seated in a room with dim lighting and a ton of clutter from the corners of the room. Attempt to draw inspiration from the little things you hold importance to, like childhood stuffed toys and the drawings you sketch when bored. Reminiscing your treasured moments can help you come up with different ideas.
Optimize your environment
You may find that the reason behind your designer’s block is a disorganized workspace, whether you are in your house or corporate office. This is a problem encountered by many due to being heavily occupied with work. You can allot 15 minutes of your time to clean your desk and room so as to clear your mind. Categorize your papers and put these in folders. Place your pens together in a container. Throw unnecessary materials into the trash. Simply put, organization aids in starting with a clean slate.
Do your favorite hobbies
Creativity is not only constricted within the bounds of painting or drawing. Deviate from your design work for a while, and focus on doing other hobbies that you love. Continue the knitting project you have been putting off. Read a novel by the greatest author you know. Maybe you are into fitness–make an effort to jog and enjoy nature. Additionally, cooking your favorite meal is a therapeutic way to generate creative ideas. The limit does not exist!
Brainstorm with your peers
Sharing insights with people is known to stimulate creative freedom. Brainstorming exercises are usually effective in amplifying every voice involved in the group. These also encourage others to give thought to the suggestions given by their colleagues. Intently listening without criticism influences you to imagine outside the box. In return, speaking up offers novel perspectives to your peers and contributes to the ideation process of your design work.
Digest media materials
A graphic designer who is both tech-savvy and knowledgeable about traditional media arguably gets the upper hand in the industry. Get out of your comfort zone and take time to consume content from magazines, websites, and other readily available information. Research new styles of graphic design. Find out what the current generation views as visually appealing. Look through disparate personal stories from people around the world. The Internet is certainly a melting pot of creative ideas.
Work with our creative professional designers in Dezynspace
Graphic design is an area of work that requires creativity every day. With this, coming up with creative ideas is not just one lightbulb moment. Our professional graphic designers in Dezynspace have exercises to prompt an ideation process that leads to this.
Dezynspace is an online platform where you can meet professional designers who will help achieve your goal. Our company trains design talents in order to make them comfortable with using emerging technologies, as well as attending to client’s needs efficiently.