I can’t help but notice a lack of creativity lately in the design communities I’m part of. I feel that the ‘web 2.0′ design trends and conventions are being followed too strictly, and although they work, they seem to be sucking the creative side right out of web design.

I can still remember how I got started into the world of web design. Back in the days that I used to watch Dragonball, I decided that I would really love to create a Dragonball fan site! Now, although I never actually finished the fan site (it’s quite a daunting task for a twelve year old), I had found myself to be fiddling with Paintshop at school, at my friends house, at four in the morning when I knew my parents would be sleeping; whenever I could. Creating mock ups of websites quickly became my favorite pass-time, and it wasn’t long before I wanted to find a place to talk with other designers! Back then it was never about the money; I simply loved to design.

You’ve probably gotten caught up in the money in some way or another before. You start to produce work that is below your own expectations and develop habits that, although they don’t affect each design that much individually, start to lose their effect on people after seeing the same old thing so many times. Truth is, it happens, and sometimes you can’t help it. Money sometimes takes prevalence over letting your creativity flow! But do yourself a favor, and never willingly produce unoriginal work.

Progression starts with you

You’ve heard this a million times before: push the envelope. Just like every other art form in the world, we need people who aren’t afraid to try new things. Imagine how much more we could know about our craft if we just set aside our check book once in a while and just spilled our mind onto the canvas! Start with something you love. Design a site around it, and break some design conventions. Maybe you’ll discover something you never thought of before, and then you can apply it and tell others! There’s no law stating “This is how a website must be designed. Violators will be prosecuted.”

Exercise your creative right!

Don’t argue with your clients, but suggest that there might be a surprise in store if you had more creative freedom. The more exposure you give your ideas, the better. The web design community is fueled by inspiration! On inspiration…

Don’t pick and choose your inspiration

Inspiration can come from anywhere, so why limit yourself to a bunch of CSS galleries? Personally, I have a few favored sources of inspiration:

• Any magazine I can lay my hands on. I love IKEA!
• Walking around and checking out billboards.
• Item packaging for games, software and other things I’ll never buy!
• Buildings, buildings, buildings! Architecture simply gets me thinking.
• Playing guitar and drums. You’d be surprised what you can come up with while playing an instrument.
• Nothing at all! Some of my favorite ideas have come to me while staring at absolutely nothing.
• Other designers, new and old. Just because someone is new to web design doesn’t mean they don’t have anything new to bring to the table!

Find things that inspire you, catch your eye, and get you to think. Find a way to bring them to life through web design! Inspiration is everywhere. Go find it.

Give and take constructive criticism

I can’t really stress this enough. Keeping contacts that you can talk design with is one of the best ways to improve yourself and the web design community. Never be afraid to give tips and suggestions, and never turn down some friendly advice! If someone has something to say about your work, then let them say it. Consider every tip and suggestion you get, there’s a reason behind every one of them!

In conclusion

I’m in no way saying that there aren’t creative web designers out there; that’s far from the truth. I do find, however, that the majority of web designers and site designs I see in the past months have been increasingly boring and uninspired.

I hope at least one person takes something from this. If you’re in a situation where you find yourself creating the same boring work time and time again, step back, take a walk, and read this again.

Thanks for reading, more articles are on their way!

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

2 Responses to “Let the creativity flow!”

1. Seb Says:
   April 3rd, 2007 at 7:36 pm

   Thanks for this Tyler, useful information! I find that if you find yourself staring at a bare canvas, go have a shower, and you will come up with loads of ideas. The shower stimulates you and gets you thinking!

   Seb

2. Having Creativity - WickedFire - Affiliate Marketing Forum - Internet Marketing Webmaster SEO Forum Says:
   May 11th, 2007 at 5:26 pm

   […] like everyone has some creativity tips to give out. DesignersMind » Blog Archive » Let the creativity flow! More design related, but relevant nonetheless. __________________ [ MindEmber ] [ Web Design […]

Leave a Reply