5 things that are more inspiring than staring at a blank design document

After a long day of work, you have just one design assignment to do before you get to go home.

So you open your design software and…nothing.

You have no ideas.

We have all been there.

Creative block is nothing new for designers, but we do have a tendency to sabotage ourselves when it happens. We just stare at the blank document hoping an idea will come to us because we know one eventually will – but we don’t usually have time to wait for eventually; we have deadlines. Don’t waste any more time staring at your blank document. Do something more inspiring!

5 design inspiration ideas

There is no need to reinvent the wheel every time you start a design project. The world is full of design ideas to help inspire you.

1. Search Pinterest

Pinterest is the best when you are struggling with fonts or colors. All you have to do is search “font pairing” or “color palettes” and you will be flooded with ideas to help piece together your design.

2. Go for a walk

This sounds counter-intuitive; who has time for a walk when on deadline? Well, when you have creative block, it is more productive to go for a walk than to wait around for inspiration to hit. You don’t have to go for a long walk; just getting away from your computer and getting some fresh air will have a great effect on your work.

3. Download stock images

Stock image websites, like 123RF, Shutterstock and Graphic Stock, have templates for many design projects including, infographics, flyers, postcards and so much more. You can use these as starting points for your design or just put your text and photos in the template and call it done. I especially like using these templates when I am looking for designs with a lot of detail; it saves me a ton of time and the stress of tedious design work.

4. Peek through some print

Don’t forget to about traditional inspiration. Pick up a magazine or the Sunday newspaper and browse though the ads. Take notice of color schemes, font pairings and design layouts and use your favorite ideas in your design.

5. Just start designing

As with writer’s block, one of the best ways to overcome a creative block is to just start putting ideas into the document. Don’t wait until you have the perfect idea in your head to start designing; just start. Sometimes you need to see all your bad ideas on the document in order to formulate a good idea.

What are some other ways you’ve gotten out of a design rut? Share in the comments, below!