• Design
  • 4 min

How To Come Up With Great Ideas for Graphic Design

  • Author
  • Ian Bower
  • Published
  • Oct 11, 2021
4 min

How To Come Up With Great Ideas for Graphic Design

Are you a graphic designer looking for new sources of inspiration?

As talented as graphic designers are, they need a little boost here and there to keep their creativity going. If you have been feeling blocked in the creative area, you came to the right place.

Read on to learn about these great ideas for graphic design.

Social Media Is a Place for Inspiration

If you're ready to find new graphic design marketing ideas, it's time you head to social media.  Although it might seem that social media is a place for influencers and bloggers, you'd be surprised how much graphic design inspiration you can find.

While you can find a lot of inspiration on Instagram, you will find the most inspiration on Pinterest and Tumblr. You will find great designs, images, lettering, and color schemes on both of these social media channels.

These platforms also allow you to save these images to refer back to them later.

Go Back to Basics and Flip Through a Magazine

Although it might seem old-fashion in the age of digital everything, you'd be surprised how much inspiration you can find flipping through the pages of a magazine.

When you flip through pages of a magazine, make sure you pay attention to the layouts, fonts, color palettes, photography, and even drawings.

It might also help you collect various older issues to draw inspiration from graphic designers of the past. You should consider obtaining foreign issues of magazines to draw inspiration from other countries.

Whenever you find an image that draws you, make sure you save it in a scrapbook so you always have it available.

Play Around with Digital Colors

Thanks to all of the different software available to graphic designers, you have plenty of tools at your disposal. If you think you have been working with the same colors schemes over and over, now it's time to start playing around with different colors.

Take a look at all of the inspiration you have gathered and find new color schemes that work together.

Try Not to Multitask

Although many job descriptions ask for employees to multitask, doing so can also block the creative process. When you're trying to develop new graphic design ideas, you must refrain from multi-tasking.

If you're trying to work on too many things at a time, you might not be able to focus on all of the crucial details.

When you're working on a new graphic design project, try to take it one thing at a time.

Find a Group That Inspires You

Creative people flourish when other creative people surround them. If you have worked with other graphic designers in the past, you know how great it can be for the creative process to work with people who share the same passion.

You don't have to wait until you collaborate with other graphic designers to get inspiration from them. Join or create a graphic designer marketing group to have a support group that understands the creative process and can help you get new ideas.

Designate a Time of Day to Be Creative

When you have to be creative for work, it takes the creativity out of the process. To remain inspired and produce excellent work, you must block time out of your day to be creative.

First, choose a time of day when you feel most creative. If you feel most innovative in the morning, take 20 minutes before work and write down ideas, draw, or brainstorm some inspiration.

You could also wait until the end of the day to end your day with some creativity. Try not to think about your work projects and focus on your projects.

Take Yourself Out On a Creative Date

Have you ever wondered how much inspiration you can find by walking around your neighborhood or noticing your city's architecture?

Taking yourself on a creative date will ensure you keep your creative flow moving on. Some of the things you can do include visiting an art gallery, museum, concert, play, or even book reading.

Your Clients Should be a Compatible Match

If you want to produce your best work, it's essential you feel inspired. However, designers can't produce their best work most of the time because the project does not inspire them.

Before you gather inspiration and ideas, you need to make sure the client you work with is a good match. Having tremendous and honest communication with the clients at the start of the project will help you discover if you can work with the client.

First, you should learn as much as you can about the client's company values, industry, and previous graphic design work. Ask yourself if this is a challenge you're comfortable taking on.

To ensure you're a good match for the client, ask them if they want to see your portfolio. You should also ask them if they believe your vision aligns with them.

Keep Everything in One Place

After learning where you can gather inspiration and collecting evidence, now it's time to keep it all in one place.

You will want to create a folder or scrapbook to keep all of the inspiration you have collected. Keeping digital and paper inspiration near your workstation will help spark new ideas if you ever feel stuck.

Take Some Rest

The last step when you're looking for more graphic design ideas is to take some rest. After following all of the tips we mentioned before, you must take the time to rest.

If you work yourself to the point of exhaustion, you won't be as creative as you like. Take a little bit of time every day to be creative.

Try These New Ideas for Graphic Design

Now that you know about these ideas for graphic design you can try, it's time you get creative.

Remember to look for inspiration on social media, have a group of creative friends, flip through old magazines, and choose the right clients.

Are you ready for more graphic design tips? Check out our blog for more inspiration.

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  • Ian Bower
  • Ian is the owner of Graphic Rhythm as well as other businesses that revolve around design, copywriting and Amazon marketplace selling. He's an expert in communicating persuasively and loves helping business owners and digital agencies breathe life into their projects and ideas.

    He values generosity and attention to detail and strives to make sure these values are apparent in the services he provides and the businesses he owns.

    When Ian isn't working, you can find him outside hiking, camping and spending time with his wife and children

  • Ian is the owner of Graphic Rhythm as well as other businesses that revolve around design, copywriting and Amazon marketplace selling. He's an expert in communicating persuasively and loves helping business owners and digital agencies breathe life into their projects and ideas.

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