Finding Creativity

March 10, 2004 | View Comments (28) | Category: Design

Summary: Some exercises I do to spark creativity.

For many people creativity is a gift that one is born with and can not be acquired through other earthly means. Yet at times we catch ourselves saying that we are trying to find some creativity or searching for that creative spark. Usually this comes when it is time to begin a new site. At these times I think a common theme among many of us is to surf the web (or head to the Vault) and look at other sites, but I think many times we forget that inspiration is not something solely contained on the web. Inspiration is all around us and all we have to do is look.

Take Notes

Many times I find that the best pieces of creativity come to me at night in bed (all jokes can begin now), but since I do not write them down they are quickly forgotten the next day. I started keeping a journal next to my bed and just joted down notes and found that this has helped greatly in finding that extra source of creativity.

Buildings

Good architects are good artists. Go out and study some buildings and find out what makes them beautiful. Is it the small details? Buildings are like websites in the sense that you can look at them as a whole entity or as bits and pieces placed together in harmony.

Doodle

The beauty of getting a piece of paper and pencil and just doodling is that anyone can do it and it is not meant to look good. So stop making excuses and just do it.

The purpose of these exercises for me is not to find the answer to my creative slump, but to help build up momentum. Consciously it helps to get your mind off of things, but subconsciously the mind is constantly working. What types of things do you do outside of surfing the web?

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Comments

ipod with voice recorder is excellent for recording ideas. I tend to get them while trying to sleep or while driving, mostly.

JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)

I find my creativity will lying in bed aswell, I am always drawing hundreds of differnet designs then applying about ten into ONE,
Listening to a lot of music also helps me.

Matthew (http://www.matthewroach.co.uk)

Actually for me, creativity comes when I take my mind off trying to find some inspiration. Just stepping "out of the box" of my office or monitor and getting out into the real world of beautiful, natural colors which blend beautifully together, or seeing actual live interaction going on between real people in a real world sparks a ton of inspiration for me.

Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)

I find creativity comes to me at the moments when I remove my mind completely from a project. When I used to smoke I would get a lot of ideas on my cigarette breaks at work. If I just stop thinking about the project something Listening to music is a great way to get the creativity flowing, as well as watching movies.

Todd (http://www.monkeyhouselounge.com/loungeact/)

I'm not really sure how creativity comes to me -- it just does. Sometimes when I least expect it. I too take notes to capture ideas before they fade.

I try and carry my camera as much as I can too. Can't wait to get a cellphone cam...

I was thinking of a similar topic the other day -- Writer's Block-- or in my case, a lack thereof. I find that my job suppplies huge amounts of ideas for creative posts and the like.

You just have to recognize them when they cross your mind and capture them.

Keith (http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/)

I have a few different ways of kick-starting my creative juices.

1) Music
Music always helps. I usually listen to something that I don't have to concentrate on a lot. I listen to jam bands, jazz, some rap (currently loving the Grey Album), and instrumental bluegrass from time to time. This kind of lets my mind wander and think a little clearer.

2) Doodle
I have a notepad that I made out of some of our old stationary. I carry it with me just about everywhere, and usually sketch small thumbnails of site layouts, then try deciding colors and more detailed shapes.

3) XBOX
Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like wasting an hour in front of the tv racing Rally cars or blasting aliens in HALO. Foosball works pretty well too.

Photos are a great source as well. I can draw certain aspects of the subject out and try to incorporate them into the design. I once read an article that said a great way to get on the creative path with a particular project is to visit the place you are designing something for. Get a feel for the space, the people, the "vibe", and put that into your design.

Jeremy Flint (http://www.jeremyflint.com)

Don't worry, I think it's normal to have ideas suddenly while trying to sleep. One part of me wants to ignore it and get sleeping, and the other part wants to jump up and write it down. The latter usually wins.

I find inspiration from other websites, but sometimes it's more of a detriment to my creativity than anything else; it can help to try and reproduce a design with your own style, but it's no good if you inadvertently copy another designer's sense of aesthetic.

Sometimes you can come up with something by taking a concept to the extremes. Take something like a panel you saw in a sci-fi movie and exaggerate it. At the same time, try to avoid overdoing it by creating cheesy, generic themes (well, I think they're cheesy and generic).

That's about all I have to offer. I've been in a slump as of late, so this is a timely post.

Chris Vincent (http://dris.dyndns.org:8080/)

Truthfully, I have tried most of these suggestions, but none of them seem to work for me.

I will be the first to admit that I am not the most creative person in the world. My best option, is usually just to open Photoshop, and start trying things. Believe me, I wish I could find ideas/inspiration in other ways, as sometimes the "Just Open Photoshop" method doesn't work.

I always try to design differently than I usually do, but it never seems to work out, and I go back to my old designs :) Maybe it's my ADD? :)

Josh Dura (http://www.joshdura.com)

I usualy get my best ideas while im at work. Then write notes during my lunch break. Music definetly helps a lot.

colin (http://www.nightsalive.net)

#10

Time-out can also be an excellent kick-starter of creativity. Sometimes if you just sit and try to push yourself to do something its even less likely that you'll be able to do it.

Amanda

#11

I kind liken my creative process to that of Bill Watterson, explained in the "Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversary Book":

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"...we hold a blank sheet of paper, star into space, and let our minds wander. (To the layman, this looks remarkably like goofing off.)"
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Josh - Most designers have a certain style about them. There is always a common element that can be traced through their work. For Eric Jordan, it is the dreaded 45° Angle and unusable flash. For Scrivs, it seems to be minimal color application (which is nice).

So it is not such a bad thing to "always go back to my old designs". I will often look through discarded concepts, often using pieces from 2 or 3 to come up with a new design.

Jeremy Flint (http://www.jeremyflint.com)

#12

that should be "stare into space"

Jeremy Flint (http://www.jeremyflint.com)

#13

I am inspired by alot of things. Music is a big one. Magazines is another. Book covers. Old photographs. Old downtown areas. Restaurant menus. Cars.

It never ceases to amaze me the things that make ideas pop into my head.

But then again, I'm weird.

cm (http://telerana.f2o.org)

#14

The world is full of colour schemes. Sometimes it seems nature is unable to make a bad colour scheme. Just yesterday I noticed a brilliant dab of deep yellow lichen on a dark grey roofslate. Inspiration for painting and any kind of design can come this way.

Once a dream gave me an entire stylesheet, actually written out, most of the dream was about it. I couldn't remember a thing on waking, however, just a dim recollection that the design was a series of interconnected boxes. Maybe the dream thought I was too dumb to create that so spent most of the time showing me the stylesheet, but it didn't count on my inability to remember it. So near, yet so far...

Joel (http://biroco.com/)

#15

I went even further with doodling, and turned my doodling into the banner of my web site!

I love looking through books for inspiration. I picked up a second hand copy of "The 20th Century Art Book" which has one piece of work from every artist of note, in every style, over the last 100 years. Wonderful inspiration.

mattymcg (http://www.opinios.com)

#16

Joel! That is too true. I got my current site's color scheme from a photograph of a sunset.

Keith (http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/)

#17

I'm always forgetting little flashes of inspiration, and it drives me nuts!

I've just started keeping a little journal with me all the time so that any ideas I have at least get scribbled down somewhere. Even if they never get used they're there for me to browse through every now and again.

Also, like Keith mentioned keeping a camera with you all the time is fantastic for capturing little visual moments of inspiration. I recently got my hands on a dodgy little digi-cam and while the quality is quite poor it's great for snapping anything and everything that strikes me visually. Even if it only serves as a reminder.

Max (http://makenosound.com/)

#18

Hey, don't forget the bath - for a EURIKA moment, it's a tried and tested method!

Robert Castelo (http://www.cortexttranslation.com)

#19

So with all the inspiration flying about I find my problem is translating it.. my usual source of 'designing' is try and doodle a few ideas and then site with Homesite, PS and just hack away until it looks sorta right...

I find that once I get into the 'almost got it' zone that time seems to fly as I bash onwards creating my masterpiece. That's the bit I love the most. The final details and tweaks.

Gordon (http://www.snowgoon.co.uk)

#20

I find that photos are a great way of finding color schemes. Maybe blur it a little, and then spot some colors for a pallette. If the photo looks good, its because there are good colors in it. I wish I had one of those hand-held color-pickers ... you know? Gives you the color in hex, pantone, etc.

And for inspiration, I find myself looking at all sorts of media. Websites, books, magazines, advertisements, billboards, television, cd covers, food jars/boxes/wrappers... everything. I think, "Why do I like that?" or, alternatively, "Why don't I like that" and it usually leads me somewhere. And I dont steal artwork, but I take lines and dots and arrows and things and compile them into something thats my own. Nobody is going to care that you took the cool oval from the mayonnaise jar and put it with the fat arrow on the CD-RW case and made a cool logo, are they? :P

thomas (http://gendes.elivy.com)

#21

At some point, we all have to do this, whether a web developer, a poster artist, graphic designer, or musician.

Maybe we can ask other people outside of our line of work how they do Find Creativity, and then try and implement the ideas to our creative process. The hardest part of this, is finding those other people online.

phil baines (http://www.wubbleyew.com)

#22

I find creativity comes to me at the moments when I remove my mind completely from a project.

Me too. Hands off the computer, step back from the desk. Make a coffee, head up to the deck, play with the dog etc. Then poof!

Mike P. (http://www.fiftyfoureleven.com.com/sandbox/weblog/)

#23

i make all sorts of scribblings before actually starting up photoshop. Ive got about 1 ream worth of scrap paper that lives on the side of my desk - it's always there for notes, ideas, URLS that i want to look at again (they just get buried in my bookmarks anyway - i circle them, highlight them, etc. on the paper)

i agree with most of you - inspriration comes from some very odd places sometimes. i bought a yellow jacket about a month ago, and i ended up with a yellow website...

andrew (http://www.walkingnorth.com)

#24

I'm one of those crazy people who, when watching a movie, notice the cinematography, color palette, and placement of things. Watching movies and then watching the Making Of... specials on the DVDs make me inspired.

For example, watch AMELIE. That is the most designed movie I have ever seen (well, the most related to graphic design). In fact, their post-production crew did an excellent job (watch the DVD extras). They had a set color scheme for the entire movie, and for different shots. If you watch the DVD, one of the scenes, they make a point in making ONE vase in the background of one scene BLUE to complete their triadic color scheme.

Now that's dedicated design work. ;-)

Lea (http://xox.lealea.net/)

#25

Well, I've posted this before once I think, but while it's no terribly good for web design, it is for writing...

And I'm trying to come up with something similar for web design, but it's more complicated.

So far all I have is a few notes (any ideas?)

Color Scheme (assorted color schemes here or choose random color and link to color wheel)

Mood (quiet, comfortable, funky, sexy, angry, intense, excited, businesslike, etc)

Concept (curvy, blocky, sparse, artsy, negative space, etc)

JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)

#26

One useful thing I've found is when I have that perfect color scheme in my head, I'll go to a stock photo site and find a photo that has the colors I feel are right.

I drop it in Photoshop, Pixelate it, and voila, my perfect palette. Of course I pick just a handful of the resulting shades, but I find it takes care of perfecting color schemes.

Garrett Dimon (http://www.brightcorner.com)

#27

Read Hillman Curtis' MTIV.

Read Instant Inspiration.

Flip through one (or more) of the Jim Krause books.

Use bookmark management software.

Have a well-defined process and brief.

Create an inspiration repository, placing anything and everything that inspires you into it. Comb through it whenever you're looking for inspiration.

Apparently, IDEO swears that eating chocolate chip cookies works.

michael (http://michaelherndon.net)

#28

Brian Eno has an interesting method of helping the creative process - a set of cards which he calls "Oblique Strategies".