There is a huge demand of graphic designers in today's world of digital media. Designing is everywhere you can think of. From promotions to advertisements, banner, logo, branding to marketing and the list goes on. Scope in designing field is at it's peak and the competition is tough with new trends coming every day or two.
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Designing is a mixture of your creativity and the tool you use to make your designs. If you are creative but doesn't know how to use a tool (software/simple tool), then you may get somewhere even if using only basic tools. But if you know how to use a tool but doesn't have the creativity to continue on, then your knowledge can go to a waste. Creativity is what push you to start thinking and keeps you inspired. Without creativity you will be clueless about what you are going to design.
Inspiration is everywhere you go. You can get inspired from small and little things you see on a daily basis. We do not give importance to the things we see on a daily basis, but a little shift of our perspective can make us look quite differently on these things.
WHAT IS INSPIRATION
There are many ways a designer seeks inspiration but before we discuss about the the topic in detail, we must understand the real meaning of inspiration. Inspiration has many definitions. One might say that inspiration is basically creativity, but that's not true.
In simple words, inspiration means to copy the basic idea of a work without actually copying the work. That idea could be a photograph, a drawing, an object or a person. The idea you taken will make you apply the same on your work and try to bring a better result. The creativity that goes on during this process to bring something different is what inspiration is. Inspiration motivates us to do something creative.
HOW DO GRAPHIC DESIGNERS STAY INSPIRED
Designers always stay creative and ready to learn something different. The idea of keep on trying something new on daily basis is what helps them in staying inspirational. A graphic designer usually spends around 36 hours a week working which is an average of 5 hours a day.
Even a designer who gets around 1 project a day have to keep his productivity. To do so, they have to keep on getting inspirations Inspiration can come from anywhere, from your room, from an existing art, from a game or from a website. Ideas do come and go but staying inspirational is
Designing trends do change a lot. To stay updated and following these trends is a challenging thing to do. Here are some ways which designers follow to stay inspirational:
1. Trying New Things
Doing the same thing over and over again does makes you perfect. You can become an expert doing same thing multiple times over but sticking up to the same typical stuff can limit your creativity and make you run out of ideas.
Designers do try new things to test their limits and that makes them open to achieve something new that they never before did. Keep on trying new different things continuously feed them ideas, inspires them to explore more and apply the same in their designs.
2. Keeping A Sketchbook
A great concept art comes from a creative mind. Designers who does sketching and drawing spends a lot of time on a sketchbook. All of the final art they make comes from the basic study they does in their sketchbook. Chances of forgetting something in mind is high and that could be a huge loss. So whenever an artist find some ideas, they draw them on a piece of paper.
Having a sketchbook is good for designers to keep track of their work and storing concept arts. A sketchbook is an artist's best friend. So if you are an designer, then always Keep a sketchbook in your backpack to never miss a chance of unleashing what's in your mind.
3. Taking Short Break
Having a busy schedule is good. Getting projects and finishing them on time must be a designer's first priority. Even though taking some free time from a work schedule is not easy, but sometimes it's the best thing to do. Continuously working puts pressure on your eyes and a little break from your work can be the best option.
This step applies to every worker who involves their mind too much in their work. A break can boost your thought process and feed you new ideas. Drink some water in the meantime. This little break could be a short walk, a small nap or a simple rest.
4. Traveling
Everyone loves to travel. Travelling is fun, relaxing and can be full of new experience but taking time out from a strict work schedule is very difficult. Plans for Traveling doesn't always made on spot and sometimes take months and months before actually going. Traveling is good for opening your mind for something new.
A good trip is worth remembering. Designers who takes time for traveling from their busy schedule do comes up with great ideas from the experience they gain on their journey.
5. Keeping A Personal Diary
There are a lot of things a designer have to do in order to stay organized. Keeping track of everything is not always possible and forgetting a great idea isn't a good thing. Ideas do come suddenly and writing them down in a diary is the most smart thing to do. Those written ideas can later become an inspiration for your next design.
Great designs are the result of managing your ideas in the beginning. Always keep a pocket sized diary so that you can write down anything on the go. A diary plays
6. Learning From Mistakes
We all make mistakes in our daily life. Sometimes we ignore them, sometimes we overcome them. Making some mistakes is a part of life but learning from them give them a meaning. Being stubborn and keep on repeating the same mistake over and over again is just a waste of time. All your efforts will go to a waste and can affect some future opportunities.
When we find flaws in our designs, that helps us in improving them. This same process keeps a designer to stay inspired and helps in tackling the future mistakes.
7. Following Trends
Designing trend changes a lot. Keeping up to date and following these trends can be both challenging and fun. Missing out on annually trends like Spring, Autumn, Halloween, Holi, Eid, Diwali, Christmas and New Year is not a good idea. Trends do comes up with opportunities where demands of these designs are at it's peak.
Designers should focus on creating Stock Images, Stock Footages, Templates, Logos and Posters related to these trends long before they arrive.
Designers who do follow trends are more likely to boost their sales. Such Trends have healthy competition and inspires a designer to do more.
8. Learning From Competitors
Designing is a process of creating something unique and brand new. Everyone wants to showcase their work at it's best. Competition is getting more tough every year and looks like designers are more likely to run out of ideas. Well, running out of ideas is not a possibility but copying out of ideas definitely is. Learning from your mistakes is good but there's nothing wrong on looking at what your competitors are doing.
A competition is what make designers to come up with new ideas using their creativity. A Good competition is must in order to test your limits. But one thing a designer should also focus on is to learn from competitors and not to underestimate them. They can be inspirational too.
9. Reading Books
Internet is filled with a lots of ideas and inspirations. There are tons of resources, e-books and courses available online that designers find quite useful. One mistake that most people make is that they don't read very often. Reading Improves the functioning of the brain and helps you focus. Books are full of knowledge and it gives you a whole new perspective to look at things.
Designers do read a lot and take inspirations from them. A good book has the power to change your entire thought process and if you are struggling in your work field, then reading might be the answer to your problem. It's never been too late to start reading again.
10. Consistency
If you talk about what's the best practice one can do in order to always stay inspired, then there will be hundreds of different answers. But to give an honest opinion on such topic, then consistency would be an accurate answer for it.
Consistency is the key to your success. The consistency you show on learning and practicing never go unnoticed and can later become the main reason for your success. Your own consistency towards the work will boost your confidence on the long run.
Time is the most powerful thing one could ever think of and using it the right way is what many people struggles to do. Keep on repeating the same formula on daily basis no matter what and you'll see yourself achieving something that was never before possible.
SOME POINTS TO REMEMBER
All these above 10 points applies to not just for designers, but for every other field out there. Practicing, Consistency, Reading, Thinking and Repeating. Whatever you do and whatever you see, always try to lake few lessons out of them.
Even though Inspiration is everywhere, but somehow somewhere it's rare. Not always go out to seek inspiration, instead if possible, take some time and inspire others in need. Share your ideas to others if that's fine for you. Be a good listener and always stay open for critics.
