Five Top Tips For Being a Better Designer
Real talk, when was the last time you took an hour to develop your own design skills?
2020 has been a bit of a kick in the face for a lot of us (and that’s putting it lightly), with a lot of people facing redundancies, job uncertainty or uncomfortably long gaps between freelance design gigs. So today I thought I’d turn my attention to some easy ways for us designer to better our skills!
For those who are feeling a little lost, or frustrated at the moment, especially after Rishi Sunak advised people in the arts to retrain (the AUDACITY), I thought I’d pop together this mini guide on things we can do to better ourselves as designers, and keep faith in the arts.
Here are five simple tips you can implement into your creative schedule without spending a penny…
Work on your own design projects
I know, you’ve heard this so many times, but why are you still not doing it hun? Feed your inner creative monkey!
That project that you’ve thinking about doing for the last few weeks, months or even year(s), schedule it into your diary and let it out, that idea wants to be explored. Try scheduling in one hour a week (or even less if you’re too busy) to give yourself space to play.
Exercise your creative brain and create your own briefs without the restrictions of brand guidelines or client deadlines. Designing for the sake of designing is actually rather meditative and allows you to think more freely without the pressure of presenting it to clients for feedback.
I’m currently in the middle of reading The Artist’s Way (10/10 would recommend to every creative, nay, every human), and this book has given me permission to explore other creative outlets too, such as playing drums and writing for 30 minutes every morning. Give yourself permission to be creative for no purpose.
2: Ask better questions
When speaking with clients, are you asking the right questions? You should be questioning everything your client says and getting to the root problem of your clients design problem. Half the time clients don’t really know what they want, they know what they think they want, by getting to the bottom of your clients desires, it allows you to design better.
3: Listen carefully to your design feedback
Are you really listening and taking in what the client is saying to you when they feedback? We’re all guilty of trying to fight our design corner, but ultimately if the client isn’t happy at the end of the project, then we haven’t done a good job!
Really listen to what your clients are saying when they feedback, and again, ask them why they feel that way about a certain project.
One thing I’ve started doing, is once they’ve finished explaining themselves, leave a moment of silence. This is often where the goodies come out, or new ideas are formed. People tend to stop talking even though they have a lot more to say just because we’ve been conditioned to not speak to much, but by leaving them with a (sometimes uncomfortable) silence, clients will feel the need to fill it, and normally with something rather valuable from my experience.
4: Join a design community
Learning from other designers is a great way to educate yourself about new technologies, softwares, and trends that might have passed you by, as well as having a place to vent or share any design cringe-worthy moments you’ve had with clients (we’ve all been there).
There are loads of meet ups and spaces (virtual or otherwise) that allow you to connect and interact with other designers in your field. A quick Google will serve you up with lots of communities, Slack channels, Facebook groups etc, that you can get in involved with for free.
I’ve just recently launched the Creative Business Collective Facebook group for small businesses if you want to learn more about websites and my entrepreneurial rambles then head over and join – everyone’s welcome!
5: Get off the laptop / Put down the technology
Taking a break from technology and having a bath, going for a walk or meditating are great ways to inspire new ideas. You know you always have great ideas in shower? This is because when you’re relaxed your brain actually shifts it’s state.
*Science nerd alert*
When we’re working or solving problems, our brain operates with beta waves, when we’re in the shower, or on a walk we switch frequencies to our alpha waves. This is why when we’re in the shower we think of a great come back to an argument we had five years ago (god dammit!), discover a simple solution to a problem you’ve been having, or come up with a great idea!
By switching off, or should I say, pausing the designer part of your brain briefly (I don’t think you can ever truly switch off creativity) you end up looking at situations in a new perspective, and this is the magical place where the light bulb moments happen! So grab your hat and your sunnies, and get yourself outside my friend!
Let’s recap my free five ways to become a better design:
Work on your own projects (I know you already have ideas pumping through your brain – act on them!
Ask better questions to your clients
Listen carefully to design feedback, and leave a silent space after your clients finished talking
Join a designer community, and join our Creative Business Collective
Get off your laptop and put your phone away!
Hold in there creatives, I know it’s been a tough year, it will get better.
