How Graphic Designers and Artists Can Find Motivation and Inspiration—Even When You’re Not Feelin’ It.

Let’s talk about how to make creativity a habit, not just a fleeting idea.

A quick bite:

At any given moment there’s a million things that we could be doing, creating, absorbing, and this diversion of attention sometimes strips us of our motivation. We often feel uninspired due to option paralysis, or due to a lack of clarity in what we want to say. I have a few tried and true ways in which I stay on top of feeling motivated and inspired...

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Whether or not this is new news to you, you’re not gonna always feel creative. And that’s normal! Nobody loves what they do all the time: just as not all musicians will feel like going on stage and not all lawyers are stoked to go to court, not all graphic designers are going to feel inspired to create a particular logo and not all muralists are going to feel motivated to sit out in the roasting sun to paint a wall.

The key to fostering a thriving creative business is to have the tools and processes in place that allow you to find inspiration and motivation even when you’re not feeling it. I noted a few weeks ago that it’s more important to show up and create constantly than it is to create something amazing and portfolio worthy. Constant creativity takes constant motivation and inspiration, and I really feel that the following few thoughts will help you stay in a creative groove.

Whether it’s your own ego holding you back, a lack of inspiration, or maybe you’re just stuck in a rut, here’s a few of my tried and true ways to find inspiration and motivation when I’m not feeling it:

Reading, Writing, Talking.

All of our creative work is generated from an initial idea. The more depth, concept or emotion that lies within that idea, the more ammunition you have to create with. Think of this scenario below with two different graphic designers:

1. Designer 1 hears their client say that they want a logo design for a coffee shop. From there, Designer 1 starts drawing and designing based on coffee shop inspiration found online (Instagram, Pinterest and Dribbble.)
2. Designer 2 hears their client say they want a logo for their coffee shop, but they then continue to ask questions. Through talking with their client and inquiring further they discover that their client actually started the coffee shop because their grandfather was a coffee connoisseur, and he loved muscle cars, leather jackets and metal music. From there, Designer 2 has a multitude of avenues to further read and write about? (word mapping, synonym searches, etc.) about, which will ultimately lend itself to far more interesting and compelling branding.

• Key Takeaway: Don’t start with visual searches. Start with a why, a how, a concept and/or a story, and then start drawing or searching for visual inspiration thereafter.

Have something to say.

Whether you identify as an artist (art: visceral interpretations of your own ideas, emotions or perceptions) or a designer (creating objects or visuals to solve problems), your creations are the personification of your ideas. You need to have something to say before you have something to create.?

Those who are able to easily sit down and create are generally those who have a theme in their work or concept they care to convey: women’s rights, a love for the outdoors, positivity, etc.?

If you feel like you don’t know what you want to say, start with the previous point: read, write and talk about what you value as an individual. Think about what you really care about, and think about your why. From there, ideas may more naturally flow.

Play (life)

Give yourself a damn break! Not only does having diversified interests and experiences make you a far more interesting human, but it informs your creativity in a way that allows you to produce more interesting creative work. Grinding, hustling or whatever other buzz word you want to use is only good to an extent. At some point, you’re sabotaging yourself, and you’re going to burn yourself out.?

I often find that my Monday–Wednesday are the most inspired and creative days, and I attribute that to my weekends being filled with running, biking, traveling, hiking, hanging with friends, and experiencing life outside of my screens and my work. Allow the life to inspire the work, and your work will seem to have more life.

Play (work)

In many ways, Instagram has fostered an “everything must be portfolio-worthy” mindset. Everything we see on the web seems to be a polished, beautiful work of art, and it feels like we should be doing the same. I’m here to tell ya that’s not true!?

If you have the perceived need for creating something perfect and beautiful everytime pen touches paper, you’ll be less inclined to experiment as it risks failure.?

I can confidently say that over the past 5 years the majority of the risks, experiments and playful explorations that I entertained proved to be some of the work that moved the needle the furthest for me. It is only through playing that you’ll find your style, find the work you love, and truly find your niche.

But, I’m a Perfectionist.

Right now —?ya gotta stop. Your “perfectionism” is your own ego, and it is doing nothing but holding you back. That extra two hours you spent perfecting “that curve” or those colors — no one is likely to notice.?

Particularly if you’re early on in your career, I highly suggest that you focus on prolific output over perfecting everything you create. Focusing on output teaches you to work quickly and underpressure, it teaches you to let go, it teaches you to focus on the big picture, not just the precious details. Quantity begets quality.

If you’re a famous artist making $1mil+ a year, you can justify your perfectionism as a? true master of your craft. However, prior to that extreme success, you’re just allowing your ego to get in your own way and slow you down. Remember: play. Not everything needs to be “perfect” or portfolio-worthy. I think that it’s better to create something (fuck up) and learn a lesson that you can apply to the next project as opposed to going back and reworking that current project with the new insight. Create. Learn. Apply learning to new projects. Repeat.

Always be ready.

Have you ever had an amazing idea pop up outta nowhere (oftentimes when you’re playing in life), and later that evening when trying to recall your genius idea, the idea is gone!?

As a creative entrepreneur, the more you have processes in place, the better off you’ll be. Having a process to capture and harness inspiration/motivation for the future is a game changer! Whether you always have a notebook on hand or you use an app like Evernote, get in the habit of capturing those ideas that pop into your head. I have small notebooks scattered throughout my life: in my backpacks, next to my bed, in my car, etc. (and, I always have my phone: Evernote) where I write down any ideas into an ongoing list. Moving forward if I’m feeling unmotivated or uninspired I can pop back into my list of ideas and immediately fall into something inspiring and great.

Beginning/End of Day

Have a process for documenting ideas/plans for each day in the evening and morning. In the evening, I’ll write down 1-3 key things that need to be completed the next day. And, first thing in the morning, I list out my day using the pomodoro technique, and this way inspiration is almost unneeded: I’m just a machine crushing through my list of things needed to accomplish in order to take a small step forward in my creative career!

These are just a few thoughts on how to find motivation and inspiration when you’re truly not feeling it. Really think deeply about which of these may resonate for you, and try to apply them this week — you may surprise yourself with how equipped and ready you feel to execute your creative work.

Cheers

- Adam

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