Web Design in Oklahoma City

We've all experienced creative blocks from time to time. For designers, keeping productive is important and as you grow in your profession, you pick up simple techniques that help avoid blocks and keep the ideas flowing. Here are a few tips that I use to help keep creative:

1. Don't try to start from "nothing." Start your design process with some content so you have elements to work with. So often I see designers try to design “nothing." Not only does that make it tough on you and leave the potential for problems (oh wait I need to “fit” one more thing in there late in the design phase), but it’s the opposite of what design is all about: communication. We take someone else’s content, message, brand, etc. and visually communicate it. But you can’t do that if you don’t have those things in place. My early comps usually have just blocks of text and grey shapes. It’s a skeleton - an organization that is the foundation for the design. Then you add visual style to create tension and contrast and emphasis and feelings to support the brand. Not only is this a more pure approach, but it helps to have more elements to interact with on the page. Happy Cog's Jason Santa Maria wrote a great post a few years ago documenting a similar process.
2. Look around for inspiration. Hopefully you keep a sketchbook, Flickr set, or link list of designs that inspire you. If not, jump on one of the many CSS galleries and get a feel for what’s cool and maybe a few elements that spark an idea. Some good examples: www.cssburst.com, www.cssmania.com, www.cssimport.com, www.designsnack.com, and www.faveup.com. It's also sometimes helpful to look outside of your field. If you're designing a webpage, look at wallpaper samples, or billboards, or architecture. Design can take many forms but visual language is often very consistent. Many times another application might provide the spark of an idea that you need.
3. Keep looking around for inspiration. This might seem redundant, but sometimes you just have to keep digging until you finally hit it. I use Flickr a lot for inspiration. Sometimes I just browse random photos for colors that strike me and then sample out 3-4 for a base color scheme. Other color tools like Adobe's kuler and colorlovers are good places to start as well.
4. Fix elements that need help. Don’t be afraid to freshen up a logo or otherwise keep customers from bad decisions. They are coming to you for a professional design so don’t let bad content or a poorly thought out design brief bring you down.
5. Be realistic. Don’t feel like you have to create the most pure, isolated, brilliant concept the client has ever seen. It’s ok to borrow ideas. Aim for clean, professional, and attractive.
6. Know when to walk away. This one is sometimes the most effective. When you’re stuck, stop. Get away from it for awhile. Take a walk. Take a break. I often try to split my design comps over a few days just for this reason. Sometimes fresh eyes can lead to new directions.