Tag: Graphic Design

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Strategies for Overcoming Designer’s Block

By: Sarah McKinney

Every graphic designer, no matter how experienced, has encountered the frustrating phenomenon known as designer’s block or creative burnout.  Designer’s block can manifest in various forms – from an absence of fresh ideas to an overwhelming feeling of creative standstill. It often creeps in the presence of impending deadlines, adding an extra layer of stress. For graphic design students, navigating the challenges of academia, while simultaneously overcoming designer’s block is a crucial skill to develop it’s essential to recognize that this is a common hurdle in the creative process, and you’re not alone in facing it. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore effective strategies to reignite your creative spark and keep the design juices flowing:

1. Embrace the Power of Breaks:

When faced with a creative roadblock, sometimes the best solution is to step away from the project. Take a break, go for a walk, or engage in an unrelated activity. This shift in focus allows your mind to reset and opens the door to new ideas. Consider incorporating the time-blocking technique –  This method involves dividing your workday into distinct blocks of time, each dedicated to a specific task or set of related activities. For graphic designers, this could mean assigning specific blocks for ideation, design execution, client communication, and even breaks.

Resource: Effective Time Management Tips and Strategies for Graphic Designers

2. Seek Inspiration Beyond the Screen:

In the digital age, it’s easy to fall into the trap of seeking inspiration solely from online platforms. Break free from this cycle by exploring the physical world. Visit art galleries, attend design-related events, or simply take a stroll through nature. Inspiration often appears when you least expect it, the textures, colors, and patterns you encounter can serve as a wellspring of inspiration.

3. Engage in Collaborative Creativity:

Collaboration can be a powerful remedy to a designer’s block. Connect with fellow design students, share your challenges, and brainstorm ideas. Hearing different perspectives can spark new thoughts and approaches. Also, consider collaborating with students from other professions to gain fresh insights that can infuse your designs with unique perspectives.

5. Establish a Design Ritual:

Establishing a design ritual is an effective practice to develop a conducive environment for creativity. For instance, curate a specific playlist that resonates with your design sensibilities – music that energizes, inspires, and helps you focus. 

Designating a specific workspace is another crucial element of your ritual. This could be a dedicated corner of your room, a coffee shop with the right ambiance, or a co-working space. A consistent physical environment helps create a mental association between that space and your creative work, making it easier for your mind to transition into a focused and imaginative state.

One part of a ritual that I frequently use to kickstart my creative process is doodling. Taking a few moments to doodle freely on a notepad or sketchpad can be a liberating exercise. These raw drawings often evolve into original ideas or serve as a visual brainstorming session, allowing your creativity to flow.

Another part of my personal ritual that has proven valuable is the act of writing down all thoughts and ideas. This process not only helps in organizing thoughts but also serves as a visual archive of ideas that you can look back on in the future. By putting pen to paper, you can explore connections between concepts, refine your thinking, and generate new ideas in the process

6. Explore Design Communities:

Engage with online design communities to connect with like-minded individuals. Platforms like Behance, Dribbble, and design-focused forums provide spaces to showcase your work, receive feedback, and become inspired by discovering the work of others. Participating in these communities can reignite your passion for design and expose you to new trends and techniques.

Resources: 

Behance  

Dribbble 

Awwwards 

Savee 

Branding style guides 

Conclusion:

Overcoming designer’s block is an ongoing journey, and each designer discovers what works best for them. By incorporating these strategies into your creative process, you’ll not only conquer moments of stagnation but also develop resilience and a deeper understanding of your creative self.  Designer’s block is a temporary setback, and with the right mindset and tools, you’ll find your way back to a world brimming with design possibilities.

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AI is Affecting Graphic Designers 

By: Kate Ellis-Logsdon

With Artificial Intelligence taking over the world recently, many are questioning how it will affect their jobs in the years to come, especially in the digital world. Graphic designers have dealt with changes for centuries from the printing press invented by Gutenberg in the 1400s, to Bauhaus in the 1900s, and finally to the digital era of the invention of Adobe Photoshop in 1990. Being able to adapt to these changes is vital to the design world and the development of graphic design as a whole as well. Artificial Intelligence is reshaping and revolutionizing the industry by providing designers with tools never seen before, changing the way they think, create, and work.
Adobe being one of the largest companies out there for creating design tools recently came out with Adobe Firefly in March 2023. Adobe Firefly is a generative AI program that lets you generate images from just a text description, or remove or add objects in photos with just a prompt. This text to image tool can create posters, flyers, graphics, illustrations, and product mockups. This largely changes the industry as before, designers needed to reach further into the creative process and create these things by themselves. This also takes away the need for hiring designers as businesses alone can create and produce products without the need for talent from a designer. Another text-to-image platform that is recently available is Midjourney. Midjourney is a platform on Discord that generates images that can range in detail from a simple, or intricate prompt. Midjourney creates copyright-free images that can be used in any project, or public domain opening up availability for creativity with prompts but also for inspiration with projects and ideas to start the creative process.
A huge concern in the design industry due to the development of AI is that the more these tools become available to the public and refined further, they start to take over tasks that were done by designers. Image editing, content creation, and layout creation are just a start of where AI is now so imagining where it could go further is concerning. AI also can create an overreliance on these easily accessible templates, layouts, and logo designs. This can hinder designers’ creative process and create a similar look amongst designs, removing the individuality of the designer and their work. AI may be contributing to a loss of unique designs in the next couple of years with more and more mass-produced AI content being released and being published.
While AI has many negative aspects causing concerns to arise, tons of potential and tools that may be helpful to designers are evolving from AI. Many designers are excited about the revolutionary platforms being produced and view it as a way to save time with projects, creating more time for thought and strategy about how to go about a design issue. Conclusively, it is all up to the designer how they choose to use AI while thinking about the ethical concerns that may arise and the quality of work with generated content

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A Moment Of Self Reflection

Sketch by Marc Mercado

By Marc Mercado

I remember when I switched my studies from concrete industry management (CIM) to interior architecture my freshman year. Even the architecture advisor questioned why I wanted to switch programs considering how successful CIM is.

That was the reason why I chose CIM for my academic career at Chico State. At that point in my life, I was driven by the expectations others set for me, with hopes of leaping over the poverty line. It only took the introductory course to push myself to look into other avenues– if this was going to be my full-time career I needed something more;

I was on a line: “to be a concrete man, or to know that I can [succeed without sacrificing]”.

With a minor in theatre arts, I looked forward to pursuing a program that included media arts. I came across the Media, Art, Design and Technology department, researched the major advisors, and I got in touch with Jennifer Meadows.

I hoped that she would be able to tell that I was lost and this was where I belonged, but my path continued to change and after that meeting, I kept looking. I was honestly intimidated by something new.

I thought, “if I’m worried about learning new skills/software in this academic path, then why not look for something that already encompasses my own skills and knowledge?”

Then I found interior architecture, so I figured, I know how to draw, I love design, and this will also satisfy two important areas of my life: family expectations and financial goals. There was much to love about this major, and to this day, I look back and wonder what life would have been like.

  Int. Architecture sketches by Marc

Fall was turning into winter. I was burning up and freezing at the same time; during this time my mental health was declining so during break, I flew to Mexico. Being outside of the country where I studied and worked felt incredibly liberating, I was surrounded by the beautiful Michoacán coast, the most blue skies and the greenest plants. This place is a sanctuary to me, it’s where I spent most of my childhood.

Playa Chuquiapan by Marc Mercado

A month turned into one more night and then I was in the sky, flying back “home”. There was still a lot of healing to be done, I hadn’t spent time thinking about the things I was still dealing with, but at least had a new academic plan.

It’s Junior Year, the first semester is a breeze, I joined AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) and felt comfort knowing I was part of a design community. I forgot to mention that every time I went to academic advising for my major changes, I had to do all the “figuring it out” and show up with a plan. The absolute best advice I got was from a friend, Luciana, who encouraged me to pursue this graphic design path.

The second semester was unexpected. My confidence level in this new program was low, but I knew I was still learning. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough “graphic design” and was still figuring out how I could find passion in this form of art and design. During this semester there were many new professors in the department and talks about how some would say “ you should’ve learned X in Jane Doe’s class”. The unveiling of Chico State’s rebrand happened during the same time students in our program were being told they wouldn’t be able to graduate on time due to class shortages and the entirety of at least two classes emailed the department with concerns about a discourteous professor.

With all this going on, I wasn’t sure of my place here at Chico State. The more I fell in love with graphic design, and learned about how to use it to communicate, to express and to create art, the more I saw how unimportant I was to my university. I turned my cheek and saw the Academy of Arts in San Francisco. Immediately, I began planning; I reached out and began the application process.

I was on the phone with Chico State but they kept me on hold. The Academy was ringing but the minutes were too expensive. I felt like I needed better guidance, I needed professors that cared, a campus that recognized my passion. I was going to end up paying more out of pocket than I ever did at Chico and could tell that my ambition was too much for my family, for our bank accounts. It was only going to be an online program anyway.

A letter was sent to my address, from the Academy. I got in, it all came down to the story I wanted to tell:

Work with what I’m given and persevere? Or succumb to a for-profit school and find myself in a worse financial situation?

Clearly, I chose the former option. It’s like this mantra I heard some years back about how a good artist can work under any circumstance.

Projects done by Marc Mercado
Projects done by Marc Mercado
Projects done by Marc Mercado
Projects done by Marc Mercado