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QPassage
10-01-2006, 06:29 AM
Being new to the designing of a graphic I've found like my writing I need to be inspired before I can really get into it. I think attitude towards it and thinking before you jump are both important. Starting from a blank is an interesting process, but not nearly as fun as having the idea first.



I found starting out that working off of photo's created a way to be inspired "for me that is". So my camera goes everywhere with me. I can't tell you how many times I've cropped an area out of a photo to incorporate it into a background of a design or just for a color I need for something. I've even found at times the inspiration of taking an interesting photo creates a drive for me to see farther into the photo or my work. Pulling out layer after layer to get the desired theme I want. Something as simple as a ripple of water or the sun beaming from a cloud. Used then as a background for a design really helps me to be creative. For me it helps put perspective into the graphic design, creating pictures without words to tell a story. Which I think works for any kind or design.



I'm just wondering what it is that inspires your designs? Are they easy come easy go for you? The pressure of a deadline does it pull creativity from a thought or idea.



Do any of you see images in your mind, which are stored for unknown reasons then one day there it is to be used? Or do you prefer the challenge or pressure to get the job done?



Personally for me it is just as important to pay attention to my surrounds while working on a design, as it is to concentrate on the actual work. Something as simple as a color can draw attention from others for ideas.



Then there is the completion process. Is it done, does it need something else? Where do you draw the line on a design being completed? Do you know when it is complete or do you always leave it thinking it needs more?



Am I rambling here or is there something to this psychology of a design?



qp

budafist
10-01-2006, 07:31 AM
At my day job, I go with gut feeling. I source from everything I can possibly find around me because the deadlines are tight. You can tinker with a design for almost forever, but there is a point where you got to stop. I find it much easier to find this point at work - the client approves it and we print it. That's a good time to stop working on a design!

On personal projects though, I will work much harder than this to inspire myself and spend longer on the process. I keep a diary where I scribble fun ideas or things that appeal to me in my every day life. It's not that I go through later and pick stuff out, but writing or drawing stuff down helps me remember it later.

I think it is important to look at other designer's work especially when you aren't working on anything in particular. You see what works and what doesn't. Mistakes have been made before - instead of making them yourself, view other people's mistakes and learn from them.

Samakimoto Graphics
10-03-2006, 10:29 AM
Photographs
words
conversations
a story in a book....

Anything can trigger the creative process. But with tight deadlines, there's little room for sourcing inspiration. It would make more sense to not stop sourcing inspirational material, so that you have a large inpiration pool to draw from...

My 10 cents

PersonasBinar
10-03-2006, 02:02 PM
Inspiration for me can come from anywhere. I have great difficulty in deadlining creativity, it generally hits me at very inopportune moments..... lots of over-nighter sessions have resulted in some of my best work. I wish I could control this but I can't.

thank Goodness my day job doesn't require this level of creativity on tap.

Misslive
10-06-2006, 01:12 PM
You are creative.....Imagination and the ability to embrace all that is unique is key to being a great graphic designer. As an Illustrator and Graphic Designer I too feel the pang of a blank canvas, sketch pad or computer screen. I just sit back start the gears in my head and dive into the back of my mind for anything that may trigger and idea (color - images -sounds...)

Also to really work your mind and to allow for a faster idea proccess in the future, try brainstorming and doing thumdnails on paper.....NEVER START RIGHT AWAY ON THE COMPUTER! The computer is a tool and not your brain - it won't think for you.

Good luck!;)