More often than not when I visit a client and take a project brief I can quickly see in my mind the direction the project will go. Either the building or the client's lifestyle will start off a creative train of thought in me. I would love to say it is always this way, but sometimes, for one reason or another it takes a bit longer to grasp onto a design idea that will suit a particular client. I guess this is the designers equivalent to "writers block". Over the years i have developed some techniques and ideas to overcome this, and I thought today I would share them with you.
- Keep yourself open to ideas at all times -you never know when inspiration may strike. Keep a notebook and camera handy to record your sudden brainwave in the supermarket, or your colour combination idea you suddenly hit upon whilst waiting for a bus!
- Obviously magazines can be a great source of inspiration and for this reason i keep a fair few back copies. However I don't use them to copy a scheme or room, but to find some element that I can adapt and build on to create something unique for my client.
- A bit of culture never goes amiss, and lots of inspiration is to be found in your local art gallery, museum or exhibition.
- Don't be afraid to go to the client with several initial design concepts for them to choose from, before embarking on a lot of work that is not quite what they were expecting. This way you can be sure that when you are working in detail on a scheme, you are working on the right scheme for your client and are not wasting time. You could present some concepts ideas on small boards using magazine pictures, fabrics, pieces of wool, paint swatches, postcards,etc. to build up the overall idea of a scheme.
- For colour scheme inspiration I have a tin full of those small paint swatch cards that you can pick up at any DIY store. Sometimes I tip them all out on my work table and move them around until I come up with a pleasing colour combination. This way I come up with something unique for my client rather than presenting them with a scheme that is in trend and that anyone could create by looking in the current magazines.
- Travel books -I love looking through travel books for inspiration. You don't need to buy loads of them -libraries usually have a good selection. I find inspiration for colour schemes, mixing textures, ways of displaying items and much more in their pages (along with a yearning for travel!!)
Hopefully these ideas will help you when you get creative block! If you have any techniques that you use that I haven't mentioned here why not share them with us by posting a comment?
