Design, HTML & CSS

It feels like my current design is not good enough. Is this what is called “Designer’s block”?

by Erik Briones | March 4, 2020

The feeling comes to me usually when I get a task and on top of my head, I know that this task won’t get done in the given time.

It is like just when you have something really urgent to do and your computer starts to freeze. The universe is not helpful. What do you do in situations like this? What do you do when no matter how you push the mouse nothing magical comes out of it?

What I do is that I try to step back. I will tell myself to stop looking at the monitor. But I also try not to get distracted, like scroll away through social media posts. Hmm maybe Instagram, for design inspirations and stuff.

I visualize that my creative brain is a sponge. The more I squeeze it the smaller it gets, and hope that ideas come out of it. However, maybe sometimes it is great to let it go a bit. Let it soak in more creative juices then try to squeeze it again.

Where to look?

When I am stuck, and can’t find good color combinations? I look at IG posts, or some Behance stuff. Even if my current task might be colors for a user interface, a color combination from a good poster design, or brochure will prove useful.

When I am looking for fonts, and interfaces, I do not go to typography sites or user interface designs. Instead, I go to furniture websites or interior design websites. The calmness of modern architecture, shapes of furniture, the proximity of objects inside a room – might seem far out – but not really.

They work on the same universal principles of design. In a way you are training your creative mind, but you are not forcing it.

Sometimes I just listen to design talks on Youtube, not to actually listen and pay attention to the theories or concepts discussed, but more of just massaging my brain, if that makes sense.

Those are the top things I would do when I get pressed for creative inputs. Have you tried these techniques? Have you tried some of them? Let me know if you have other approaches for conquering the designer’s block by commenting below.

See you later!

Bonus: My go to channel is Design Indaba. Here’s one I especially like, the talk by the Michael Beirut. Very humble, very straight forward, and funny. You know he has a good grasp of his field just by listening to him go through his experience and storytelling. 🙂