Discuss: Designing Through the Storm

by Walter Stevenson

11 Clarified

Thanks for the clarification, I agree. When you feel like your rolling, keep rolling!

posted at 06:58 am on July 26, 2006 by Walter Stevenson

When I hit a wall in terms of creativity, I don’t do any work for a couple of days – no design, no brainstroming – I just let the deadline creep up on me and then Eureka! I get some good ideas and finish the work on time. This ALWAYS works for me – whether I do it consciously – on purpose or sub-conscioucly.

I’d like to add one more thing though – when you say that goals should be established before beginning – instead of just the design and project goals, it helps to set some goals on how to deal with the client as well – observe your client carefully and learn how they react to your aggressive advice / humble recommendations / technical explanation to support your recommendatin etc. It will give you a very clear idea of whether the client wants you to be creative or just wants a scribble on a piece of paper according to his / her pre-conceived notions. It’s saved me a lot of time.

Get everything in writing – especially the approvals – is the best advice I’ve received from my ex-boss. It’s a no-brainer but it’s surprising how many time I find myself almost saying “It’s ok, you’ve confirmed over the phone, you don’t really need to send an e-mail.”

I work remotely with almost all my clients. If something goes wrong – and the client replies via e-mail – the best way to calm down is to pick up the phone and give them a call. Apart from the fact that you just might find out what the real problem is, the client will know that you are interested in setting things right – delayed communication is as good as no communication. Sometimes, however tough it might be, just grab the phone and TALK to the client.

Like there’s no telepathy in love [ you have to tell the object of you affection that you love them – OUT LOUD ], similarly, there is no telepathy in design!

posted at 10:57 am on July 26, 2006 by Naina Redhu

13 Creativity vs. Time

Thank you for the very thoughtful feedback, Naina. I’m curious about your first comment:

When I hit a wall in terms of creativity, I don’t do any work for a couple of days

What do you do if you don’t have the luxury of a couple days, or even a couple hours? I’ve definitely been in a few situations where the deadline is hard and fast, and holding out for a “Eureka!” epiphany just isn’t an option. Maybe a client is willing to pay you a premium for a rush job, or a you find an opportunity to work on a quick-turnaround project that will earn you considerable prestige (a brand name). How do you manage quality when time is constrained this way: do you try to buy more time from your client, just put your head down and start iterating through design concepts, or something else entirely?

Also, your approach to managing the relationship with the customer is on target. We’re lucky there’s no telepathy in design — since that keeps the human element intact!

posted at 08:32 pm on July 26, 2006 by Walter Stevenson

14 An extremely helpful and informative read

This was exactly what I needed to read and “hear” today. I find myself up against a short deadline this week and the client was about to drive me crazy. But after the first draft shots were sent, the client loved the idea and I feel a bit more confident in my work.

For rookie designers like myself, self-confidence is a huge hurdle to overcome. However, finding helpful reads such as this and a site like A List Apart, definitely helps me cope and endure.

posted at 09:02 pm on July 27, 2006 by Cheryl anderson

15 Interesting Perspectives

It is very interesting for me to learn about how other people handle their inspiration slumps. Most of my design work thus far has been for personal use, so I’m not sure if my methods would work in a professional setting or not. I find that a great deal of my inspiration comes from other mediums and works of art. I’m the type of person who can listen to music while he works quite easily, and oftentimes I find myself incorperating into the design my own interpretation of what I am hearing. Sometimes it is the lyrics, sometimes it’s the melody and the musical patterns within – othertimes, it’s simply a distinctive sound. Regardless, I somehow conceptualize it into what I’m working on and, to me, at least, the influence becomes quite visible (at the time.) Sadly, I can not for the life of me remember what I may have been listening to when looking back at previous work! :(

posted at 04:55 am on July 28, 2006 by Kyle Robertson

16 Musical Accompaniment

Music can be a great source of inspiration for design, no doubt. The problem is that sometimes I get so caught up on the head-bobbing glory of a particular song, I start to only ‘feel’ the impact of the visual design when that audio track is supporting it. I take off the headphones and revisit the sketch a day later and, “Oh—this isn’t as hot as I thought”.

For that reason alone I try to avoid listening to music for visual work, or I work on a design while listening to more than one song. Then I’m sure I’ve instilled the visual piece with more than one emotional perspective. After all, emotion is the thing that’s carrying over from the musical experience to the visual experience, right?

posted at 06:30 am on July 28, 2006 by Walter Stevenson

17 Pauses, Pencil and Paper

I’ve definitely learned to take a step back and a day off from the project after recieving feedback from the client. Sometimes a client can make suggestions you view as an affront to your artistic integrity, but if you just take a pause and come back to it, sometimes you’ll see that something they suggest might be on the right track.
Another recent discovery is that if I’m getting nowhere in front of my computer, putting pencil to paper can really help.

posted at 08:35 am on July 28, 2006 by Nora Brown

18 Mmmm... Yes Music

Music is definitely an inspiration for me personally when I’m in a slump. I have the same problem Walter has though… I find myself “head-bobbing” to the music and not focusing on what’s in front of me too often. This is especially true when I’m listening to a brand new record that I’ve never heard before.

posted at 08:30 pm on July 28, 2006 by Blake Bauman

19 Untitled

I loved the article, and the ideas that are coming out of everyone. I’ve actually once gone ahead and designed something out of near vengence, after locking horns with the client for 5 months. I’m not proud of it, and not only is it not in my portfolio, but my name is nowhere on that site either. Not something I would do again. I’d rather walk away from the client after something that horrid, recommend another designer, than comprimise myself like that again.

Music helps me, but not for the type or quality of music. I use it more for white noise, to let my conscious self consentrate on the external stimulus of the music, while the brain within churns away undisturbed. This also works with skateboarding (yes, I’m in my 30’s, yes I picked up skateboarding), as the conscious mind has to focus intently on not breaking my neck, while the subconscious has a chance to do its’ thing without me interfering. Snowboarding, to an extent, has the same effect.

If I’m in a slump and find myself staring blankly at the screen, feeling my brain ooze out of my ears, and there is no pavement or snow around, I tend to put on trance, or something white-noisish, grab a glass of wine and pace, talking to myself. Or, if someone comes in the room, to the cats.

Often, the pacing and muttering help more than the wine. But there have been nights, up at 3am, when tremendously loud music and a glass of wine have snapped me out of whatever creative stupor I was in.

posted at 02:30 am on August 1, 2006 by fay jensen