In every designer’s career, there comes a point when you can find yourself struggling to find inspiration. This can be particularly challenging for print designers, since they have be creative and have intermediate-to-advanced skills as technicians. Here are a few ideas of projects you can take on to help stimulate your creativity and find new print design inspiration.
Tackle an Old School Paste-Up Design Project
In the days before digital graphic design and print production, “Paste-Up” was the manual approach to design and layouts. While it is unthinkable to use this process in your paid client work, going through the manual process and the challenge that it brings is a great way to stimulate your creativity. We often take our digital tools for granted, and sometimes this even means that we don’t pay as much attention the process and thought behind a design as we should. Stripping yourself of the conveniences of Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign (or your tools of choice) will force you to stretch your creative muscles and pay more attention to detail. The real world has no Undo button.
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Create Your Own Typeface
Building your own typeface from scratch is no simple task, and it can be an impressive addition to your print portfolio. Creating a typeface and utilizing it in your own projects will help you have something unique to work with creatively. Having assets that are one-of-a-kind can give you more flexibility and motivate you to experiment in your designs.
Shoot Your Own Stock Photography
By shooting your own custom stock photography, you’ll develop a better eye for composition and lighting, while also expanding your creative skill set as a whole. Photography uses many of the same skills as design, and you can leverage your own photographs as unique assets in your work. These photos can also serve as inspiration for you when you are experiencing a creative block: whenever you feel stagnant, you can pick up your camera and capture the world around you..