I am stuck. Creatively, that is.

The majority of my bread-and butter work right now is more template-based, production-style work, than real creative stuff. And while I do get plenty of web design work, once the design itself is done, I have to kick into “code mode,” which isn’t something I find particularly creative. And don’t even think about having me try to switch between “code” and “creative” modes – that’s nearly impossible!

So, given that 75% of my work doesn’t require that much creativity, I’m always looking for creative projects. I mean, who isn’t in this field, right?

Well, recently, I got a nice, creative project. I was pretty excited to get back to my desk and start working on it. But when I finally DID start working on it, I realized I didn’t have any ideas. So I started with my usual tactics…writing down words that I associated with the business – feelings, adjectives, colors – just a stream-of-consciousness list of words, hoping to spark something spectacular.

Once I did that, I looked at my list, and gave it a good, hard, looking at…only to realize I didn’t have anything more than I did before, except this list of words. Then, I decided to assign blame: I couldn’t come up with anything because I’m not so good at drawing. Now, I am working on that, and taking some drawing lessons, but I thought maybe my skills weren’t quite far enough along, and that’s why I didn’t have any great ideas.

So there I was, staring at this list of words, mad because my drawing skills weren’t where I wanted them to be, when I had a thought: IF I could draw whatever I wanted to, and my skills were where I wanted them to be, WHAT would I draw? Again, I drew a blank (pun…intended.)

At that point, I finally realized what was going on. It had nothing to do with the list of words, or the fact that I couldn’t draw the way I wanted to. I was stuck. Plain and simple. I had a creative block. Now that I had a realistic grasp of the problem, I knew I could begin to find the solution.

That’s where I am today. I’m still a bit stuck, but I’m working on it. I’ve found a lot of great resources (see below) to help get unstuck…but for me, the biggest thing has been realizing that as a designer, I’m expected to create on-demand. And as a solopreneur, the task of creating falls solely on me. Given that, how can we be expected to be creative ALL the time? Writer’s have Writer’s Block. Creatives have Creative Blocks. It makes sense to me. But what do you do when you’re on a deadline?!?

Well, now that I know what the issue is, and have found a bunch of resources, I’m working on a way to help prevent this in the future. Little things, like spending 10 minutes everyday before I start my work doing a creative exercise (like those found in Caffeine for the Creative Mind by Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield or Designers in Handcuffs by Pat Matson Knapp), or taking a 15 minute walk in the park to clear my head and get away from the computer, or listening to some podcasts about creativity and creative blocks.

While there is one project that’s still giving me a little trouble creatively, I can tell I’m getting close. I’m actually starting to look at the problem differently, rather than using my usual methods of problem solving, and I’m starting to feel excited about the project again.

Now, I know this article is a little bit off-track, given the topic of my column, but I figured I’m not the only one that faces creative blocks, and thought I’d share some of my experiences and resources. Because the bottom line is that as designers and creatives, we ARE expected to create on-demand, and more often than not, with a deadline that doesn’t allow much room if we do get stuck.

So here’s a list of resources that I’ve found, and if you have any resources, tips or tricks that you use to help overcome creative blocks, I’d LOVE to hear them!

Resources:

Books

• Creative Utopia: 12 Ways to Realize Total Creativity, Theo Stephan Williams
• Designers in Handcuffs: How to create great graphics when time, materials and money are tight, Pat Matson Knapp
• Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake up Your Brain, Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield
• Creative Sparks, Jim Krause
• Zing!: Five Steps and 101 Tips for Creativity On Command, by Sam Harrison
• Ideaspotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea, by Sam Harrison

Online Resources

• Accidental Creative
• Creativity to Spare
• Design Guy
• Media Artists Secrets, Franklin McMahon
• SketcheeBook
• Killer Innovations

Join me next time, as I continue my journey Out of the Bedroom,
Tamar Wallace | Principal, TAMAR Graphics